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Moulin des Courtils

Ratton Pantry is proud to introduce Moulins des Courtils to the UK, becoming the first UK stockist of these exceptional French flours. Based in the Ardennes near Rethel, Moulins des Courtils comes from a farming family with a history stretching back around 300 years, combining generations of agricultural knowledge with a strong focus on provenance, quality and responsible farming. 

These are high-grade, small-batch French flours, created with bakers and cooks who care deeply about the quality of their raw ingredients in mind. The range includes beautifully refined white flours alongside cream, semi-wholemeal and wholemeal styles, each designed to retain its own distinctive flavour, texture and baking characteristics. Unlike standard UK flour, the Moulins des Courtils range stocked by Ratton Pantry is unfortified, making it particularly appealing to customers looking for traditionally produced flour without the mandatory vitamin and mineral additions commonly found in British-milled wheat flour.

For Ratton Pantry, Moulins des Courtils represents exactly the type of producer we want to bring to our customers: independent, highly specialised and uncompromising about quality. By importing these flours directly from France, we are able to offer UK home bakers, artisan bakeries, chefs and food professionals access to a genuinely distinctive flour range that has previously been extremely difficult to source here. We are delighted to be bringing Moulins des Courtils to the UK for the first time and to add another exceptional European mill to the growing specialist flour selection at Ratton Pantry.

Buy Moulin des Courtils at Ratton Pantry.

Moulin des Courtils

Unfortified French flour, grown and milled on the farm

Moulin des Courtils is a family-run farm mill at Acy-Romance in the French Ardennes, near Rethel. The family has farmed in the area for around 300 years; today, Stéphanie and Jean Potier continue that agricultural tradition by turning wheat from their own land into flour on the farm.

After training in milling, the family created its own mill to bring growing, storage and flour production together in one place. Wheat is cleaned, checked and stored on site before being roller-milled through a long, progressive process designed to protect it from excessive heat. Every Moulin des Courtils flour stocked by Ratton Pantry is unfortified, so no vitamins or minerals are added after milling.

Moulin des Courtils

An unfortified French flour range from T45 to T110

The entire Moulin des Courtils range at Ratton Pantry is unfortified. From the whitest T45 through to wholemeal T110, these are traditionally produced French wheat flours without the calcium, iron, niacin or thiamin routinely added to standard British-milled white and brown wheat flour.

The six-flour range covers a broad progression of baking styles. T45 is light and refined for fine pâtisserie, while T45 Gruau provides extra strength for brioche, croissants and laminated dough. T55 is a versatile everyday white flour, and T65 brings more colour and character to bread, baguettes, pizza and focaccia.

For fuller flavour, T80 is the semi-wholemeal option for country loaves, sourdough and rustic doughs. T110 retains more of the grain and is the wholemeal choice for hearty bread. Across the range, the mill uses wheat grown on its HVE-certified family farm and maintains control through storage and milling.

Ratton Pantry

Why we stock Moulin des Courtils

Moulin des Courtils brings together the qualities we look for in a specialist flour producer: a strong sense of place, direct control over the wheat and a genuinely useful range for serious home bakers and professionals. Because the grain is grown and milled by the same family, there is an unusually short and transparent journey from the Ardennes fields to the finished flour.

Just as importantly, the whole range is unfortified. Ratton Pantry customers can choose from T45, T45 Gruau, T55, T65, T80 and T110 while retaining that same unfortified character at every step—from delicate pastry flour to wholemeal bread flour. It gives UK bakers a rare, coherent selection of French flours with clear differences in refinement, flavour and purpose.

Choosing the right Moulin des Courtils flour

Choose T45 French Pâtisserie Flour for cakes, biscuits, choux, shortcrust and other fine pastry where a light texture is the priority. It is the most refined all-round pastry flour in this unfortified range.

Choose T45 Gruau when an enriched or laminated dough needs greater strength as well as refinement. It is particularly well suited to brioche, croissants and Danish pastry.

Choose T55 as the versatile unfortified white flour for everyday cooking and baking. It works across pastry, pancakes, sauces, pizza and lighter breads when you want a little more substance than T45.

Choose T65 French Bread Flour for baguettes, French-style loaves, rolls, pizza and focaccia. Its creamier colour and fuller flavour make it the principal white bread flour in the range.

Choose T80 for semi-wholemeal country bread, sourdough and rustic doughs, or T110 when you want a fuller wholemeal flour with more of the grain retained. Both can also be blended with T55 or T65 to build flavour while adjusting the colour and texture of a loaf.

All six flours are unfortified. French type numbers describe mineral content rather than acting as a direct measure of protein, so water absorption and dough handling can differ from familiar UK flour; add liquid gradually and judge the dough by feel.

Questions & answers

Moulin des Courtils FAQs

Is the entire Moulin des Courtils flour range unfortified?

Yes. Every Moulin des Courtils flour stocked by Ratton Pantry—T45, T45 Gruau, T55, T65, T80 and T110—is unfortified. This means vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin have not been added after milling. The flour remains a traditionally produced French wheat flour, with the natural characteristics of its type.

What do the French flour types T45, T55, T65, T80 and T110 mean?

The type number relates to the flour’s mineral, or ash, content. Lower numbers are whiter and more refined; higher numbers retain more of the grain and develop a darker colour, fuller flavour and more rustic character. The number is not a direct measurement of protein strength, which is why T45 and T45 Gruau can behave differently despite sharing the same type number.

What is the difference between Moulin des Courtils T45 and T45 Gruau flour?

Both are finely milled, unfortified T45 wheat flours, but they suit different jobs. Standard T45 is ideal for fine pâtisserie, cakes, biscuits, choux and pastry. T45 Gruau is the stronger option for doughs that need more structure, particularly brioche, croissants and other enriched or laminated bakes.

Should I choose Moulin des Courtils T55 or T65 flour?

Choose the unfortified T55 as a versatile white flour for everyday baking, including pastries, sauces, pancakes, pizza and lighter breads. Choose T65 when bread is the priority: it has a creamier colour and more character, making it well suited to baguettes, French-style loaves, rolls, pizza and focaccia.

What are Moulin des Courtils T80 and T110 flours best used for?

T80 is an unfortified semi-wholemeal flour that balances a more rustic flavour and colour with useful versatility; try it in country loaves, sourdough, pizza and savoury pastry. T110 retains more of the grain and is the wholemeal choice for hearty breads and recipes where a deeper wheat flavour is wanted. Either can be blended with T55 or T65 to adjust flavour, colour and texture.

Can I substitute Moulin des Courtils flour for UK plain, bread or wholemeal flour?

Yes, but choose by purpose rather than expecting a direct name-for-name match. T45 and T55 cover fine and general baking, T45 Gruau suits stronger enriched doughs, T65 is the principal bread flour, T80 is semi-wholemeal and T110 is wholemeal. The whole Moulin des Courtils range is unfortified, and French type numbers describe mineral content rather than protein strength, so water absorption and dough handling may differ from familiar UK flour.