8 flours to use in your bakes

1 Organic Bakers Blend spelt flour, £3.75 (1kg), sharphampark.com Sharpham Park is the bestknown producer of spelt cereal, pasta and flour in the UK. Its light, nutty spelt is organic and grown regeneratively without fertilisers or pesticides, with a view to sustaining the land’s wildlife. Baker’s Blend is as perfect for bread as it is cakes and pastries.

2 100% einkorn flour, £3.75 (1.5kg), gilchesters.com Gilchesters is a mill and farm in one, growing grains alongside livestock. Einkorn is one of the earliest cultivated varieties, and adds depth to bakes along with the health benefits of heritage wheat.

3 Wakelyns YQ wheat flour organic, £2.19 (1.5kg), hodmedods.co.uk In 2002, professor Martin Wolfe crossed 20 distinct wheat varieties to create hybrids with the quality and resilience of heritage and high yield of modern. These were mixed and sown together to form a population with a high degree of genetic diversity. The resulting flour has great texture, flavour and versatility. Its hybrid qualities make it easier to work with than ‘pure’ heritage grains.

4 Organic barley flour, £1.65 (750g), shiptonmill.com One of the earliest cultivated grains, barley flour has a mild, slightly nutty flavour. Its low gluten content means it won’t rise in the same way as wheat. It can be used in pancakes, or cakes and breads where you can replace 50 per cent of the wheat flour with it.

5 Organic wholemeal rye flour, £2 (1kg), dovesfarm.co.uk The naturally low gluten content of rye results in rather a dense loaf, if not blended with wheat flour. But, its flavour is second to none – tangy and earthy, it’s perfect for close-textured breads, cakes and biscuits.

6 Balcaskie Landrace organic wholemeal wheat flour, £3.20 (1.5kg), scotlandthebread.org This is a blend of heritage varieties – Rouge d’ecosse, Golden Drop and Hunter’s – and is as versatile as it is flavoursome and nutritious. Suitable for sourdough, pastries and cakes.

7 Oatmeal of Alford gluten-free oat flour, £3.20 (500g), huntersofdundee.godaddysites.com This flour is completely free from wheat contamination – an important consideration for those with allergies. It’s a good substitute for ground almonds, and creates great texture in cookies and breads.

8 100% wholemeal flour (pricing on request), y-felin.com Welsh for ‘The Mill’, Y Felin is one of the last working water mills in Wales, making stoneground flour and oats sourced as locally as possible. The millpond is also home to many species of waterfowl.