Bulgarian wheat flour types: Type 500, 700 and 1150 — classification, specs and how to choose for bread, banitsa and kozunak

Bulgaria reads flour by ash, and the Type number is the ash

Bulgaria grades wheat flour the German and Polish way: by ash content (пепелно съдържание) — the mineral residue left when a weighed sample is incinerated. The Type number (тип) printed on the sack is simply that ash figure, measured on dry substance and multiplied by 1000. So Type 500 ≈ 0.50% ash, Type 700 ≈ 0.70% ash, Type 1150 ≈ 1.15% ash and Type 1850 ≈ 1.85% ash [c1][img-b6ftm-01]. A low number means whiter, more refined flour milled mostly from the starchy endosperm; a high number means more of the mineral-rich bran and germ has been kept — a higher extraction rate [c1][c9][img-b6ftm-02].

This is the same ash-based logic explained for every national system in the Pillar A reference [A1-flour-classification-systems]; for how roller milling actually separates bran, germ and endosperm to produce these grades see [A1-wheat-grain-and-milling], and for what ash, falling number and the farinograph really measure see [A1-key-quality-parameters]. Grain milling, bread and confectionery technology are taught formally in Bulgaria at the University of Food Technologies in Plovdiv, the country's academic anchor for the trade [src-424].

The rule that follows is the one every Bulgarian baker knows: the lower the Type, the whiter and more refined the flour, and the higher its baking quality — Types 450 and 500 are the finest white flours, with Type 500 in the widest use [c3]. The trade-off is nutrition versus performance: higher-ash flours carry more of the grain's outer layers, so more fibre, vitamins, minerals and enzymes, but they bake weaker — lower volume, denser crumb — because the bran fragments interfere with the gluten network [c9]. That bran-interference problem is treated in full in [A1-wholemeal-and-high-extraction].

The full Bulgarian Type ladder

The wheat flour Types actually milled in Bulgaria run 450, 500, 520, 700, 800, 1150 and 1850 [c2]. Read as ash percentages they line up as a smooth ladder from the whitest to the darkest [img-b6ftm-01][tbl-bg-type-ladder]:

• Тип 450 (~0.45% ash) — екстра фино бяло (extra-fine white). The whitest grade; used for sweets, fine pastry and козунак [src-bg-frognews]. The catalogue equivalent, Wheat Flour Type 450 (G22013), is ash ≤0.48%, gluten ≥23%, protein ≥8% [c16].
• Тип 500 (~0.50% ash) — бяло (white). The default flour of the Bulgarian kitchen and bakery: bread, home баница, мекици, everyday work [c3][c5]. Equivalent: Domson White Flour Type 500 (G22179), ash ≤0.52%, gluten ≥23% [c16].
• Тип 520 (~0.52% ash) — white, marginally higher ash [c2].
• Тип 700 (~0.70% ash) — the semi-white grade sold as Добруджа (Dobrudzha); more flavour and colour, still a clean bread flour [c6]. Equivalent: Domson Bread Flour Type 750 (G22099), ash ≤0.82%, gluten ≥26%, protein ≥10% [c16].
• Тип 800 (~0.80% ash) — a slightly darker semi-white bread flour [c2].
• Тип 1150 (~1.15% ash) — типово (tipovo), the semi-dark grade. A semi-wholemeal flour milled from the grain interior with a controlled amount of bran and germ added back, richer in fibre, vitamins and minerals [c7]. Between it and белите брашна sits Wheat Flour Type 850 (G22020) (ash ≤0.90%) [c16].
• Тип 1850 (~1.85% ash) — Греъм / пълнозърнесто (Graham / wholemeal), the darkest and weakest-baking grade [c8]. Equivalent: Graham Wheat Flour Type 1850 (G33200), ash <2.0%, protein 12.3 g/100 g, fibre 12.3 g/100 g [c18].

Across all the white and semi-white catalogue grades the datasheets specify a falling number of at least 220 s (the Graham 1850 is >180 s) — the Hagberg test for sprout damage and α-amylase activity that tells you the flour will hold a loaf rather than collapse into a sticky crumb [c21][A1-key-quality-parameters].

The three named grades: Бяло, Добруджа, Типово

Behind the numbers, Bulgaria's flour trade is organised around three named commercial grades set out in a voluntary Approved Standard (Утвърден стандарт) 01/2011: БРАШНО „БЯЛО", „ДОБРУДЖА", „ТИПОВО", registered with the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) [c4][img-b6ftm-03]. This is a quality benchmark the trade organises around — not a mandatory food-safety law, and flour may legally be sold outside it, so its exact legal status is a point for human review (it is an approved standard, distinct from a branch standard) [c4]. These are the words a Bulgarian baker uses at the counter, and the professional miller GoodMills Bulgaria / SofiaMel — a single manufacturer voice (the two are the same GoodMills company) — publishes a real spec for each [c5][c6][c7][tbl-bg-standard-grades]:

• Бяло / White — the Type 500 white. Professional Classic: ash ≤0.55%, wet gluten ≥26%; the standard Бяло: ash ≤0.65%, wet gluten ≥24% [c5].
• Добруджа / Dobrudzha — the ~Type 700 semi-white: ash ≤0.75%, wet gluten ≥26% [c6]. The name is not marketing: Dobrudzha, the flat black-earth (chernozem) plateau of the north-east, is Bulgaria's principal wheat region — widely called житницата на България, the granary of Bulgaria — and the flour grade carries its name [c11][img-b6ftm-08].
• Типово / Tipovo — the Type 1150 semi-dark: ash ≤1.15%, wet gluten ≥24% [c7]. Confusingly to outsiders, типово (literally "typed") is the everyday word for this darker, higher-fibre flour, not for white flour.

A note on numbers you will see on packs: Bulgarian retail and consumer media very often frame the range as "тип 500, 750 и 1150" rather than 500/700/1150 [src-bg-marica]. The 700 and 750 labels denote the same semi-white Добруджа band (~0.70–0.75% ash); this dossier treats them as one grade.

A second note on vocabulary: Bulgarian and Polish datasheets quote wet gluten (влажен глутен) — the weight of hydrated gluten washed from the dough — while UK sheets quote protein % plus the Hagberg falling number. Do not equate a wet-gluten figure with a protein figure; they are different measurements. What both are telling you is flour strength, the subject of [A1-protein-gluten-and-strength].

In Bulgaria you buy flour by the product, not just the Type

Here is the point that separates authentic Bulgarian practice from a generic Type chart: a Bulgarian professional bakery does not only order "Type 500". It orders Пекар (baker's), Баница, Бюрек, Козунаци, Кроасани — flours milled and blended for a specific job, each with its own published wet-gluten target [c12][c13][c14][c15][tbl-bg-application-flours][img-b6ftm-04]. The Type/ash band tells you the colour; the wet-gluten number tells you whether the dough will do the work.

• Пекар / Baker (wet gluten ≥28%, ash ≤0.60%) — buns, rolls, cheese pastries, мекици, doughnuts, puff pastry [c14][src-271].
• Баница / Banitsa and Бюрек / Byurek (wet gluten ≥30%, ash ≤0.60%) — the strongest of the everyday grades, because banitsa кори (filo sheets) must be stretched paper-thin without tearing [c13].
• Козунаци / Kozunak (wet gluten ≥27%, ash ≤0.60%) — a white flour that is also strong, so the baked crumb pulls apart into fibrous strands, на конци [c12].
• Кроасани / Croissant (wet gluten ≥38%, ash ≤0.65%) — the strongest grade of all, for laminated work; Пица / Pizza is ≥33% [c15].
• Грис / Semolina (fine and coarse, ash ≤0.50%, wet gluten ≥21%) — wheat semolina for noodles, macaroni and confectionery fillings [c22].

Banitsa (баница): extensible, not just strong

For banitsa — the coiled or layered filo cheese pastry [B6-banitsa-techniques][B6-filo-dough-kori] — the flour has to give кори you can pull or roll almost transparent. Home cooks reach for Тип 500 because it is soft, mixes easily and rolls thin without springing back, with an optimal protein around 10–12% [c13][src-bg-kakse]. Push the protein too high and the dough fights you, snapping back on the rolling pin; drop it too low and the sheets tear and turn crumbly. Professional shops that hand-pull their kori instead use a dedicated Баница flour at wet gluten ≥30%, trading some ease-of-roll for the extensibility and tear-resistance a paper-thin stretched sheet needs [c13][src-442][img-b6ftm-06]. In the UK a strong white such as Windrush Strong White (G43025) or an Italian-style Tipo 00 (G23145) covers the pulled-kori job, while Domson White Flour Type 500 (G22179) suits home-style rolled kori.

Kozunak (козунак): white AND strong

Kozunak, Bulgaria's braided Easter enriched bread [B6-kozunak-enriched-bread], is the clearest example of why the Type number alone is not enough. It must be white (low Type, fine crumb) yet strong enough to carry eggs, butter and sugar and then peel into silky threads — на конци [c12][img-b6ftm-05]. A weak pastry flour gives a dense crumb that will not separate; that is why a dedicated Козунаци flour exists at wet gluten ≥27% [fc-kozunak-flour]. A native SofiaMel recipe builds it as roughly 650 g kozunak flour : 4 eggs : 180 g sugar : 230 ml milk : 50 g butter : 50 ml oil : 10 g dry yeast, kneaded soft and elastic, long-proofed and baked ~170 °C for ~40 min [src-426]. In the UK, reach for Windrush Strong White (G43025, protein 12.0–12.5%) or the very-strong Manitoba-type Centurion Canadian (G43252), and if the flour is still short of strength, fortify with vital wheat gluten [A3-vital-wheat-gluten]. Develop the gluten fully on the plain dough before adding the fat and sugar, which otherwise slow it down.

Mekitsi (мекици): the everyday Type 500 dough

Mekitsi — the puffed fried breakfast dough eaten with кисело мляко (kiselo mlyako, Bulgarian yogurt) and jam [B6-mekitsi-fried-pastry][B6-festive-baking-calendar] — is most often built on plain Тип 500. Home recipes vary in both quantity and leavening: chef Ivan Zvezdev's is a yeast-leavened dough with кисело мляко and eggs [src-441], while other household versions raise the dough with кисело мляко and bicarbonate of soda rather than yeast, and flour quantities range from roughly 500 g to about 1 kg per batch [src-bg-mekitsi][img-b6ftm-07]. Rest the soft dough ~30–40 minutes and deep-fry. A professional shop would use Пекар (wet gluten ≥28%) for a more reliable puff. The UK stand-in is Domson White Flour Type 500 (G22179) or the stronger Domson Type 550 (G22006). Food-safety flags (human review): кисело мляко is a chilled dairy ingredient (keep refrigerated, observe use-by) and adds the milk allergen, Zvezdev's eggs add egg, and the dough is deep-fried — do this at roughly 170–180 °C, as hot oil is a burn and fire hazard [c14].

Buying the right flour in the UK: the crosswalk

Bulgarian mills such as SofiaMel/GoodMills Bulgaria are not Domson suppliers, so a Bulgarian baker in Britain buys the closest Polish- or UK-milled grade. Because Bulgaria, Germany and Poland all grade by ash × 1000, the substitution is straightforward: match the ash/Type band, then match the strength [c20][src-de-mehltype][tbl-international-crosswalk][tbl-catalogue-equivalents][img-b6ftm-09]. Roughly, Bulgarian Type 500 ≈ German 550 ≈ Polish Type 500 ≈ French T55, and Type 1150 ≈ German 1150 ≈ Polish 1150 — while the French T-scale and Italian 00/0 scale are defined differently and only map loosely [c20]. This crosswalk is approximate and is treated in full in [A1-flour-classification-systems]; confirm on the actual datasheet before you commit a production batch, because national ash bands overlap.

Practical picks from Domson stock [tbl-catalogue-equivalents]:

• Everyday white bread / mekitsi (Тип 500) → Domson White Flour Type 500 (G22179), or the stronger Domson Type 550 (G22006) / Komplexmłyn Type 550 (G22092).
• Semi-white bread (Тип 700 / Добруджа) → Domson Bread Flour Type 750 (G22099); a touch darker, Type 850 (G22020).
• Kozunak / pulled banitsa kori (strong white) → Windrush Strong White (G43025) or Centurion Very Strong (G43252).
• Tipov / higher-fibre bread (Тип 1150) and wholemeal (Греъм 1850) → Type 850 (G22020) at the light end, Graham Type 1850 (G33200) at the dark end.
• Fine pastry / sweets (Тип 450) → Wheat Flour Type 450 (G22013).
• Fillings / fine work (грис) → Wheat Semolina "Manna" (G23775).

For storage and rotation of these 25 kg sacks — most carry a five-month shelf life, the Graham 1850 only three months — see [A1-flour-storage-and-handling]; and for turning any of these into ratios you can scale, [A8-bakers-percentage-fundamentals].

Food safety and allergens (flag for review)

Every flour named here — including the wheat semolina / грис — contains gluten (wheat) and is unsuitable for coeliacs [c19][c22]. Flour is a raw ingredient: it must be baked or cooked and never tasted raw, because raw flour can carry pathogens such as E. coli [c18][c19]. The Polish datasheets flag a risk of trace cross-contamination and note that some batches carry ascorbic acid (E300) and enzymes as declared flour-treatment agents/additives — E300 is a labelled additive, not an undeclared processing aid [c19]. The exact trace-allergen set varies by datasheet and batch: some Komplexmłyn / GoodMills Polska sheets list soy, lupin and mustard, while others list soya, sesame, tree nuts and peanuts — so the specific declaration must be read off the actual product's current datasheet, not assumed [c19]. The Graham Type 1850 sheet states plainly that it is a semi-product not intended for direct consumption and not for gluten-sensitive consumers [c18].

The finished Bulgarian products add allergens the flour does not, and each must be declared under EU/UK FIC (Reg. 1169/2011, Annex II): kozunak carries egg and milk, and traditionally tree nuts (walnuts) with raisins and citrus zest [c12]; banitsa carries milk (from сирене / sirene brine cheese) and egg [c13]; mekitsi carry milk (from кисело мляко) and egg, are made with a chilled dairy ingredient (observe cold-chain and use-by) and are deep-fried at ~170–180 °C (hot-oil hazard) [c14]; the associated confectionery may add sesame or further tree nuts. Treat all allergen, fortification, food-safety and legal-status statements here as requiring human review before any customer-facing use.