Flour Types

Types of flour produced in Zimbabwe

From high-gluten bread flour to tender biscuit flour, Zimbabwe produces a full range of wheat flour products for every application.

Bread Flour

11-13% protein

Super White Bread Flour, Standard Bread Flour

High-protein flour used by commercial and artisan bakeries to produce sandwich loaves, rolls, and buns. Requires blending of local and imported hard wheat to achieve sufficient gluten strength. Gloria Super White Bread Flour and Gloria Standard Flour are the dominant brands.

Best for: Commercial and artisan bread baking

Cake Flour

7-9% protein

Gloria Cake Flour, Gloria Self Raising Cake Flour

Low-protein flour with a fine, soft texture. Produces tender, delicate crumb in cakes, pastries, and scones. Gloria Cake Flour and Gloria Self Raising Cake Flour are key products.

Best for: Cakes, pastries, scones

Self-Raising Flour

8-10% protein

Gloria Self-Raising, Red Seal, Better Buy

Pre-mixed flour containing a leavening agent (baking powder) and salt. Convenient for home baking. Gloria Self-Raising Flour, in its distinctive blue and gold packaging, is Zimbabwe's best-selling prepacked flour.

Best for: Home baking: cakes, scones, dumplings, pancakes

All-Purpose Flour

9-11% protein

Gloria All-Purpose Flour

Medium-protein flour suitable for a wide range of uses including home baking, thickening sauces, coating, and general cooking. Formerly known as Gloria Plain Flour, it was renamed during the 2020 centenary refresh.

Best for: Chapati, rotis, pastry, sauces, general cooking

High Fibre Wheat Flour

10-12% protein

Gloria High Fibre Wheat Flour

Higher extraction flour retaining more bran and germ. More nutritious with higher fibre content. Formerly known as Gloria Brown Flour, renamed during the 2020 centenary refresh.

Best for: Wholemeal bread, high-fibre baking

Biscuit Flour

7-9% protein

Gloria Biscuit Flour

Specialised low-protein flour designed for biscuit and cookie production. Used by industrial biscuit manufacturers. Local wheat is particularly well-suited for biscuit flour due to its naturally lower gluten content.

Best for: Industrial biscuit and cookie production

Bulk Industrial Flour

Varies protein

25 kg and 50 kg bags, or bulk tanker

Flour supplied to commercial bakeries, biscuit factories, pasta plants, confectioners, and food manufacturers. Not retail branded. Formulation is customised to the customer's processing requirements.

Best for: Commercial bakeries, food manufacturing

Understanding protein and gluten

Protein content is the most important measure of flour quality for baking. Higher protein means more gluten, which creates the network of stretchy strands that give bread its structure and chew. Lower protein means tenderness and a more delicate crumb, which is desirable for cakes and biscuits.

Zimbabwe's locally grown wheat is naturally moderate to low in protein, which is why it excels for biscuit flour but needs blending with imported hard wheat for bread flour. Learn more about the quality parameters millers use to assess flour.

Measuring flour quality

Millers use several parameters to assess and control flour quality:

Protein content (%) - determines gluten-forming potential
Ash content (%) - measures mineral (bran) content; lower ash means whiter, more refined flour
Moisture content (%) - must be below 14% for safe storage
Falling number - measures alpha-amylase enzyme activity; critical for bread crumb quality
Farinograph readings - measures dough strength, water absorption, mixing time, and stability

How flour is made Baking and usage