Glyphosate-Free Flour: Choosing the Best for Your Family’s Health
Like everyone else in the world, I started baking sourdough during Covid.
That journey led me to learn way more than I ever expected about the various health benefits (and drawbacks) of flour. As a home baker and health-conscious parent, I’ve struggled with the challenge of finding healthy flour options I can afford.
In particular, I was looking for glyphosate-free flour. Organic flours are very costly, and milling grain at home is time-consuming and requires expensive equipment that I don’t own!
In college, I lived abroad in France for a year. I ate so much bread there and it never caused any issues like weight gain or bloating. One day I remembered my experience there, and started looking into European flours. Surely they were different!
In my search for a practical solution, I discovered Italian double zero (00) flour! Due to stringent European Union regulations on pesticide residues, including glyphosate, Italian flours meet much higher safety standards than flours produced in the USA.
By purchasing Italian 00 flour in bulk online, I’ve found a cost-effective and healthy alternative for my family. This switch has not only improved the quality of my baking (say hello to decadent and fluffy baking results!!) but also offered peace of mind, knowing I’m using a product that supports our health goals.
Table of Contents
Why Glyphosate-free flour?
The safety of glyphosate is hotly contested. Personally—I try to stay on the safe side of things when I can! So I try to use glyphosate-free flour. Some health concerns with glyphosate are:
- increased cancer risk
- link to kidney and liver damage
- Neurotoxic effects causing oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction
Thanks…but no thanks.
Glyphosate Regulations: Italy vs USA – Ensuring Healthy Wheat Flour
In the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows up to 30 parts per million glyphosate in wheat grain crops. I recently learned that it is very common in the U.S. for farmers to spray glyphosate (round up) as a pre-harvest treatment to uniformly dry crops like wheat, which makes harvesting easier. Even though the EPA says this practice is fine—Sorry, I just don’t believe it.
Even in American organic flours it’s easier to have unintended contamination, because the use of glyphosate is so wide spread! Factors such as drift from nearby conventional farms, contaminated water sources, or shared equalities can lead to trace amounts of glyphosate even in supposedly glyphosate-free flour.
Meanwhile, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regulates glyphosate much more heavily. Italian farmers are allowed to use glyphosate for field preparation before sowing, but not during the growing season. So while it’s not completely banned, it is very strictly regulated.
Technically there is a 10 parts per million limit for glyphosate residues in wheat grain in the European Union. However, a report in 2022 found that 98% of food samples analyzed did not contain any quantifiable levels of glyphosate. So it’s safe to assume that glyphosate levels are basically zero in Italian flour due to the farming practices there.
Can I substitute Italian 00 Flour for All-Purpose Flour?
We could not believe how much more delicious these biscuits were with Italian double zero flour vs all purpose flour!
Yes!! Just look for Italian flour that is “00” and marketed for pizza dough. I’ll go into my reasoning below:
“00” indicates how finely the flour is milled. Italian 00 flour is very fine, and will make your baked goods incredibly tender and fluffy! After baking with it for a while, I can tell you that it’s worth making the switch just for how delicious your baking will taste now!
The “W value” of Italian flour refers to its protein content. For everyday home baking, you want a w value of 200 and above. However, I have found it very difficult to actually locate the w value of Italian flours. Since a higher protein content is required for making pizza doughs, by default any Italian 00 flour that is marketed for pizza dough will have a high enough protein content to substitute for all-purpose flour.
Cost of Italian Double Zero Flour
I was able to purchase my Italian 00 flour on Amazon at $0.07 per ounce. The price might change, so I’ve put the link to my favorite italian flour below!
How to store Italian 00 Flour to maintain freshness and Nutritional Value
I have a small family, and I don’t like buying so far ahead in bulk that we might waste ingredients.
I purchased a 55lb bag of Italian flour and portioned it out into gallon sized ziplock bags using a 1 cup measuring cup. Each gallon sized ziplock bag ended up with a little less than the equivalent of a 5lb bag of flour.
We have a chest freezer, and I stored the flour in there.
Switching to Italian 00 flour is not just a practical choice for your wallet, it’s a healthy and flavorful option for your baking! With strict glyphosate regulations in Italy and its versatility as a substitute for all-purpose flour, this flour can elevate your sourdough bread, pizzas, and more. I hope this guide has been helpful!
If you’ve read this far and are interested to know, click here to learn about my very favorite ways to improve my health and my family’s!
As always, let me know in the comments if you have any questions or stories to share!
Disclaimers
The information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. I am not a licensed medical professional, and the content shared here should not be used as a substitute for professional medical guidance, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider, midwife, or physician regarding your specific circumstances and any medical decisions. Reliance on any information provided in this blog is solely at your own risk.
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