Russian Wheat Flour Grades Explained: Premium vs First Grade

Russian wheat flour is sorted by milling grade, and the two most-traded grades for B2B buyers are premium (the highest, whitest, finest flour with the lowest ash) and first grade (a slightly higher-ash, strong-yield flour for everyday baking). Premium suits white bread, buns, confectionery and pasta; first grade suits daily baking and flatbreads. A separate high-gluten grade serves noodles and dumplings, and semolina covers pasta and porridge. Choosing correctly comes down to matching ash, protein and granulation to your end product. For the exact specification of any grade, leave a request via the form on the site and our export desk will send batch figures.

What "grade" actually measures

In the Russian system, flour grade is driven mainly by extraction and ash content — how much of the whole grain ends up in the flour, and how much bran and germ remain:

• Lower ash = higher, whiter grade (more endosperm, less bran).
• Higher ash = lower grade (more of the grain retained, darker, more mineral-rich).

Protein and gluten strength then determine baking behaviour on top of grade. This is why two flours of the same grade can still differ in strength, and why you should read the specification, not just the grade name.

Premium vs first grade at a glance

Parameter	Premium (highest grade)	First grade
Colour	Whitest, brightest	Slightly creamier
Ash content	Lowest	Slightly higher
Granulation	Finest	Fine, marginally coarser
Typical protein	Suited to fine baking	Strong, versatile
Best for	White bread, buns, cakes, pastry, pasta	Everyday bread, flatbreads, general baking
Yield economics	Premium look and crumb	Excellent cost-to-performance

Both grades come from the same hard Altai wheat milled at JSC Tabunsky Elevator (brand Grana). Browse the full wheat flour range to compare.

When to choose premium

Choose premium when appearance and fine texture matter:

• White pan and tin bread where a bright crumb is expected.
• Buns, sweet doughs, confectionery and cakes needing a soft, fine texture.
• Pasta and fine noodles where colour and clean flavour count.

Premium's low ash gives the whitest crumb and cleanest taste, which is why it's the default for retail-facing bakery and confectionery lines.

When to choose first grade

Choose first grade when you want strong performance at a better price point:

• Everyday bread and rolls produced at volume.
• Flatbreads, lavash and tortillas.
• General-purpose baking in industrial kitchens and food factories.

First grade delivers reliable dough strength and yield with a marginally higher ash, making it the workhorse grade for high-throughput production.

Beyond the two main grades

• High-gluten wheat flour — a stronger, high-protein flour for hand-pulled noodles, dumpling wrappers, pizza and artisan bread. See the wheat flour range.
• Semolina — coarse middlings for pasta, semolina porridge and sweets.
• Oat flakes "Hercules" and "Extra", groats and cereals for breakfast and food-processing lines.
• Wheat bran and feed products — by-products of milling, exported under the same accreditation.

How grade is verified

Grade is only meaningful if it's proven. At our mill:

• An in-house laboratory measures ash, protein/gluten, moisture, falling number, whiteness and safety parameters per batch.
• A test bakery confirms real baking performance, so the grade on the certificate matches production results.
• Flour has been supplied to the standard of the UN World Food Programme, and the mill is a CIFER/GACC-accredited exporter. See quality and export.

Frequently asked questions

Is premium always "better" than first grade? Not necessarily — premium is whiter and finer, but first grade offers strong performance at a better cost. "Better" depends on your end product.

Which grade should I import for white bread into Asia? Premium for a bright crumb; high-gluten if you need strong, elastic dough for noodles and dumplings. Request specs for both and compare.

Can I get the exact ash and protein figures? Yes — our laboratory issues batch figures. Request them before contracting.

Get the exact specification

Choosing between premium and first-grade Russian wheat flour comes down to ash, protein and your end product — bright and fine for retail baking, strong and economical for high-volume production. JSC Tabunsky Elevator (brand Grana), Altai, supplies both from a full-cycle mill with laboratory-verified specs and CIFER/GACC export accreditation. To receive batch specifications and a quotation for the grade you need, leave a request via the form on the site.