Farine de Blé Type 55 is also called “farine de planification” (planning flour), as the flours form the foundation of white bread, or it can be called “farine de ménage” (household flour.)
Some brands of flours in this category of French Flours, particularly commercial brands, will have Fava Bean Flour mixed in. Parisian bakers are particularly fond of blends in this category that have flour from Canadian hard wheat mixed in.
La farine ordinaire
The Farine de Blé Type 55 category includes the flour called “farine ordinaire.” Farine ordinaire is a flour that is not entirely white, and that is a bit lower in gluten. It needs sifting before using. The most popular flour, it can be used for bread, pie dough, pastries, etc. It is the closest that the French have to all-purpose or plain flour. The French term for this is “farine tout usage.”
Cooking Tips
For Type 55: try mixing some all-purpose (plain) flour into bread (strong) flour. Bread (strong) flour on its own is probably too strong for any French recipe. The highest protein content you’d want in a flour for French bread would be 12 to 12.5%, tops. You may also want to mix in some Fava Bean Flour (aka Broad Bean Flour), but only a very small amount: French flour has no more than 2% of Broad Bean Flour in it.)