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Depending on how much you know about baking, the flour section of the grocery store can be either extremely exciting or completely terrifying. There are so many varieties—not just all-purpose flour and bread flour, but cake and pastry flours too (not to mention the ever-broadening selection of whole grain flours, bleached flour vs. unbleached, and so many more variables). Sorry if we just overwhelmed you. Today, we’ll focus on a few basics: the difference between all-purpose flour and bread flour. In case you couldn’t guess, they serve specific, slightly different functions.
Bread flour vs. all-purpose flour:
So what is bread flour and what sets it apart from all-purpose? It all starts with the type of wheat. Thousands of wheat varieties grow across the world, and each can be processed into a distinct type of flour. (Note: We’re just talking about white flour right now—we’ll save a discussion of whole wheat flour, rye, buckwheat, spelt, oat, and various nut flours for another time.)
One of the primary differences between various flours is the hardness of the wheat from which it was made. “Hardness” refers to the texture of the wheat—it’s determined by whether the endosperm, a.k.a. the protein-rich part of the kernel that’s milled into flour, is physically hard or soft. Hard wheat has a higher protein content, whereas soft wheat contains more starch and less protein.
Made from a mix of hard and soft wheat, all-purpose flour has a moderate amount of protein (9–11%). Meanwhile, the protein content of bread flour—made from hard wheat only—ranges from 11–13%. That small percentage jump might not seem significant, but it makes a big difference in the texture of your baked goods. That’s all thanks to a little something called gluten.
A type of protein in wheat (and some other grains), gluten gives baked goods structure, typically through kneading. Since bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, it’s able to develop more gluten. This leads to bread with more chew—a desirable characteristic in pizza dough, flatbread, or sourdough. Gluten also lends bread dough its stretch and elasticity, leading to loaves that rise high instead of blobs that fall flat.
Outside of bread baking, gluten development is generally considered enemy number one. While some gluten is necessary for the structure of many baked goods, too much will yield a dense, stodgy texture. That’s why most cake, cookie, and brownie recipes warn against overmixing—to ensure the gluten content stays low.
TL;DR: If you’re most interested in baking simple cakes, cookies, and the occasional batch of muffins or quick breads, all-purpose flour will work for the majority of your projects. But if you’re interested in bread baking, you might want to consider keeping a bag of bread flour in your pantry.
Do all bread recipes require bread flour?
Sourdough boules, bagels, and your basic loaf of bread all rely on the high protein level of bread flour to develop a strong gluten network. But not all homemade bread recipes call for bread flour. When it’s an ultra-tender, fluffy bread dough we’re after—as in our recipes for no-knead focaccia, challah, and cinnamon rolls—we reach for all-purpose (AP) flour. AP flour can provide adequate structure to delicate bread doughs while keeping them soft and plush. There are some exceptions to this rule: BA’s Best Bread recipe calls for AP flour—specifically King Arthur all-purpose flour, which contains 11% protein (higher than most other brands)—but makes a hardy, crusty loaf. That’s why it’s part of BA’s Best—you can make it anytime, even if you don’t keep a fully stocked bread pantry.
Wait, what about bread flour vs. cake flour…and pastry flour too?
Glad you asked. Bread and AP flour aren’t the only labels you’ll see in the baking aisle: There are also low-protein flours specifically engineered for cakes and pastries. Whereas bread is supposed to be chewy (and therefore chock full of gluten), cake is supposed to be fluffy and tender. Accordingly, cake flour is low in protein, usually around 9%. Pastry flour has an even lower protein content than cake flour, clocking in at around 8%, and is mostly used to make pie crusts, biscuits, and scones—anything where you want a tender, crumbly, or flaky texture. In a pinch, feel free to swap cake or pastry flour for AP flour in recipes where tenderness is desirable (like pancakes), but not for sturdier doughs like flatbreads.
Can I swap one type of flour for another?
BA’s resident baking expert Shilpa Uskokovic says that if you’re out of bread flour, you can generally swap in unbleached all-purpose flour in a 1:1 ratio, but that you may need to reduce the amount of liquid to offset the decrease in protein. Hold about ¼ of the liquid back and add it slowly, paying attention to your recipe’s visual cues for guidance. Note that it must be unbleached flour: Bleaching softens the proteins even further, which could sabotage your dough.
Using bread flour in place of all-purpose flour is tricker. If you’re baking high-hydration bread—like a sourdough boule or pan de cristal—which requires a high protein content to develop its gluten network, Shilpa doesn’t recommend it. “The resulting loaf will be tight-crumbed and a bit squat,” she says. You should never attempt to swap bread flour into a recipe for baked goods in which a light, tender texture is desired. “I’d be comfortable subbing 1:1 in a recipe like drop cookies, which aren’t hinging on a tender, spongy crumb,” Shilpa says. If you’re baking cake or pastries, though, it’s worth a run to the store to pick up the right flour.
Generally speaking, Shilpa advises seeking out the type of flour called for in the recipe. “Someone worked very hard to create a recipe that works a certain way,” she says. “Using the wrong flour may lower your chances of success.”
