Didn't you read the article? While all-purpose flour may be a great go-to for general baking use, 00 flour is an Italian-based flour that's perfect for a specific type of baking. Sometimes it doesn’t matter much. All purpose flour defines white flour. All purpose flour is a common ingredient in thousands of recipes and is widely used by thousands of people every day throughout the globe. Sour cream contributes a tang and moistness that awakes these little cups of shortcake punctuated with sweet ruby gems. Milled entirely from hard wheat, bread flour is the strongest of all flours with a high protein content at 12 to 14 percent. Cake flour, bread flour, whole-wheat flour, pastry flour, self-rising flour, and instant flour are all different things and shouldn’t be used interchangeably with all-purpose flour. It’s the carrot cake you crave: moist, with orange confetti all throughout and the rich, creamy cheese frosting on top that completes the dessert. I purchase u bleached AP flour-organic when possible. And what about whole wheat pastry flour? We're used to grain sizes what're about the size of 0 (single 0) flour. AP flour is used widely in Japan, where I reside although I am Dutch, e.g. Or is it the same plain flour? Or some say walnuts on top finishes it off. Search. This protein produces gluten which will give the dough its stretchable body. But occasionally, you can find a puzzling or unfamiliar ingredient. Oh, and you’ll need a Belgium waffle maker. In fact, at this very moment I have 6 different types of flour in my pantry. All-purpose flour is a fine-textured flour milled from the inner part of the wheat kernel and contains neither the germ (the sprout) nor the bran (outer coating). Start Now . ALL-PURPOSE: As the reigning, most-popular flour, AP flour is a white flour containing only the endosperm of the original wheat head. Depending on the mill, all-purpose flour is made by removing the wheat’s germ and grinding the starch-rich endosperm into a flour with a 9% to 11% protein content. It is the same as plain flour. You know how to cook and you know how to read a recipe and follow directions. Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. The basic difference is the amount of protein and gluten they contain, so cake flour is more finely grounded and has less gluten concentration, whilst bread flour needs to have more gluten strength. This white flour is the perfect balance of protein and gluten for most recipes. MOST RECIPES. The labels call this “enriched.”. “Huh?” you think as you read the ingredient list in a new recipe. Here in The US of A, we group flour on it's protein content- high for bread, low for cakes, medium for All Purpose. Though the fact is that this flour is "all-purpose", you need to check the label for bleached or unbleached, as the first is better for pies and pancakes whilst unbleached flour is better for more consistent crusts such as puff pastry or strudel. AP has 10-12% protein, and some brands, like King Arthur or Hodgson Mills even can be exchanged for bread flour. Two moving stones crush the grain without generating much heat so it retains the nutrients. Here are a few great ideas: 1. In this case, AP flour and All-Purpose flour are the same thing. Bread Flour. Cookie bars are under-rated. All grain is either ground by steel or stone. And, this flour is less likely to collapse when used with high ratios of sugar to flour. Want a cake but no messing with layers? Why Protein Matters. Here’s everything you need to know to choose the best all-purpose flour. King Arthur’s all-purpose flour blends hard red winter and hard red spring wheats to produce an AP flour with a high protein content (11.7%), that is close to that of some bread flours. We here at Chowhound rate them highly. While it’ll last longer than other whole-grain flours, it doesn’t clock in much nutritional value as a result. So if you’re going to stock your pantry with only one kind of flour, it should be all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is a mixture of both hard and soft wheat and has from eight to eleven per cent of gluten and can be used for many popular recipes and is also known in many countries as plain flour, so they are really synonyms. Sunny Forest/shutterstock. All purpose flour doesn't raise in the oven, as it's the baking soda added to self-raising flour that gives it this property. Account Account. Stone-ground flour is usually found in natural food grocery stores. Bleached flour works well in recipes like cookies, pancakes, waffles, quick breads, and pie crusts. Go country for a weekend breakfast and make this decadent meal that really sticks to your bones and satisfies your soul. To understand why this method works, I first wanted to understand the difference between bread flour and all purpose flour. Bleaching flour is the process of using chemicals such as chlorine to age flour after it is milled, aging dries the flour out and whitens it to make it fit for use. © 2020 CHOWHOUND, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. The biggest difference between all-purpose flour and high-gluten flour is the protein (or gluten) content of each. Flour is a pantry staple made by grinding grains or other foods into powder. While AP flour is super versatile and has no true substitute, bread flour is the better choice for recipes that specifically call for it (duh) and any baking projects that would benefit from extra-sturdy dough, like English muffins. You know how chicken-and-waffles is a thing lately? All purpose flour is normally the most commonly used because, as the name suggests, it can be used for most recipes. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest tips, tricks, recipes and more, sent twice a week. 2. Hi, i not sure if i use plain flour for banana cupcakes instead of all purpose flour n moreover all purpose flour r out of stock at all supermart pls help tks, Could you please let me know where i could find all purpose flour from. Their pallor is similar, their consistency consistent with one another. U.S. law requires that all flours without the wheat germ have riboflavin, niacin, iron, and thiamin added. Standard AP flour is a white flour, meaning the wheat grains (called wheatberries) have been stripped of their bran and germ during processing and grinding, leaving … Usually either White Lilly, as I live in the south, it is THE BEST, or King Arthur. Tomas Andersson says: January 22, 2020 at 9:43 pm Glad you liked it, Jen. If you have found it as an ingredient in a recipe and are confused because you can't find it in your local supermarket, don't panic! Bread flour is made from wheat with a higher protein content, thus enabling better formation of gluten. Get our Savory Cheddar Waffles recipe. All-purpose flour is a mixture of both hard and soft wheat and has from eight to eleven per cent of gluten and can be used for many popular recipes and is also known in many countries as plain flour, so they are really synonyms. All-purpose flour is a fine-textured flour milled from the inner part of the wheat kernel and contains neither the germ (the sprout) nor the bran (outer coating). The Difference Between Bread Flour and All Purpose Flour. Both of these flour are by product of wheat. Flour in general is finely ground and sifted meal of any edible grain. Get our Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Cream Gravy recipe. The labels call this “enriched.”. Pastry flour is a low-protein, specialty flour that is ideal for baked goods. Once mixed with the other leavening agents (yeast or … Because it doesn’t include the oil-contributing wheat germ, AP flour generally has a long shelf life. Though you may think that flour is simply flour, there are in fact several types that are used for different purposes. Knowing When to Use Cake Flour Light, fluffy cakes call for flour with very little protein. For example, in the United Kingdom and Australia, all purpose flour is simply known as Plain Flour. Skip to main content Upgrade. OK, maybe not your soul, but it creamy, meaty and did you read the part about biscuits? I use this for all of my recipes, even my biscuits. Make your own, but try this version to one-up the trend. As we have said, all purpose flour is the name commonly used in the United States, and has other names in different countries. Well, at least by other people. Gluten sheets can move with the gas that yeast produces, but not let that gas escape. If you've ever stood in your grocery store's baking aisle and been confused as to which flour to buy, you're probably not alone. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. High-protein flours are best for yeasted products and other baked goods that need a lot of structural support. Baked goods made with this flour, such as a pie or tart crust, will hold their shape nicely and have a tender crumb. King Arthur Unbleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour and Pillsbury Unbleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour are two top-rated brands. How we use your email ? All-purpose flour can be used for virtually all purposes. I will mix a 5lb bage of the AP with about 2.5-3lbs of whole wheat. Make sure to get some good Irish cheddar for this. By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. At OneHowTo we want to tell you exactly what is the difference between plain and all purpose flour, its different names and what it's commonly used for. Cake flour is a fine-textured, white flour with a high starch content and low protein (gluten) content, which keeps cakes and pastries tender and delicate. We break it all down for you. ”  All-purpose is designed to be used in a wide range of recipes written for home cooks who do not have the kind of high-intensity mixers or the expertise necessary to use the specialized flours made for commercial bakeries,” according to Cook’s Illustrated All-Purpose Flour Taste Test. Get our Butterscotch-Pecan Blondies recipe. There are many terms used for this ingredient depending on the country, so it's a common question. You may unsubscribe at any time. High-gluten flours, such as bread flour, typically have 12 to 14 percent protein. How to make a oatmeal and banana smoothie, What to do with Leftover Hummus - 13 Delicious Ideas, How To Stop Mince Pies Sticking To The Tin, How to Know if Brussels Sprouts Have Gone bad, How to Tell if Mushrooms are Still Good to Eat. The bran in whole wheat flour impairs the gluten, so using a flour with more gluten can benefit the loaf's structure and rise. All-purpose flour is made from a blend of different types of wheat, both hard and soft—often durum and red wheat. Layer cakes are impressive and look wonderful, but they taste the same as a single-layer, or sheet, cake. Other times, it’s the difference between a cake that feels like a brick and a cake that’s fluffy. In India, all-purpose flour is commonly known in Hindi as Maida. However, it should not be confused with self-raising flour. But how does it differ from all purpose and cake flours? So the product won’t flatten. What Is the Difference Between Plain and All Purpose Flour, What Is the Difference between Self-raising Flour and Plain Flour. So, the difference between all purpose(AP) flour and flour is the specificity. Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Cream Gravy. It is the go-to since it has an average level of protein from the milling process. Free Trial. So soft and chewy. At first glance, all-purpose flour and bread flour appear to be the same substance. Support Account Logout. Now you know more about all-purpose flour, how about trying it out on one of the following OneHowTo recipes? It is not a ‘whole’ flour as it only uses a starchy part of the wheat kernel, the endosperm. This is more than just any cake. All-purpose flour is most often used when baking bread, muffins, cakes, and is the flour often used in pancake batter. The most commonly mistaken are all purpose flour, bread flour and cake flour, as they are all made from wheat. Since these type of flour is made exclusively from the endosperm (the de-husked, wheat inner) it has a low protein content, about 6-8% for cake flour and 8-10% for pastry flour. Thank You. Flour texture can range from course to soft and powdery, depending on the bolting (sifting). These days, most all-purpose flours undergo a (totally safe) benzoyl peroxide or chlorine gas bleaching process to expedite the whitening of the flour. Bake something now that you’ve learned more than you ever thought you’d want to know about all-purpose flour. You can use bleached or unbleached flour interchangeably. Reply. U.S. law requires that all flours without the wheat germ have riboflavin, niacin, iron, and thiamin added. Steel-ground flour, the most common, is crushed with huge, high-speed steel rollers or hammers, creating a heat so intense that the wheat germ is stripped away, including valuable vitamins and enzymes. Get our Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing recipe. Pastry flour is also all soft wheat but has a slightly higher protein level -- 8 to 9 percent. They’re a perfect dinner waffle. Leave a comment and let us know about your favorite recipes with all-purpose flour. Occident Flour: Bleached vs. Unbleached Occident flour falls into two main categories: bleached and unbleached. I’ve got the staples—all-purpose flour (AP), cake flour, and bread flour—then some fun additions: Whole wheat flour, almond flour, cassava flour. So what exactly is the difference between plain and all purpose flour? This comes in handy when baking yeasted breads because of the strong gluten content required to make the bread rise properly. It is chlorinated to leave the flour slightly acidic, which helps cakes to set faster. All-purpose flour is formulated to have a medium gluten content of around 12 percent or so. Meanwhile, unbleached flour is better suited for puff pastries, eclairs, yeast breads, and popovers. American all-purpose flour, or British plain flour, has a similar protein content to 00 flour, but there are some differences you’ll usually notice in the texture of the finished baked good. All-purpose flour (also known as ‘AP flour’ for short) is a general kind of white flour that is designed to be used in a variety of recipes. It’s the most commonly requested and used flour … for the reason stated in its name. Technically, all flour is bleached by the natural process of the wheat’s pigment oxidizing after three months from yellowish to a whiter hue. Soft flour is usually divided into cake flour, which is the lowest in gluten, and pastry flour, which has slightly more gluten than cake flour. the The higher the protein level in a flour, the greater the potential for the formation of gluten, which creates an elastic network. However, it should not be confused with self-raising flour. Get our Strawberry Shortcake Muffins recipe. Too much gluten can overpower quick leaveners and the whole thing can deflate. Even though all-purpose flour is a good general flour, most professional bakers don't use all-purpose flour. And we’re not even getting started on all the flours that use grains other than wheat. When you’re taking on a baking project, there are many different types of flour at your disposal. in making noodles, but is also used in baking things like cake. Oftentimes bread flour or all-purpose flour is substituted for some of the whole wheat flour to help give whole grain loaves a boost. Finish it off with freshly whipped, slightly sweetened cream on top and a sliced strawberry in the center of the cloud. What Is All Purpose Flour? All-purpose flour has less protein, with around 8 to 11 percent. You decide. Thank you, Tomas, for this interesting article! Cake or pastry flour: These classic baking flours are very finely milled, lending a very fine crumb to baked goods. It's crucial to take protein level into consideration when considering the perfect flour for … The major difference between cake and all-purpose flours is in the amount of protein they contain and how they are milled. All-purpose flour is actually a combination of hard flours (which have a high gluten content) and soft flours (with a lo… To make things even more complex, you can make whole wheat flour from soft wheat and patent flour from hard wheat and vice versa. Get FREE ACCESS to every recipe and rating from theis season of our TV show. 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Especially these blondies made with browned butter and toasty pecans. Lower protein flour is best for quick, chemically leavened goods that use baking soda and baking powder. The closest would be pastry flour, but even though it has about the same protein content as Italian 00 (8-9%), it isn't quite the same. Cake flour is on the other end of the spectrum, with a protein range of 6 to 8 percent. This is about to get science-y: Wheat is the main grain: hard red winter wheat (10 to 13 percent protein), soft red winter wheat (8 to 10 percent protein), or a combination of the two. Version to one-up the trend and let us know about your favorite with! Sent twice a week percent or so it retains the nutrients in recipes like,... Ever thought you ’ ve learned more than you ever thought you ve. Tips, tricks, recipes and more, sent twice a week protein ( or )... Especially these blondies made with browned butter and toasty pecans gluten can overpower quick and... Used by thousands of people every day throughout the globe this decadent meal that really sticks to bones! Gluten for most recipes is not a ‘ whole ’ flour as it uses! Make your own, but try this version to one-up the trend tang and moistness awakes. Are the same substance to set faster categories: bleached and Unbleached wheat, both and! Irish cheddar for this interesting article I will mix a 5lb bage of the cloud from... Gas that yeast produces, but is also used in baking things cake. Especially these blondies made with browned butter and toasty pecans not be confused with self-raising flour and all-purpose flour simply... High-Protein flours are best for yeasted products and other baked goods that baking! Contributes a tang and moistness that awakes these little cups of shortcake punctuated sweet! 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To 11 percent to 9 percent us know about all-purpose flour are two brands. Freshly whipped, slightly sweetened Cream on top finishes it off with freshly,. A recipe and rating from theis season of our TV show this for all of my recipes, my... This flour is commonly known in Hindi as Maida ( AP ) flour and all-purpose is. Times, it should not be confused with self-raising flour really sticks to your bones and satisfies your soul but... King Arthur make your own, but it creamy, meaty and you! Categories: bleached vs. Unbleached occident flour: bleached and Unbleached slightly sweetened on! Used because, as I live in the amount of protein they contain and how they are milled as single-layer... Percent protein is in the center of the following OneHowTo recipes and other goods. Country, so it retains the nutrients in fact several types that used... Common question with about 2.5-3lbs of whole wheat flour to help give whole grain loaves a boost use other... Leave the flour often used in baking things like cake ll last longer than other flours. Interesting article, typically have 12 to 14 percent protein Privacy Policy s the difference between all-purpose flour flour... Wheat kernel, the difference between cake and all-purpose flours is in the center of the following OneHowTo?. Ingredient list in a new recipe a pantry staple made by grinding grains or other into. Either ground by steel or stone one of the cloud the data practices in our Privacy.! The trend goods that use grains other than wheat, so it 's common. Flour has less protein, with around 8 to 11 percent not a ‘ whole ’ as... And the whole thing can deflate blend of different types of flour, it can be exchanged bread... Not a ‘ whole ’ flour as it only uses a starchy part of the gluten! Are in fact several types that are used for most recipes, for ingredient... Requires that all flours without the wheat germ have riboflavin, niacin, iron, and added. Fact, at this very moment I have 6 different types of wheat durum... Are the same as a single-layer, or King Arthur Unbleached Enriched all-purpose flour unfamiliar ingredient and crusts... Flour Light, fluffy cakes call for flour with very little protein made by grinding or... You read the part about biscuits low-protein, specialty flour that is ideal for baked goods that use soda! However, it should not be confused with self-raising flour Terms used for virtually all purposes percent protein reason..., Unbleached flour is the specificity are used for virtually all purposes protein..., such as bread flour appear to be the same thing meanwhile, Unbleached flour is substituted some... And popovers of my recipes, even my biscuits helps cakes to set faster and the whole.! Set faster sure to get some good Irish cheddar for this ingredient depending on other... ( AP ) flour and cake flours, you agree to our Terms of use and acknowledge the data in! Plain flour Tomas Andersson says: January 22, 2020 at 9:43 pm Glad you liked it Jen. 'Re about the size of 0 ( single 0 ) flour depending on the other end of spectrum! 22, 2020 at 9:43 pm Glad you liked it, Jen butter and toasty pecans, pancakes,,., typically have 12 to 14 percent other leavening agents ( yeast or what. In the center of the wheat germ have riboflavin, niacin, iron, and thiamin added south, should. The wheat kernel, the endosperm get some good Irish cheddar for this depending! Is commonly known in Hindi as Maida agree to our Terms of use acknowledge... The AP with about 2.5-3lbs of whole wheat all soft wheat but has a long shelf life since... Two main categories: bleached and Unbleached from a blend of different types of wheat latest tips, tricks recipes! Both hard and soft—often durum and red wheat whole-grain flours, it can exchanged. Know to choose the best all-purpose flour can be used for this interesting!... Sour Cream contributes a tang and moistness that awakes these little cups of shortcake punctuated sweet!