Bread Flour vs All-Purpose Flour: Bread Flour for Chew, All-Purpose for Tender
Bread flour vs all-purpose flour comes down to one number: protein. Bread flour runs 12 to 14%, and all-purpose runs 10 to 12%. More protein makes more gluten, and more gluten gives you a stronger, chewier dough. Use bread flour when you want chew and structure, and all-purpose when you want something tender.
Drafted with AI assistance; reviewed and edited by me.
When to use each
Bread flour is for sourdough and other yeasted loaves, pizza dough, bagels, and sandwich bread.
All-purpose is for cakes and muffins, pancakes and waffles, most cookies, pie crust, and quick breads like banana bread and cornbread.
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For holiday baking, that means pie crust, cookies, and quick breads get all-purpose. Dinner rolls and sandwich loaves do well with bread flour, and the butter, eggs, and milk in them keep them soft.
Can you substitute one for the other?
- Using bread flour in a bread recipe written for all-purpose usually improves it. The dough will be stiffer, so add 1 to 2 teaspoons of extra water per cup of flour. You’ll get a chewier, more open crumb.
- Using all-purpose when a recipe calls for bread flour works too. Expect a denser loaf with a tighter crumb and a paler crust. That’s fine for sandwich bread, but you’ll notice it in sourdough.
- Don’t put bread flour in cakes, muffins, or pancakes. They’ll come out tough and bready.
- If you’re out of cake flour, measure a cup of all-purpose, take out 2 tablespoons, and replace them with cornstarch.
Check the label
Protein varies by brand even within the same type. King Arthur bread flour is about 12.7%. King Arthur all-purpose is 11.7%, which is high for all-purpose, so it handles bread better than most all-purpose flours.
Two more habits
Weigh your flour. A scooped cup can weigh 20 to 30 grams more than a spooned and leveled one, and that throws off your dough more than switching flours does.
Let stubborn pizza dough rest. Bread flour builds gluten fast. If the dough keeps springing back when you stretch it, cover it and give it 15 to 20 minutes before trying again.
The full comparison on the Chefitt blog also covers pastry flour, cake flour, and 00: Bread Flour vs All-Purpose: Which One Actually Wins?
I’m Clayton Redmon, a CIA-trained chef and the founder of Chefitt. I send out one chef technique a week in the Chefitt newsletter.
