What is the difference between all purpose flours, self rising flours and bleached and unbleached flours? Get the quick and simple answers here!
What’s The Difference Between Baking Flours?
Rose Asks:
What is the difference between all purpose flours, self rising flours and bleached and unbleached flours? Sometimes the bag just says flour… I want to start cooking from scratch but I am not sure of what flours I need to use. Thanks…
I’m glad you want to start cooking and baking from scratch. The good news is that it is really pretty easy to know the difference between baking flours and when to use each of them. I will include a brief description of each of them here.
I don’t go into the super scientific details, but rather the practical information you need to get cooking and baking fast! I hope this helps you understand the difference between all purpose flour, self-rising four and the other names you may see on flour bags!
All Purpose Flour, Bleached And Unbleached Flour
All purpose, bleached and unbleached flour can all be used interchangeably. The main difference is that unbleached flour has slightly more nutrients in it than the others. All purpose flour is what is used mostly in baking. For a beginning cook, I suggest you always use all purpose flour unless the recipe states otherwise.
Cake Flour
There are some differences in the type of wheat between cake flour and other flours, but the most important thing for you to know is that cake flour is ground more finely than other flour. Cake flour is also made of a particular type of flour that produces a softer texture, so it is often preferred by professionals for making baked goods with a super light and fluffy texture.
If a recipe calls for cake flour and you don’t have cake flour on hand, it is perfectly OK to substitute 2 tablespoons less of the cake flour per cup of all purpose flour. In other words if the recipe calls for 1 cup of cake flour then you can use 1 cup minus 2 Tbsp. of all purpose flour.
Self Rising Flour
Self rising flour already has the salt and leavening mixed into it. A lot of bakers don’t like to use self-rising flour because it can lose its potency. It is usually not recommended for bread. If you have a recipe that calls for self rising flour but you don’t have self rising flour on hand,
I could go into all the scientific details about protein percent, varieties of wheat and a lot of other details but it’s easy to get into information overload so I won’t. I have included the details you need to make most recipes. Too many details just discourages us from trying something because we are afraid to get mired in irrelevant details.
When A Package Just Says Flour
If you find a package of flour in the store that just says “flour”, it is generally all purpose flour. I hope your scratch cooking goes well!
Jill
Save Money On Groceries And Make Meals Easier! (Sale Up To 50% Off!)
Click here to get our Dining On A Dime Cookbooks SALE Up To 50% Off NOW! They’re filled with tasty recipes and tips to make your life easier!
oh my! thats me! … hehehehehehhee :D …. :D ….
You didn’t mention bread flour, which I think makes better homemade bread.
What about Bread flour…can I use this for other things..like cookies and such?
A simple definition is bread flour has extra gluten in it for more elasticity, for lighter fluffier bread. It is best to use all purpose flour for most things unless the recipe actually calls for bread flour. Also, bread flour is more expensive than all purpose flour so I try to save where I can.
I just use whole wheat flour. I haven’t had any trouble at all! I even use it in white sauce! I save the white flour for crafts, same for white rice.
In Canada, all purpose flour is made with a particular wheat that is high in gluten, and so works well for breads or most other kinds of baking. Buying bread flour separately really makes no sense here, because it will be the same as Canadian grown, all purpose flour. You will just pay more for the “specialized” name on the flour. Cake flour is lighter and less dense than all purpose flour. However all purpose flour can be used if it is sifted just before using it. The general rule of thumb, is to use 2 tbsp. less per cup of all purpose flour and sift. This makes one cup of cake flour.
Thanks Mary Jane. That pretty much holds true here in the States too. I have baked bread for years and only used all purpose flour.
Thanks Jill
Is rose flour the same as plain flour. I am slightly short on plain flour. Can I make it up with rose flour?
Thank you
Rose flour is not the same as all purpose flour. It will cause a slightly different taste and texture in what you are making. It has a little corn flour in it. It depends on what you are making. For example you might be able to get by with it making corn bread, biscuits or muffins but probably not for pie crust or bread.
Ok, now I know this is an older thread. But! I am having a hard time not giving into food fears about bleached flour vs. unbleached. We really can’t afford unbleached truth be told.
Thanks for any information!
You know I am old enough now that if I had given into every food fear they have come up with I would have nothing left for me to eat. Let’s see there was you shouldn’t eat butter but should eat margarine, you shouldn’t eat eggs, salt, avocados or MSG. In around the 70’s, they said the restaurants could no longer use coconut oil because it was so bad for you and now people can’t get enough of it and on and on. My folks and many others I know have lived to be in their 90’s and are even living on their own and they have eaten bleached flour all of their life.
Most of the time when I research these things, even though their points sound impressive, we need to be aware if you really really research you will find that the people you are listening to have no real true studies or findings for what they say and about 95% of the things they say is either from something they heard from someone else on the internet or from a study that didn’t do a true test on these things.
Here is an example of how easily we are led on these things. A doctor went out for Chinese food and it made him sick. He came home and decided that it was the MSG in the food that he was having an allergic reaction to. He was famous and wrote a paper in the medical journals saying what he believed happened. From that moment on they started removing MSG from everything. Food prices went up because the food companies had to change their recipes in the things they made and substitute something else for MSG. About a year after this the doctor found out he was totally wrong, that you can’t really have an allergic reaction to MSG, but by that time it was too late. To this day people still think MSG is bad even though many many studies have proved it not to be true.
Your chances are better that you will get sick or die because of stress or stress related illnesses because of your worrying over these things than of anything that “they” say is in the food. Be careful jumping on these food and vitamin bandwagons. More often than not, they will lead you down a path you don’t want to go.
Oh…you are definitely (still) one of my favorite folks I haven’t met in person!!!
Thank you…truly.
God bless
Mrs.O
When a recipe calls for bread flour….is there a way to get around it? My pantry would be full of all these specialty flours otherwise.
I know what you mean Susanna. You don’t need to use bread flour, you can use all purpose regular flour. I have been cooking for over 50 yrs now and have never bought any special flour for anything I cook – just all purpose flour.
I’ve been baking bread for over 20 years and have experienced first hand that the most delicious bread really does come from bread flour. The same can be said about pita and lavash. Please forgive me generously, but the breads and pitas in American and Canadian stores don’t stand up to scrutiny.
I have been cooking for over 60 years & came across some flour labeled, baking flour. I like to try new things ,but have no idea what I bought now. I am familiar with the ones U have talked about, but I guess I was thinking, oh a nice flour just for bread, cakes etc. which is just what all purpose flour is. I am feeling a little foolish asking about this, but my curiosity is killing me. Have You used or heard of it? Oh, & thanks for the bread flour information, it is appreciated.
You aren’t foolish at all Anne as a matter of fact you might get a good laugh out of this. I had never heard of it either so googled it so I could find out for you. Not paying to much attention I clicked on one of the first sites to see what they said and it was my own post on our website. LOL Duhhh!!! Actually what I think it is is just another term for flour that has a different amount of protein or gluten in it. It makes the texture and such slightly different when you bake with it. Oh for the good old days when you had only 1-2 different flours. : ) No wonder people stay in a state of confusion now a days.
Can self rising flour be used when making gravy?
It is better if you don’t because the gravy can become too thick very quickly. If you are desperate though make a very very thin paste of it and add a small amount at a time slowly. Also if you have cornstarch you can use cornstarch in place of flour if you need to thicken things.
yes you can been doing it for years,it turns out fine.
What about almond flour, which I enjoy using to keep the carbs low.
What about whole wheat flours?
I am not sure what you are wondering about them Diana. We were mostly answering the lady’s question about what is the difference between all purpose, self-rising and cake flour. Whole wheat flour falls into a different category.
Oh I was wondering if you could sub whole wheat flour for regular flour or use half and half each to be healthier? Is it healthier? Sorry if this was not the place for this question. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to get words to make sense for other people. Haha
You have to be a little careful subbing whole wheat flour for regular in a recipe. It is best just to use a recipe for whole wheat bread. Whole wheat can make an extremely dense and heavy bread if not used right. If you do try subbing then always do half and half. As far are being healthier for you it is all in how you look at it. Nutrient wise they have the same nutrients. Wheat flour just has more fiber but at the same time if you are watching your fat and calorie intake wheat has way more calories and more fat than all purpose white flour. Part of the obesity problem we are having now is that people think certain foods are healthy so they can eat as much of it as they want (because they often think if it is healthy it has no calories?!?!) plus they often add more fat to help them taste better. So you need to really take an honest look at these things and research both sides of stuff. Hope this helps a little.