Bread Flour Substitute
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If you want to make a recipe that calls for bread flour, and you don’t have any on hand, there’s a much more common flour that you can use as a substitute.
Just replace the bread flour that’s called for with the same amount of all-purpose flour, and continue with your recipe. It’s as easy as that.
How Will This Substitution Affect My Bread?
Bread flour has a bit more protein and gluten than all-purpose flour. This makes the bread rise a bit higher, and results in a slightly denser and chewier texture. But these differences are subtle. If you were to make a loaf of bread with bread flour and a second loaf with all-purpose flour, most people would be hard-pressed to spot the differences in rise and texture.
What will make a noticeable difference in your recipe – whether you use bread flour or all-purpose flour – is how you measure your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup, instead of using your measuring cup to scoop flour out of the bag. This will ensure that you aren’t adding more flour to the recipe than intended. Extra flour will make your bread dense and dry.
The Difference in Bread Flour and All-Purpose Flour By the Numbers
Bread flour contains 12-14% protein
All-purpose flour contains 8-11% protein
The amount of protein varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. If you use King Arthur Flour, there’s only 1% difference in protein between their bread flour and all-purpose flour – 12.7% versus 11.7%.
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Bread Flour Substitute
Here’s the best substitute for bread flour, when you don’t have any on hand, and don’t want to run to the store.
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: Varies
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
Instructions
Replace the bread flour 1:1 with all-purpose flour. Then, follow your recipe as written.
Notes
All-purpose flour has a bit less protein and gluten, so your bread may not rise quite as high, or come out as chewy as you’re used to. Any differences will be subtle, though.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Ingredient Substitutions
- Method: Measure
- Cuisine: Global
Keywords: bread flour substitute
