Using Bread Flour in place of All-Purpose Flour.?

Question

We purchased a bulk quantity of bread flour for a breadmachine which we are just not using fast enough. I would like to learn more about substituting Bread Flour in recipes that call for All-Purpose flour.

Answer 1

Bread flour is made from a harder wheat than All purpose flour - it is specifically made to produce gluten - which makes bread dough elastic and allows it to rise but makes other baked goods tough. (on the other hand, cake flour is made from soft wheat and develops very little gluten. All purpose flour is in the middle.)If a recipe calls for minimal mixing (not using a beater or just stirring until combined) you should be able to use the bread flour since mixing is what develops the gluten. So I would not use it to make cakes but I might use it to make pancakes or muffins since they are only stirred together and left lumpy. Good luck with this.

Answer 2

What is the difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour? Can they be interchanged?

Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has very small amounts of malted barley flour and vitamin C or potassium bromate added. The barley flour helps the yeast work, and the other additive increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises and bakes. Bread flour is called for in many bread and pizza crust recipes where you want the loftiness or chewiness that the extra gluten provides. It is especially useful as a component in rye, barley and other mixed-grain breads, where the added lift of the bread flour is necessary to boost the other grains.

All-purpose flour is made from a blend of high- and low-gluten wheats, and has a bit less protein than bread flour — 11% or 12% vs. 13% or 14%. You can always substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour, although your results may not be as glorious as you had hoped. There are many recipes, however, where the use of bread flour in place of all-purpose will produce a tough, chewy, disappointing result. Cakes, for instance, are often made with all-purpose flour, but would not be nearly as good made with bread flour.

Answer 3

Bread flour contains more gluten (the protein that makes bread chewy) than AP flour. You can substitute AP flour, but you will end up with a different consistency.

Answer 4

You can cut bread with about 20& corn flour in recipes that do not require a high gluten flour.
I am a Chef and I have used this on a few occasions when all purpose was not available