Is Canadian 'All Purpose' flour the same as British 'Self Raising' Flour, or 'Plain' Flour?

Question

Just moved out to Canada and need to start baking!
Does 'All Purpose' flour = Self Raising or Plain flour?

Answer 1

all purpose flour is a combination of pastry and bread flours, bread flour having more gluten, pastry having less, therefor it should be good for making either type item. however it is defidently not "self rising" so it is closer to what you say is "plain flour"

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

All-purpose is the same as plain flour; self-rising flour has baking powder and salt added.

Answer 4

Types of flour

Wheat flour

The vast majority of today's flour consumption is wheat flour.

Wheat varieties are typically known as, variously, "white" or "brown" if they have high gluten content, and "soft" or "weak flour" if gluten content is low. Hard flour, or "bread" flour, is high in gluten and so forms a certain toughness that holds its shape well once baked. Soft flour is comparatively low in gluten and so results in a finer texture. 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.

All-purpose flour is a blended wheat flour with an intermediate gluten level which is marketed as an acceptable compromise for most household baking needs.

In terms of the parts of the grain (the grass seed) used in flour—the endosperm or starchy part, the germ or protein part, and the bran or fiber part—there are three general types of flour. White flour is made from the endosperm only. Whole grain flour is made from the entire grain including bran, endosperm, and germ. A germ flour is made from the endosperm and germ, excluding the bran.

Whole-wheat flour is whole-grain wheat flour.

Bleached flour is flour that was subjected to flour bleaching agents in order to whiten it (freshly milled flour is yellowish) and give it more gluten-producing potential. Similar effect can be achieved by letting the flour slowly oxidize with oxygen in the air ("natural aging"); however this process is too slow to be commercially viable. Oxidizing agents are therefore employed, most commonly organic peroxides like acetone peroxide or benzoyl peroxide, nitrogen dioxide, or chlorine.

Bromated flour is flour with a maturing agent added. The agent's role is to help with developing gluten, a role similar to the flour bleaching agents. Bromate is usually used. Other choices are phosphates, ascorbic acid, and malted barley.

Cake flour is a finely milled flour made from soft wheat. It has very low gluten content, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher gluten content of other flours would make the cakes tough.

Graham flour is a special type of whole-wheat flour. The endosperm is finely ground, as in white flour, while the bran and germ are coarsely ground. Graham flour is uncommon outside of the USA. It is the basis of true graham crackers. Many graham crackers on the market are actually imitation grahams because they do not contain graham flour or even whole-wheat flour.

Pastry flour (also called cookie flour or cracker flour) has slightly higher gluten content than cake flour, but lower than all-purpose flour. It is suitable for fine, light-textured pastries.

Self-rising or self-raising flour is "white" wheat flour that is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents. It was invented by Henry Jones.

Answer 5

All purpose is equal to Plain Flour. Self rising has some rising agent, I believe.

Answer 6

British flour is used mainly for cakes and biscuits.
Canadian flour is used mainly for bread.

Answer 7

Canadian All Purpose Flour