What Is All-purpose flour and How Can I Use It?
Here's everything worth knowing about all-purpose flour and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 14,100 recipes to cook tonight.
Key Points
- Protein decides texture: bread flour runs 12 to 14 percent, all-purpose 10 to 12, cake 7 to 9.
- Weigh it: a cup is 120 to 125 grams; scooping from the bag packs in about a quarter more.
- Stir batters until just combined; extra mixing builds gluten and toughens the crumb.
- Whole wheat flour carries oils that turn rancid; refrigerate or freeze it past three months.
What is all-purpose flour?
Flour is a whole category wearing one name. The bag labeled all-purpose is one point on a spectrum that runs from soft cake flour to high-protein bread flour, and where a flour sits on that spectrum decides how your baking turns out.
The protein is the part to watch. Wheat proteins form gluten when mixed with water, a stretchy network that traps gas from yeast or leavening; more protein means more chew, less means more tenderness.
More than 14,000 recipes on Recipeland call for flour in one form or another.
Picking the Right Type
- Bread flour, 12 to 14 percent protein: chewy loaves, bagels, pizza crust.
- All-purpose, 10 to 12 percent: cookies, pancakes, quick breads, Granny's Flour Tortillas.
- Cake flour, 7 to 9 percent: tender cakes and delicate pastry.
Swapping types without adjusting is the quiet killer of good recipes. A cake built on bread flour comes out dense and bready; bread built on cake flour cannot hold its rise.
When a recipe names a flour, that is the one it was tested with. Use it.
Measuring It
Buy a kitchen scale before any other baking gadget. A cup of flour should weigh 120 to 125 grams, and a scale is the only way to hit that number every time.
Without one, spoon the flour into the cup and level it with a knife. Scooping the cup straight into the bag compacts the flour and can pack in roughly a quarter more than the recipe wants, which is why so many "followed it exactly" cookies bake up dry.
Word order matters with sifting. "1 cup sifted flour" means sift first, then measure; "1 cup flour, sifted" means measure first. The difference is real, about 20 grams a cup.
Mixing and Resting
Stir batters until just combined and then stop. Every extra stroke develops gluten, and gluten is the difference between a tender muffin and a rubbery one.
Batters with time to rest behave better. Fifteen to thirty minutes lets the flour hydrate fully, so pancakes cook up softer and crepes stop tearing.
Flour also works outside of baking. Toasted slowly in butter it thickens and flavors sauces and soups; Basle Flour Soup builds an entire dish on flour browned to the color of chocolate.
Swapping Flours
Out of cake flour, make it: for each cup, measure all-purpose, remove 2 tablespoons, and replace them with cornstarch. There is a Cake Flour Substitute recipe on the site that walks through it.
Bread flour and all-purpose swap reasonably in both directions; expect a little less chew or a little less puff, not failure.
Gluten-free is a different project, not a substitution. Almond flour is dense and works where structure comes from eggs. Coconut flour drinks liquid, so use about ¼ the amount and add moisture. Oat flour is the gentlest swap for pancakes and quick breads.
Buying and Storing It
Buy bags you will finish in a few months. White flour keeps about a year in a sealed container in a cool cabinet, but it picks up odors and the occasional pantry moth, so a real lid beats a rolled-down bag.
Whole wheat flour is the exception. The germ and bran carry oils that go rancid at room temperature within about three months, so refrigerate or freeze it from the start.
Trust your nose. Sour, musty or sharp smells mean the flour is done, and stale flour drags every flavor in the recipe down with it.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup (125g)Where found
All-purpose flour is usually found in the baking supplies section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
Food group
Flour is a member of the Cereal Grains and Pasta US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
How much does all-purpose flour weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | 125 grams |
Related
Cereal Grains and Pasta
- In Chinese:
- 面粉，全功能
- British (UK) term:
- Flour
- en français:
- de farine tout usage
- en español:
- harina para todo uso
Recipes using all-purpose flour
There are 14100 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Quickand Easy Fudgey Brownies
Quick fudgy brownies made with unsweetened chocolate and butter melted in the microwave, with optional marshmallow chocolate frosting. The classic from-scratch fudgy brownie in one bowl.
Fried Leeks with Tarragon
An elegant and sophisticated appetizer that will impress your dinner guests and is ready in just 20 minutes. The leeks are trimmed, steamed, battered, and fried to a beautiful golden brown. The addition of tarragon and parsley adds a subtle yet delicious flavor to the dish. The result is a crispy and flavorful appetizer or side dish that is certain to wow your guests.
Very P-Nutty Muffins
Peanut butter banana muffins with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a swirl of sour cream for extra-tender crumb. Elvis-inspired snack muffins, freezer-friendly, ready in under an hour.
Jello Any-Fruit Cake
A soft cake bottom, with a fruit filled middle topped with a tantalizing cinnamon topping. Learning how to make Jello fruit cake that use any fruit you have on hand including summery rhubarb with strawberry gelatin.
Jello Any-Fruit Cake
A soft cake bottom, with a fruit filled middle topped with a tantalizing cinnamon topping. Learning how to make Jello fruit cake that use any fruit you have on hand including summery rhubarb with strawberry gelatin.
Easy Christmas Cutout Cookies
These Christmas cutout cookies are so easy for you and your kids to make together, and they taste so yummy too!
Easy Skillet Apple Pancakes
Fluffy skillet pancakes loaded with cinnamon-sugar apples cooked right into the batter. One pan, four gorgeous pancakes, minimal cleanup.
Potato & Scallion Casserole
A comforting and savory dish featuring layers of golden-brown potatoes and tender scallions, bound together with a creamy yogurt-egg sauce and baked to perfection. Ideal as a hearty side or a light main course.
Cheese & Corn Chowder
This simple, creamy, comforting chowder combines tender potatoes, sweet corn kernels, and cheese in a lightly spiced milk-based broth. It’s a quick, hearty soup perfect for chilly days, ready in about 30 minutes and serving 4 as a main dish.
Graham Wafers
These homemade graham wafers are crisp, lightly sweet, and perfect for snacking, crushing into crumbs for pie crusts, or pairing with spreads. Made with wholesome graham flour and a touch of vanilla, they bake up golden and delicious in just minutes.
White Chocolate Scones
White chocolate scones with heavy cream, cold butter, and generous chunks of white chocolate that go soft and creamy in the oven. Flaky, layered, and tender from keeping the butter cold.
Tom's Favourite Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Chocolate chip pancakes from scratch with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. Fluffy, kid-approved breakfast that hits the table in 30 minutes flat.
Veg Manchurian
Vegetable Manchurian was a great combo with Egg Fried Rice.We normally make Cauliflower Manchurian as a side dish for Fried Rice.This dish ends up being a clean up dish as you can add all your veggies that you might have left overs and tastes great.
Homemade Fish shaped Appetizer
Fish-shaped salmon pastries: buttery shortcrust hand pies cut into fish, filled with smoked salmon, potato, and onion, then decorated with pastry scales and baked golden. A playful, savory party appetizer kids love.
Delightful Vegan Brownies
Vegan brownies built on the Depression-era wacky cake method: no eggs, no butter, no milk. Vinegar and baking soda do the lifting for a fudgy, chewy chocolate brownie that mixes in one bowl.
Cinnamon Brownies
Cinnamon-spiked fudgy brownies with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and a cinnamon cocoa frosting on top. Mexican chocolate-inspired warm-spiced treat.
Peanut Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting
Peanut Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting recipe
Homemade Birthday Gift for Kids
Birthday are always happening year round.There are many items that you can give as gifts.But homemade gift is very special.It is tasty and nutritious gift for a kids party.
Almost Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes
Whole wheat apple pancakes blend half whole-wheat and half white flour with milk, eggs, and grated fresh apples for a hearty, fiber-rich breakfast pancake. Ready in 20 minutes.
Frosted Rich Brownies
Frosted rich brownies: low-fat brownies built on evaporated and powdered skim milk instead of butter, then crowned with a coffee-spiked cocoa frosting. Deeply chocolate without the heaviness.
Buttermilk Waffles
Buttermilk waffles with chopped cashews folded into the batter and a quick fresh blueberry compote spooned over top. Light, crisp, and ready for weekend brunch in under 25 minutes.
Daddy's Creamy Broccoli Soup
Rich, restaurant-style creamy broccoli soup with tender florets, buttery broth base, half-and-half, and sharp cheddar for stirring in at the table.
