By The Purecane Team

Navigating the complex world of flours and flour alternatives may seem a bit overwhelming. Gone are the days of stocking your pantry with all-purpose and wheat; every day there seems to be something new on the shelves you’ve never heard of. The nuances of flours and flour alternatives is a welcome change that now works in almost any diet, which makes baking and enjoying baked goods something we can share together.

But how do we start to understand the differences between the varieties and how they impact our baked goods?

The primary difference is the protein content which directly affects how much gluten is in the flour. In short, more protein means more gluten. Gluten acts as a binding agent which builds structure and strength in your dough. So the more protein/gluten, the stronger and denser your bake, and the less protein/gluten, the lighter and flakier. Easy right!

Sometimes you might hear about flours being made from “hard wheat” and “soft wheat”. Simply meaning that flours made from high-protein wheat varieties (10% to 14%) are made from “hard wheat” and from low-protein wheat varieties (5% to 10%) are made from “soft wheat”.

Hopefully that makes it a little easier to understand what some recipes might be saying, even if it sounds confusing. But let’s dig deeper into the most common types of flour you’ll see in a typical grocery aisle and why certain types are chosen for different kinds of dishes.

10 TYPES OF BAKING FLOUR

ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

All-purpose flour is the go-to flour in any baker’s pantry and is usually what is meant to be used when a recipe calls for “flour”. It is made from a combination of hard and soft wheat varieties. It is highly versatile and can range from doughs that are flakey like pie crusts to denser for breads.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
10%–12%	Bread, biscuits, pizza, cookies, muffins

CAKE FLOUR

Cake flour is going to be the softest flour for baking because it has the lowest protein content, which means less gluten. It also absorbs more liquid and sugar than all-purpose flour which means you get a mega moist and tasty cake.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
5%–8%	Delicate sponges, sheet cakes, cupcakes, scones and pillowy cakes, like snickerdoodles

PASTRY FLOUR

Pastry flour falls in between all-purpose and cake flour when it comes to protein content. Because of this, it has a great balance of structure and flakiness which makes it great for something like pie crust. You can also make your own at home with ⅔ cup cake flour and 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
8%–9%	Pie crusts, croissants, doughnuts, puff pastry and biscuits

BREAD FLOUR

Bread flour is going to be the strongest of all of our flours because it is milled entirely from hard wheat. This is great for recipes where you want a strong crumb and chewy texture. When a high protein content isn’t great for something like cake, when it comes to yeasted baked goods, gluten is key and helps make your dish rise and give them that telltale “chew”.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
12%–14%	Artisan bread, yeast bread, bagels, pizza dough, and pretzels

SELF-RISING FLOUR

The key differentiator of self-rising flour against all others on this list is the inclusion of baking powder and salt during the milling process. You can make your own at home by combining 1 cup pastry flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. DO NOT substitute self-rising flour for other flours in a recipe because the extra ingredients will throw everything off.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
8%–9%	Pancakes, cornbread, muffins, biscuits and scones

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR

Here’s another flour that is unique against all others. During the milling process, the wheat kernel is separated into three parts: the endosperm, the germ and the bran. White flours only use the endosperm, but whole wheat flour has varying amounts of the bran and germ included as well. The germ and bran do affect the flour’s gluten-forming ability which can lead to sticky dough and a denser bake.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
13%–14%	Breads, muffins, bagels, waffles, scones and biscuits

GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR

Gluten-free flour can be made from a large variety of ingredient bases which also determines how much protein is in the flour. For example, oat flour has around 13% while soy flour has about 50%. Xanthan gum is sometimes added to mimic the chewiness associated with gluten since it is not found naturally in the proteins. Always double check before swapping out a gluten-free flour for all-purpose as not all are a 1:1 swap.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
Varies by ingredient base	Cakes, cookies, bread, muffins, and pancakes

ALMOND FLOUR

Almond flour is probably the most common flour alternative today and is made by blanching almonds, removing their skin, then grinding and sifting them into a fine flour. It is a great substitute because it is low in carbs but high in healthy fats and fiber. When substituting with other gluten flours, you may have to add more of a rising agent to accommodate the heavier weight of the almond flour.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
21%–22%	Cookies, muffins, biscuits, and bread

CHICKPEA FLOUR

Chickpea flour is relatively new in American kitchens but has been a staple in Indian cuisine for a very long time. There are two types, gram flour made from desi chickpeas which is finer and denser, and chickpea flour made from ordinary garbanzos which is coarser. The main difference is that gram flour needs less water to produce batter. It has a neutral flavor so it’s great to use as a flour alternative.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
15%–17%	Pancakes, bagels, batters (for frying), waffles, brownies, and muffins

00 FLOUR

00 flour is often referred to as Italian-style flour. It is made from the hardest type of wheat and the “00” refers to the super fine texture of the flour. That makes it perfect to roll out to be extremely thin without breaking.

PROTEIN CONTENT	BEST USED FOR
11%–12%	Pasta, crackers, flatbreads, couscous and thin crust pizza dough

 

RECIPES TO TRY YOUR HAND AT DIFFERENT FLOURS

Try one of these recipes below that use the different kinds of flours. See if you can taste the difference in the flavor and texture of the dishes! 

• Almond Flour + Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: Oatmeal Almond Butter Cookies
• All-Purpose Flour: Strawberry Shortcake Drop Cookies
• Oat Flour: Classic Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Almond Flour: Passionfruit Macarons
• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: Reduced Sugar Healthier Nutter Butter Cookies
• Cake Flour: Easy Vanilla Sheet Cake
• Oat Flour + Coconut Flour: ​​Chocolate Zucchini Bread

 

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SOURCES:

1. https://getpocket.com/explore/item/10-different-flour-types-to-use-in-your-baking 
2. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/almond-flour 
3. https://cotswoldflour.com/blogs/news/what-is-all-purpose-flour-and-what-is-it-used-for 
4. https://food52.com/blog/27490-cake-flour-vs-all-purpose-flour 
5. https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-pastry-flour-5204545 
6. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/baking-guide/what-is-bread-flour 
7. https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-chickpea-flour-5089021