Out of Bread flour, one case
Can you substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use All-purpose flour
1 cup for every cup of bread flour
Yes: use all-purpose flour in the same amount as the bread flour, cup for cup or gram for gram. All-purpose has less protein, so the dough is a little softer and stickier and the bread comes out slightly less chewy and may not rise quite as high. To get the chew back, add 1 teaspoon of vital wheat gluten per cup of all-purpose flour.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Hold back 1 to 2 tsp of the water per cup of flour and add it only if the dough feels stiff. Knead until the dough is smooth and stretches thin without tearing.
- Best for —
- sandwich loaves and dinner rolls
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full bread flour card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup bread flour | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All-purpose floursandwich loaves and dinner rolls | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | All-purpose flour + vital wheat glutenbagels and soft pretzels | 1 cup + 1 tsp vital wheat glutenWorks | Works |
| 3 | Higher-protein all-purpose floureveryday yeast breads | 1 cupWorks | Works |
| 4 | Half whole wheat, half all-purposesandwich loaves you want heartier | ½ cup whole wheat + ½ cup all-purposeYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Cake flour or self-rising flour | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
All-purpose flour
the same flavor; a softer, more tender crumb with less chew
The same wheat flour with less protein: roughly 10 to 12 percent against 12 to 14 percent in bread flour. It builds less gluten and absorbs a little less water, so the dough is slacker and the crumb is softer.
- Best for
- sandwich loaves and dinner rolls, pizza dough and focaccia, cinnamon rolls and other enriched doughs, cookies that call for bread flour
- Prep
- Hold back 1 to 2 tsp of the water per cup of flour and add it only if the dough feels stiff. Knead until the dough is smooth and stretches thin without tearing.
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- gluten
- Where it fails
- Bagels, soft pretzels and chewy artisan loaves, where chew is the point. Very wet doughs spread wider and bake flatter. Low-protein Southern all-purpose flours make a weak bread dough.
Both flours weigh about 120 g per cup, so the swap is the same by weight or by volume.
All-purpose flour + vital wheat gluten
the same as bread flour
Vital wheat gluten is the protein of wheat, dried to a powder. A teaspoon per cup lifts all-purpose flour to about the protein level of bread flour.
- Best for
- bagels and soft pretzels, chewy pizza crust, bread machine loaves, whole grain and seeded breads
- Prep
- Whisk the gluten into the dry flour before any liquid goes in, or it clumps. Use up to 2 tsp per cup for bagels.
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- gluten
- Where it fails
- More than about 2 tsp per cup makes the bread tough and rubbery.
Higher-protein all-purpose flour
the same as bread flour; very slightly less chew
Unbleached all-purpose flours milled from hard wheat sit close to bread flour. King Arthur all-purpose is 11.7 percent protein against 12.7 percent for its bread flour.
- Best for
- everyday yeast breads, sourdough and no-knead loaves, pizza dough
- Prep
- Check the nutrition label: 4 g of protein per 30 g serving is the higher end for all-purpose flour, 3 g is the lower end.
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- gluten
- Where it fails
- Bagels still come out a little softer than with true bread flour.
Half whole wheat, half all-purpose
nutty and wheaty, with a darker and denser crumb
Whole wheat flour is high in protein, but its bran cuts through gluten strands, so the loaf is denser than one made with bread flour. Mixing it half and half keeps the loaf from turning heavy.
- Best for
- sandwich loaves you want heartier, rustic rolls, pizza dough with a nutty flavor
- Prep
- Add about 2 tsp of extra water per cup of whole wheat flour, and rest the dough 20 minutes after mixing so the bran softens.
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- gluten
- Where it fails
- Soft white breads such as milk bread and brioche, where the color and the tender crumb matter.
Cake flour or self-rising flour
bread that is pale, crumbly or oddly salty
Both look like all-purpose flour in the bag and neither makes yeast bread.
- Best for
- cakes and biscuits, not yeast bread
- Contains
- gluten
- Where it fails
- Cake flour has about 7 to 9 percent protein, too little gluten to hold the gas from yeast, so the loaf collapses and crumbles. Self-rising flour already has baking powder and salt mixed in, which throws off a yeast dough.
Tips for substituting bread flour
5 tips- Yeast bread: swap cup for cup, hold back 1 to 2 tsp of water per cup of flour, and add it back only if the dough is stiff. All-purpose flour absorbs less water than bread flour.
- Wet doughs such as no-knead bread, ciabatta and sourdough: hold back 1 to 2 tbsp of the water for a loaf made with 3 cups of flour. A slack dough spreads sideways instead of rising up.
- Bagels and pretzels: add 1 to 2 tsp of vital wheat gluten per cup of all-purpose flour. Without it they are edible but bready, not chewy.
- Bread machine: all-purpose flour works at the same amount. Expect a slightly lower, softer loaf, and check the dough 5 minutes into kneading; if it is sticking to the pan, add flour 1 tbsp at a time.
- Cookies written for bread flour: swap cup for cup with no other change. They bake a little less chewy and spread slightly more.
Questions
5 questionsIs all-purpose flour a 1:1 substitute for bread flour?
Yes, by cup or by weight; both are about 120 g per cup. The difference is in the result, not the measure: all-purpose flour has less protein, so the bread is softer and less chewy. Hold back a teaspoon or two of water per cup, because all-purpose absorbs less.
How do I turn all-purpose flour into bread flour?
Whisk 1 teaspoon of vital wheat gluten into each cup of all-purpose flour before adding liquid. Use up to 2 teaspoons per cup for bagels and other very chewy breads. If you have no vital wheat gluten, use the all-purpose flour as it is and accept a softer crumb.
Will my bread still rise with all-purpose flour?
Yes. The yeast works the same way, and all-purpose flour makes good sandwich bread, rolls and pizza. The loaf may be a little lower and the crumb more tender, because there is less gluten holding the gas. Shaping the dough tightly helps it rise up and not out.
Can I use all-purpose flour for sourdough?
Yes. Use the same weight of flour and reduce the water by 1 to 2 tablespoons per loaf, since the dough will feel wetter and stickier than it would with bread flour. An unbleached all-purpose flour with 11 percent protein or more gives the best structure.
Can I use all-purpose flour in place of bread flour in pizza dough?
Yes, cup for cup. The crust is more tender and a little less chewy, and the dough tears more easily when stretched, so let it rest 10 minutes if it fights back. Many home pizza recipes are written for all-purpose flour in the first place.