Bread Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour: Comparing the Flours

Bread flour is a high-protein flour made from hard spring wheat. Bread baking is the primary use for the flour due to its protein content, which gives structure and elasticity to yeasted bread. (Bread flour typically contains 10–13 percent protein compared to all-purpose flour, which has nine to 11 percent.) The type of wheat grain used and whether it is enriched informs the flour’s protein content. The amount of protein in the flour you are using will determine how much gluten can develop when you knead and bake it.

During the kneading process, two key proteins within the flour—gliadin and glutenin—combine to form gluten strands. Kneading warms up those strands, which allows the proteins to expand during fermentation and encourages the molecules to bond, making for a more elastic dough with a better structure. Due to its protein content, bread flour absorbs liquid well and develops a much stronger gluten structure, resulting in a lofty bread with a chewy crumb.

Similar high-protein flours include whole-wheat flour and durum.

Bread flour is ideal for baking bread, especially yeast bread that must hold its structure and rise well to form a lofty, airy loaf with a chewy texture. Bread flour is typically the flour of choice for homemade bread recipes like sourdough loaves, dinner rolls, pizza dough, and bagels.

All-purpose flour, also known as AP flour, is a mild-flavored white flour made from the endosperm of hard and soft wheat varieties. Two wheat kernel components—bran and germ—are separated from the endosperm during the milling process for AP flour. These components contain oils that encourage spoilage—their removal during the milling process makes AP flour more shelf-stable than other whole-grain flours.

Similar low-protein flours include cake flour, pastry flour, and self-rising flour.

All-purpose flour is a type of flour with a wide range of applications, hence its name. You can use all-purpose flour in nearly any recipe that calls for flour, including various sweet and savory applications like layer cakes, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, quick breads, gooey brownies, and buttery pie crusts. Outside of baked goods, all-purpose flour is also a popular base for dredging fish for frying and thickening rich sauces and gravies.

There are a few differences between bread flour and all-purpose flour, including:

• Protein content: The main difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the amount of protein—bread flour has a higher protein content, between 10 and 13 percent protein, while all-purpose flour has a lower protein content, between nine and 11 percent.
• Gluten development: Due to the higher protein content, bread doughs made with bread flour have a higher gluten content, resulting in a better rise and stronger, crustier structure with better elasticity.
• Liquid absorption: Since bread flour’s protein content is higher than all-purpose flour, it better absorbs liquid, often requiring a slightly higher water ratio to create the right dough consistency.

In most situations, you can use all-purpose flour as a substitute for bread flour—the resulting baked goods may not rise as high or develop as strong a structure but will be similar overall. However, baking experts typically do not recommend using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour when making tender baked goods. Bread flour can develop a high amount of gluten and result in tough cakes or overly chewy cookies.

When substituting between bread flour and all-purpose flour, keep in mind that bread flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour, so if a recipe calls for bread flour, it will also require slightly more liquid—adjust the liquid according to your substitution.

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