How Using Bread Flour Vs All Purpose Flour Changes Baked Goods

Bread flour, composed of hard wheat, has a relatively high protein level of about 12 to 14%. All-purpose flour, on the other hand, has a protein content ranging from 10 to 12%.

Due to its higher protein content, bread flour results in the chewy texture of bagels, the stretchy elasticity of pizza dough, and the open crumb structure of a ciabatta loaf.

In bakes that rely on yeast or a starter culture to rise, bread flour helps develop strands of gluten networks during kneading and fermentation, providing structure and leavening.

All-purpose flour; however, was designed to be a reliable flour for a range of baking applications that don’t need a lot of gluten development, such as pancakes or birthday cakes.

Ideally, it’s a good idea to choose bread flour for traditional bread and yeast recipes but consider all-purpose flour for quick bread recipes with chemical leaveners.

While all-purpose flour can be used in yeast bread, it may come out of the oven a bit tackier or gummy in texture, due to less water having been absorbed, compared to bread flour.