Cake Flour Vs Bread Flour: What's The Difference?

Picture this: You just found a recipe for a delicate cake but are out of flour. So, you take a quick trip to the local grocery store to stock up. However, when walking down the aisle filled with baking necessities, you find many different flour options. All-purpose flour, bread flour, cake flour, almond flour, and more. If you are a novice baker, this situation may freak you out and send you home. But it does not have to be that way.

If you enjoy cooking, you know it can be hard to find recipes that omit flour altogether. The versatile ingredient, often powdery, white, and made of wheat, can be used in baked goods, such as cake, pie crusts, breads, and muffins, as well as cooking recipes that require a roux or batter. It is even used to make noodles and dumplings.

If you are curious about the different types of flour but are unaware of where to start, there's at least one distinct property that separates them. Even looking at two of the most popular types of flour, bread flour and cake flour, you can easily distinguish. Once you learn the characteristics of these two unique types of flour, you will be able to better understand when they are the best fit for recipes outside of their namesakes. After all, cake flour can be used in recipes aside from cake, and the same goes for bread flour and bread.

Cake flour is a fine flour with a low protein content. All-purpose flour, often the starting point for the ingredient, contains about 10 to 13% protein compared to the cake flour's 5 to 8%. But why is the protein amount important? There are two types of protein found in wheat: glutenin and gliadin. The proteins contribute to the process of building gluten. Therefore, when flour has a high protein level, it has more potential to build gluten. The gluten affects the overall formation of the product. High gluten formation leads to a chewy and tough texture. Contrasting, less gluten results in a light, fluffy bake. Additionally, cake flour's fine texture allows it to absorb more water, which can add a tender texture and contribute to the rise of a bake.

As a result, cake flour is best used to make cakes, as the dessert is known for its soft texture and ability to rise. Beyond that, fine flour is also ideal for baked goods that have similar qualities. For instance, cupcakes and brownies are known for their velvety, melt-in-your-mouth texture, so cake flour would be perfect. The flour can also be used to make meltaway cookies or extra fluffy bread rolls.

When it comes to substitutions for cake flour in recipes, it is difficult due to its low protein. In a pinch when you're all out of cake flour, though, cornstarch can be used with all-purpose flour, as cornstarch is void of protein and won't make the end product chewier or tougher.

When it comes to how bread flour affects baked goods, there's a fairly big difference between the protein-light alternatives. Bread flour has the highest protein content of all the different types of flour at about 12 to 14% protein. That means using bread flour in a recipe will result in a denser, chewier texture with structure. Therefore, bread flour is best to use when making homemade bread because its gluten formation will ensure that the final product will not collapse or fall apart. Additionally, the flour can be used to make donuts, particularly yeast donuts, as the high gluten lends itself to producing an airy texture due to trapping gases that form during fermentation. Other goods that can be made with bread flour include soft pretzels, pizza dough, and Martha Stewart-approved cinnamon rolls.

Several different types of flour can be used as a substitute for bread flour — to figure out which ones, just pay attention to the protein content. You will want to avoid using cake flour, due to its low protein percentage. However, all-purpose flour can be used in place of bread flour, given that it has a fair amount of protein. Whole wheat flour is another option as it has a high protein content of 14%, although it comes with a unique taste and high fiber content that may require additional recipe tweaking.