When Out of All-Purpose Flour, What's the Best Substitute? (2024)

FAQs

When Out of All-Purpose Flour, What's the Best Substitute? ›

Either cake flour or pastry flour can be used as a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour in most baking recipes. Steer away from cake flour for chewy bread baking, though, and opt instead for bread or whole-wheat flour for your no-knead and sourdough loaves.

Pastry flour is a softer flour that substitutes well for all-purpose in any recipe where tenderness is the goal, like muffins, quick breads and cakes. If you can find it, whole-wheat pastry flour is an even better swap for all-purpose.

Substituting Plain Flour in Your Recipes

For each cup of all-purpose flour, simply use one cup of plain flour. Keep in mind that plain flour in the UK has a slightly lower protein content, which may affect the texture of your final baked goods.

But if you don't have any in the pantry, or can't find any in the store, there are other flours you can use in its place. Bread flour and cake flour—on their own or mixed together—can substitute for all-purpose.

If a recipe says “use flour,” it's highly likely that the recipe refers to all-purpose flour. All purpose flour is equivalent to plain flour in the UK.

For example, if you are making 1 cup of all purpose flour, you would mix together 1/3 cup of white flour, 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/3 cup of corn flour. Once you have mixed together the ingredients, you can use the flour in any recipe that calls for all purpose flour.

You can always substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour one for one in any recipe that calls for it. Your bread might not raise quite as high or have quite as much chew, if you are using all-purpose flour, but it will still be delicious and homemade and all the good things.

If you have self-rising flour that you want to use up, there are ways to swap it for all-purpose flour. Look for recipes that use about 1/2 teaspoon baking powder to each cup of all-purpose flour. Then don't add any baking powder—it's already in your self-rising flour.

for a simple substitute, just measure out one cup of all purpose flour. now remove 2 tablespoons of the flour. this gives 7/8 of a cup. replace it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Thankfully, it's easy to make self-raising flour from the plain flour that is already in your cupboard; just add baking powder! This easy, make-at-home substitute for self-raising flour can be prepared in advance and stored in an airtight container for use in future recipes.

Do I have to use all-purpose flour? ›

If a recipe doesn't specify a certain type of flour, it's generally advisable to use all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour can be used for breads, muffins, cakes, and more.

Making self-rising flour at home is easy. Just use this basic formula: For every 1 cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt. Whisk the ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl or put them in a glass jar and shake well.

Glutinous rice flour, aka sweet rice flour, doesn't contain any gluten (confusing, we know.) It can create a gummy texture, so it's typically used to create chewy items like mochi or as a binder for pastry items. Rice flour makes an excellent substitute for all-purpose flour, depending on what you're making.

While cornstarch shouldn't be used as a substitute for flour in baked goods, you can easily substitute it in for flours when coating fried chicken, fish or other dishes. Not only will cornstarch work in the same way that flours do, but it will hold up better against sauces and absorb less of the frying oil.