What Makes Regular Flour the Equivalent of Cake Flour?
- All-purpose flour and cake flour both contain wheat, which in turn contains starch and protein. Wheat is a grain grown in different regions of the country, most particularly in states in the northern and southern Great Plains, Great Lakes and the Mid-Atlantic. Starch is a complex carbohydrate made from glucose. Protein, which creates gluten, is the most important ingredient in flour when it comes to the form and texture of baked goods. Another similarity between the two types of flour is that cake flour and some kinds of all-purpose flour are bleached. While there are unbleached all-purpose flours, there are no unbleached cake flours.
- Type of wheat--hard versus soft--differentiates the two types of flour. Hard wheat grows commonly in the Great Plains and contains a much higher amount of protein than soft wheat, which abounds in areas east of the Mississippi River. All-purpose flour contains varying blends of hard and soft wheat, while cake flour contains soft wheat only. The higher percentage of protein in all-purpose flour, about 9 to 12 percent, relative to cake flour, which is about 5 to 8 percent, means that baked goods made from cake flour will have less gluten and will be more delicate with a more tender crumb.
- You can use all-purpose flour in recipes that call for cake flour with one of two simple alterations. The first is to lower the protein amount in any brand of all-purpose flour by substituting 3/4 cup of sifted all-purpose flour plus 2 tbsp. of cornstarch for every sifted cup of cake flour. The second alteration is to use a brand of bleached all-purpose flour instead of the unbleached variety. Bleached flour contains less protein, especially brands made in the South that have a protein content of around 8 percent, which is comparable to cake flour.
- All-purpose flour made entirely of soft wheat, like cake flour, is available in some areas. For example, certain states in the Great Lakes region and the South carry White Lily soft wheat all-purpose flour. Other kinds of soft wheat all-purpose flour are Martha White and Adluh. While these brands are only available in limited areas, you can purchase Martha White online. When using soft wheat all-purpose flour as an alternative to regular all-purpose flour, you'll need to add an additional 2 tbsp. of flour to every cup of flour in the recipe.
