Cake flour or all-purpose for shortbread?
The recipe calls for either, and I have both.
What difference am I likely to see in the final product using one or the other?
Would there be an advantage to going halvsies?
Best Answer
What you really need is "in the middle". Shortbread cookies are not very different from shortbread pie crust, they use the same principle, but a different shape. So the optimal flour would be pastry flour, at 6-7% gluten, which is between cake flour (4-5%) and AP (7-8%).
If you are not aiming for five-star-perfection according to century-old traditional tastes, either of your flours will do well. AP is probably a bit safer, in the sense that the cookies won't fall apart too easily.
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Can I use cake flour for shortbread?
Notes. *Replace 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour with an equal amount of rice flour or corn starch for a more crumbly texture. Use all purpose flour in place of cake flour for a more sturdy cookie.Can you use all-purpose flour for shortbread?
If you only have all-purpose flour you can use it instead of the pastry flour but the measurements for the flour will be different. 1 cup of pastry flour = 1 cup less 1 tbsp of all-purpose flour. Here is a great article about flour in baking and reasonable substitutions from How Stuff Works.Can you substitute bread flour for all-purpose flour in shortbread cookies?
So by swapping in bread flour for all-purpose flour in cookies, we're raising the protein to enable more gluten formation and higher liquid retention in the dough. This translates into more chewiness.Can I use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Good for making cakes (especially white cakes and biscuits) and cookies where a tender and delicate texture is desired. To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour.Cake Flour vs. All Purpose Flour | Cooking Tips | Made To Order | Chef Zee Cooks
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Answer 2
shosrtbread cookies are meant to be somewhat crumbly because they have a high butter (fat) content. If you use AP flour they will be a little more sturdy than the ones made with cake flour. Cake flour is meant for cakes and other breads that have to be light and not chewy. That is the basic difference. However, I have made shortbread cookies with totally non gluten flours. I think the suggestion to made test recipes with both flours is a good one.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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