Do I really need pastry flour in my molasses cookie recipe?
I have a recipe for molasses cookies that calls for 3 parts regular flour to 1 part pastry flour for the flour component. It mentions that you can use whole wheat flour instead of pastry flour if necessary.
Would pastry flour be better? What purpose does it serve?
Best Answer
No, you don't.
Pastry flour is usually low in protein/gluten compared to A/P or bread flour. It may also be more finely ground. Both help in achieving a light, delicate texture when baking cakes, cookies, biscuits, etc.
But it's not necessary. Especially if they're asking for a 3/1 mix, you probably won't even notice the difference. Just be careful not to over-mix the dough: this encourages gluten formation and forces out air, thus resulting in tougher, denser cookies. Letting the dough rest in the fridge or freezer for 20 minutes prior to baking can help avoid this as well.
Alternately, substitute oat flour (grind some oatmeal in a blender / spice mill if you don't have any) - it has no gluten, and will add a pleasant, nutty flavor to the cookies.
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What happens if you use all-purpose flour instead of pastry flour?
On average, pastry flour has an 8 to 9% protein count versus all-purpose flour, which contains approximately a 10 to 12% protein count. For pastries like biscuits, scones, pie crusts, and quick breads, a lower protein count means a lighter, flakier dough.What does pastry flour do to cookies?
What Is Pastry Flour? Pastry flour is a low-protein flour designed to make pastries lighter and more delicate than those made with all-purpose flour. It bakes tender pastries, chewy cookies and is an excellent solution for pie crusts.Does pastry flour make better cookies?
Pastry Flour: An unbleached flour made from soft wheat, with protein levels somewhere between cake flour and all-purpose flour (8 to 9 percent). Pastry flour strikes the ideal balance between flakiness and tenderness, making it perfect for pies, tarts and many cookies.Can I substitute regular flour for cake and pastry flour?
For every 1 cup of cake or pastry flour, measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour, spoon out 2 Tbsp of that flour, replace it with 2 Tbsp of cornstarch and then sift. Your cakes and cookies will be just as tender and delicate as if you used the real thing.Healthy Molasses Cookies Recipe - Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies - Healthy Baking Recipe
More answers regarding do I really need pastry flour in my molasses cookie recipe?
Answer 2
Pastry flour is a lower protein flour than the regular flour. From here
the protein content of any given type of flour determines how tender, strong, elastic, stretchy, pliable, etc., the dough is that you make with it, and also the texture of the finished bread, waffle, cookie, croissant, etc.
So basically using regular flour rather than using the pastry flour might mean that your cookies will be denser.
If you don't have pastry flour you can always google substitutes. That what I do if I don't have something. I saved money by not buying another flour by just adding cornstarch to the regular flour I already had.
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