Why combine AP flour and bread flour?
I've seen some recipes that call for AP flour and bread flour. What's the point of that?
Assume AP flour has 10.5% protein and bread flour has 11.5% protein. If a recipe calls for equal amounts of AP flour and bread flour, you'll end up with a mixture that is 11% protein. Why not just find 11% protein flour in the first place?
Also, since the protein amount of flour vastly differs by brand, region, etc. -- how can a recipe make any assumptions about the final protein amount in the flour mixture.
Best Answer
It could be as simple as a bare pantry shelf and an adventurous cook who combined them when there wasn't enough bread flour for her recipe. King Arthur Flour went above and beyond! Testing loaf after loaf to compare crust, crumb, and texture with a variety of flours. Are there differences? Certainly, but perhaps not as dramatic as we might think.
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Quick Answer about "Why combine AP flour and bread flour?"
all purpose flour: Bread flour has a higher protein content (around 13% more), which leads to more stability, form and rise in the dough, allowing it to lift and hold shape. All purpose flour has a lower protein content, resulting in lighter, shorter breads, which makes it an ideal flour for cookies, cakes and more.Can you mix all-purpose flour and bread flour to make bread?
Yes, you can mix them at basically a 1:1 ratio to achieve a flour with roughly 12% protein content (mimicking bread flour). Bread flour is milled from hard spring wheat, which has a higher protein content than the hard winter wheat used in all-purpose flour.Can you mix flours in baking?
Instructions for muffins and quick breads often suggest mixing just until the dry ingredients are moistened. You should not see large clumps of flour in the batter. If so, gently mix until the flour is incorporated.Can all-purpose flour and bread flour be used interchangeably?
At 12- to 13-percent protein content, bread flour is stronger than all-purpose flour, but it can generally be substituted for all-purpose, and vice versa. However, it's important to remember that bread flour's increased protein could result in a dough or batter that's dry, so you may need to add water.Can I mix bread flour and all-purpose flour to make pizza dough?
The second most common type of flour used when making pizza dough, and most people's go-to for homemade pizza dough is bread flour. Bread flour has a higher amount of gluten and protein than all-purpose flour. The high gluten content in this flour creates a very structured dough allowing for stretching and rising.Understanding Different Flours and When to Use Them- Kitchen Conundrums with Thomas Joseph
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Answer 2
So, you are correct in both of your criticisms: the recipe author is making unwarranted assumptions about the protein content of the flour you're using, and that it would make more sense to just specify a desired protein content for your flour.
If you look at this table of popular US flour brands, you'll see that AP flour ranges from 10% to 11.7%, and that bread flour ranges from 12% to 13%, which means that a half-and-half mixture could be anywhere from 11% to 12.3%.
For the particular recipe you're using, your best bet is to see if the author recommends any particular brand of flour and go by that. Alternately, you can just use King Arthur or Heckers AP flour, which are almost at the midpoint of that 11-12.3% range.
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