What is a good substitute for pastry flour?
Substitute Pastry Flour with All-Purpose and Cake Flour To create the most reliable substitute for pastry flour, combine ½ cup of all-purpose flour with ½ cup of cake flour for every 1 cup of pastry flour needed.
What is the difference between all-purpose flour and pastry flour?
Pastry flour is milled to a finer texture than all-purpose flour, and is made with soft wheat for a lower protein content, which helps baked goods like pie crusts and pound cake recipes produce very tender results and a fine crust.
Can I use regular flour instead of pastry flour?
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.
How do you make pastry flour from all-purpose flour?
0:381:38How to make Pastry Flour using All-purpose and Cake flour - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipTo make two cups of pastry flour you'll need 1 and 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour. And 2/3 cup of cakeMoreTo make two cups of pastry flour you'll need 1 and 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour. And 2/3 cup of cake flour thoroughly combine both flours.
Is pastry flour the same as self-rising flour?
Cake flour and self-rising flour are not the same. Cake flour is finely milled flour with low protein content, which means that it allows for a soft and light texture. Self-rising flour has the addition of salt and baking powder to help it rise. Cake flour does not have any added ingredients.
Can I substitute all-purpose 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.
What is best substitute for two cups of pastry flour?
If pastry flour is unavailable, substitute equal parts all-purpose flour and cake flour. Another alternative is to use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for every 7/8 cup of all-purpose flour required for the recipe.
Is cake and pastry flour the same as bread flour?
Cake and Pastry Flour: Cake flour is used in cake-making. On the other end of the spectrum from bread flour, cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose. Whereas bread is supposed to be chewy, and therefore chock-full-of gluten, cake is supposed to be fluffy and tender.
What is pastry flour called in the UK?
The UK now has a product called "sponge flour" which is self-raising so should not normally be used as a substitute for American cake flour.
What can I use instead of cake and pastry flour?
If you don't have cake flour, use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch combined with enough all-purpose flour to make a cup. Your baked goods will be a bit tougher (due to the extra protein), but they'll still be quite good. Use either substitute to replace 1 cup of pastry flour.
How do you make pastry flour with cornstarch and all-purpose flour?
InstructionsStart with 1 cup all-purpose flour. Remove 2 Tablespoons (16g) so you have 14 Tablespoons total. ... Add cornstarch to the 14 Tablespoons of flour.Sift together TWICE. ... Measure (spoon & level) 1 cup from this mixture. ... Now you have 1 cup of cake flour that you can use in any recipes requiring cake flour.
Does pastry flour have baking powder in it?
Does cake flour have baking powder in it? No it doesn't. Cake flour doesn't contain any raising agents. So when using it, you will need to use baking baking powder or baking soda into your cake.
What Is Pastry Flour and What Is It Used For?
Pastry flour is flour with around 8-10% protein content, which is less than all-purpose flour’s protein content of 10-12%. While the amount of protein in pastry flour varies from brand to brand, pastry flour will generally have less protein than all-purpose flour. You may also see pastry flour referred to as cookie flour.
Is Pastry Flour the Same as Cake Flour?
No, cake flour and pastry flour are not the same. With a protein content of 7-8%, cake flour has even less protein than pastry flour. Plus, cake flour is bleached to further weaken its proteins. As a result, cake flour is best for making ultra-light baked goods, such as angel food cake and chiffon cake.
Pastry Flour Substitute
If you need a substitution for pastry flour, there are a few alternatives that you can use. However, these options are not guaranteed to serve as a perfect substitute for pastry flour, so there is a chance that they will produce a different texture than your recipe intends.
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. Pastry flour can be used in a number of classic recipes like biscuits, cinnamon rolls, pancakes and pie crust dough.
Pastry Flour vs. Other Types of Flour
Pastry flour, whether whole wheat or unbleached white, has less protein than all purpose flour and more than cake flour. It's a happy place in between.
Why Does Protein (Gluten) Matter in Flour?
The protein in wheat flour (aka gluten) gives baked goods structure and elasticity. For chewy breads and pizza crusts, you want to use a higher protein flour when making your pizza dough. For pastries and delicate baked goods, you want less protein.
FAQs About Pastry Flour
Is Bob's Red Mill pastry flour organic? We offer one organic option, Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. Otherwise, our regular whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached fine pastry flour are not organic.
What is Pastry Flour?
Pastry flour is a powder produced from milling soft white or soft red wheats. This type of flour usually has low absorption and little mixing tolerance. Its properties are intermediate between bread and cake flours. It is used to make: 1
Origin
Pastry flour was specifically developed to make sweet baked goods which required some of the attributes of hard and soft wheats. Decades ago, millers and bakers from all over the world used to blend hard and soft wheat flours to obtain the desired characteristics in the finished flour.
Function
Wheat flour is the main ingredient in most baked goods. In wheat bread, gluten is the key protein in the development of the dough’s protein matrix that traps air and gas molecules. In cakes and other applications, wheat flour provides the starch which helps form the structure via starch gelatinization.
Commercial production
The flour used for cookies and pie crust production is normally long patent or straight grade flour. Its production process follows similar principles to those of hard wheat milling. However, conditions specific to soft wheat milling should be observed, namely: 1,3
Types of Flour
Before you start baking with pastry flour, here’s a quick run down on the other different types of flours:
What Does Protein Have to Do With Flour?
The amount of protein in a flour determines how much gluten there is. The more protein in a flour, the more gluten there will be. And more gluten means that the dough will be denser and thicker than dough made with all-purpose flour.
Substituting for Pastry Flour
If a recipe calls for pastry flour and you don’t have any in your pantry, you can make your own like I often do.
Is Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Different?
I often use whole wheat pastry flour when I want to add a few more nutrients to my baking. Made from the entire wheat kernel, whole wheat pastry flour has more nutrition and is less processed than bleached and enriched white pastry flour, adding more density to pastries.
Potential Uses for Pastry Flour
Muffins are a great breakfast food and they’re also perfect for a snack any time of the day. For the most part, muffins are easy to make. They’re also very versatile – sweet, savory, or healthy.
What is pastry flour and what is it used for?
Pastry flour is milled from soft wheat, often soft red winter wheat. It contains less protein than all-purpose (AP) flour but more than cake flour, about 7.5-9.5% protein. Because it is low in protein, it has a low capacity to absorb water which makes it ideal for (duh) pastry. (low protein=low gluten development=tender pie crust).
What is gluten anyway?
Flour has two main proteins, gliadin and glutenin. When water is added to flour, these two proteins combine to form gluten. Gluten is what provides structure and elasticity to dough. We want this in bread dough so our bread bakes up tall and is nice and chewy. Chewy is not what we’re looking for in a pie crust.
What is the difference between pastry flour and all purpose flour?
Mostly the protein content. All-purpose flour has a protein content of between 9.5% and 11% meaning that it can absorb more water and create more gluten in your pie crust, making it tougher and less tender.
What can I substitute for pastry flour?
If you can’t find pastry flour at the store you can substitute Wondra flour instead. What is Wondra flour? It is an flour that has been pre-cooked and dried. It’s also called instant flour because it dissolves quickly in hot liquids without forming lumps (making it ideal for gravy).
How to make homemade pastry flour
Instead of buying pastry flour or using Wondra as a substitute, it’s super easy to simply make your own pastry flour using all-purpose flour and cake flour. Use a ratio of 50% all-purpose flour to 50% cake flour for a tender dough. If your dough then tears to easily or you need a slightly sturdier dough, use 2/3 all-purpose flour to 1/3 cake flour.
Try One of These DIY Options
Erin Huffstetler is a writer with experience writing about easy ways to save money at home.
Best Substitute
Combine 1/2 cup each of all-purpose and cake flour. This will create a flour with a protein content that is very close to that of pastry flour. If you want a more precise match (and don't mind a bit of measuring), use 3/8 cup of all-purpose flour and 5/8 cup of cake flour.
Another Option
If you don't have cake flour, use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch combined with enough all-purpose flour to make a cup. Your baked goods will be a bit tougher (due to the extra protein), but they'll still be quite good. Use either substitute to replace 1 cup of pastry flour.
Uses for Pastry Flour
Pastry flour is similar to regular flour but with 8 to 10 percent protein. King Arthur's pastry flour, for example, has 8 percent protein. Other brands may have a little more.
Measure
If you want light, airy baked goods without using pastry flour, measure your flour properly. While it's a bit faster to dig a measuring cup into the bag of flour, you'll put a bunch of extra flour into your recipe if you do it that way. And nothing makes a cake or biscuit dense faster than too much flour.
More Substitutes
If you are making bread, cakes, or other baked goods, there are flour substitutes you can use when a recipe calls for a type that you don't have on hand. Learn how to use swap-outs for:
What Is the Difference Between Pastry Flour and All-Purpose Flour?
Pastry flour is a low-protein, specialty flour that is ideal for baked goods. 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.
How Does Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Differ?
Whole wheat pastry flour is made from the complete wheat kernel, meaning that it is less processed and more nutritious than enriched and bleached pastry flour. Whole wheat pastry flour adds a nutty, slightly dense texture to pastries.
What's the Difference Between Cake and Pastry Flour?
While pastry flour is ideal for pie crusts and tart shells, cake flour is designed for (you guessed it!) cake. Cake flour’s soft, fine texture easily absorbs liquid and sugar, which produces an extra-moist cake. Cake flour has a 7 to 8% protein count, even lower than pastry flour.
Are There Good Pastry Flour Substitutes?
An easy DIY pastry flour can be made in your own kitchen—for one cup of pastry flour, combine ½ cup of all-purpose flour and ½ cup of cake flour. The protein from equal proportions of all-purpose flour and cake flour meet in the middle to create perfect pastry flour.
Where Can You Find Pastry Flour?
Pastry flour can be found in nearly every grocery store, either in the baking aisle or in a designated natural/organic aisle, as well as online. King Arthur’s Flour ($3, amazon.com ), Bob’s Red Mill ($4, bobsredmill.com ), and Arrowhead Mills ($6, amazon.com) have all created their own pastry flours.
Origin
Function
- Wheat flour is the main ingredient in most baked goods. In wheat bread, gluten is the key protein in the development of the dough’s protein matrix that traps air and gas molecules. In cakes and other applications, wheat flour provides the starch which helps form the structure via starch gelatinization. Commercial pastry flour is usually bleached al...
Commercial Production
- The flour used for cookies and pie crust production is normally long patent or straight grade flour. Its production process follows similar principles to those of hard wheat milling. However, conditions specific to soft wheat milling should be observed, namely:1,3 1. Special handling given the lower specific weight of the kernel 2. Shorter tempering times (soft wheat endosperm is not …
Application
- Pastry flour physicochemical specifications 1. Protein content: 9.0–10.0% 2. Ash: 0.3–0.5% (varies with % extraction) 3. pH: 5.9–6.1 4. Damaged starch: 2.5–4.0. Values vary according to kernel hardness, % extraction, tempering and milling conditions 5. Particle size index (PSI): 20–35% (AACCI Method 55-30) 6. Dry gluten: 7.0–8.0 7. Falling Number: 350–500 s 8. Particle s…
Pastry Flour Rheological Characteristics
- Alveograph P/L value < 0.65
- Farinograph absorption at about 500 UB dough consistency lower than bread flour and higher than cake flours
- Mixolab C2 value < 0.4 Nxm
- Mixolab Mixing and Gluten+ Indexes correspond to those of weak flours
References
- Finnie, S., and Atwell, W.A. “Products from Soft Wheat Flour.” Wheat Flour, 2nd edition, AACC International, Inc., 2016, pp. 111–129.
- Posner, E.S., and Hibbs, A.N. “Milling of Soft Wheat.” Wheat Flour Milling, 2nd edition, AACC International, Inc., 2005, pp. 353–364.
- Posner, E.S. “Wheat Flour Milling.” Wheat Chemistry and Technology, 4th edition, AACC Intern…
- Finnie, S., and Atwell, W.A. “Products from Soft Wheat Flour.” Wheat Flour, 2nd edition, AACC International, Inc., 2016, pp. 111–129.
- Posner, E.S., and Hibbs, A.N. “Milling of Soft Wheat.” Wheat Flour Milling, 2nd edition, AACC International, Inc., 2005, pp. 353–364.
- Posner, E.S. “Wheat Flour Milling.” Wheat Chemistry and Technology, 4th edition, AACC International, Inc., 2009, pp. 119–152.
