All-purpose flour
All-purpose flour is a medium-protein white wheat flour for cakes, cookies, sauces and bread. In the UK it is plain flour, in Sweden vetemjöl.
Also called Plain flour, AP flour, Vetemjöl, Hvetemel.
All-purpose flour is white wheat flour with a medium amount of protein, usually about 10 to 12 percent in the US. It is made to do most jobs well enough: cakes, cookies, pie crust, pancakes, thickening sauces and even bread. It contains no leavening. If a recipe just says "flour", this is almost always the one it means.
How to use it
The same flour has different names depending on where the recipe was written:
- All-purpose flour, or AP flour, in the US and Canada. Canadian all-purpose flour is often a little higher in protein.
- Plain flour in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It is often a little lower in protein than American all-purpose, so it makes slightly softer cakes.
- Vetemjöl in Sweden and hvetemel in Norway, both meaning wheat flour.
Plain flour and all-purpose flour can be swapped one for one in nearly every recipe. A US cup of all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled, weighs about 120 to 125 g. One Swedish deciliter weighs about 60 g.
It is the flour you use to make a roux for gravy and white sauce, to dust meat before browning, and to flour a counter before rolling pastry.
Substitutes
- For bread flour, all-purpose works but gives a softer loaf with less chew, because it forms less gluten.
- For cake flour, use 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, take out 2 tablespoons, and add 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Sift together twice.
- For self-rising flour, add baking powder: about 1½ teaspoons per 125 g (1 cup).
How to store it
Keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard for up to a year. Whole wheat flour goes stale faster. Raw flour can carry bacteria, so do not eat raw dough or batter.
Common mistakes
- Scooping straight from the bag, which packs in too much. Spoon it in and level it, or weigh it.
- Assuming "plain flour" means unbleached or whole wheat. It only means flour with no leavening.
- Not sifting when a recipe asks for it. Lumps of flour stay as lumps in a thin batter.
In recipes
You will see "2 cups all-purpose flour", "250 g plain flour" and "3 dl vetemjöl". "Flour, for dusting" means a little extra for the counter.
Recipes that use it
493 recipes from the sites we collect.
Beef Enchiladas
www.onceuponachef.com · 70 min
Chocolate Soufflés
www.onceuponachef.com · 40 min
Coconut Oil Pie Crust
minimalistbaker.com · 65 min
Banana Bread Muffin in a Mug
www.skinnytaste.com · 20 min
Best Homemade Cornbread
www.onceuponachef.com · 35 min
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
www.onceuponachef.com · 95 min
Mac and Cheese
www.onceuponachef.com · 60 min
Ultimate Fudgy Brownies
www.onceuponachef.com · 60 min
Easy Butter Chicken
www.onceuponachef.com · 45 min
Raspberry Jam Bars
www.onceuponachef.com · 60 min
Best-Ever Peanut Butter Blossoms
www.onceuponachef.com · 25 min
Homemade Pizza Dough
www.onceuponachef.com · 20 min
Related terms
- Bread flourBread flour is a high-protein white wheat flour that gives chewy, well-risen loaves. In the UK it is strong flour, in Sweden vetemjöl special.
- Self-rising flourSelf-rising flour is all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt mixed in. The UK self-raising kind has no salt. Here is how to make your own.
- GlutenGluten is the stretchy protein network that forms when wheat flour meets water. It gives bread its chew and structure, and too much makes cakes tough.
- SiftTo sift is to pass flour, cocoa or sugar through a fine sieve to break up lumps and add air. Here is when sifting matters and when you can skip it.
- RouxA roux is equal weights of flour and fat cooked together to thicken sauces, soups and gravies. Cook it white, blond or brown depending on the dish.
- CornstarchCornstarch is the pure starch of corn, a fine white powder for thickening sauces and crisping coatings. In the UK, Ireland and Australia it is cornflour.