Comments on How do I adjust bread-machine bread when using all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
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How do I adjust bread-machine bread when using all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
I am a beginner when it comes to bread, and for expedience I make almost all of my bread using a bread machine. I've always used bread flour, followed the proportions specified in the instructions, measuring by volume (overfill then level off), and gotten acceptable results.
Due to global events, for the last three months bread flour has become nearly impossible to get where I live. I've now gone through all my supply, with one lonely cup or so taunting me from its canister. So now I must switch to all-purpose flour.
In my first loaf I made a straight substitution (per Cooks Illustrated) in a French bread, i.e. a bread that didn't also involve other flour types like rye. The loaf was okay but it felt a little under-developed. (I don't know how to describe this, sorry.) I read somewhere (don't remember where) that when using all-purpose flour instead of bread flour the dough will be a little too wet and I need to add "a little more" flour. I've heard everything from a teaspoon per cup to a tablespoon per cup. I don't have a good sense of how to judge this by look/feel.
Is there any more-specific wisdom I can apply, or do I need to keep trying different adjustments and keep notes so I can work it out for myself?
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I add a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten per cup of AP flour, when I need to boost the protein content. Most of the time, however, AP is perfectly sufficient. AP is often about 12% gluten, bread flour can approach 15%. I think you can comfortably skip it for a bread machine.
eta. Are you shaping, folding, stretching, otherwise manipulating your dough by hand, or allowing the bread maching to knead for you? Some of the folding techniques are less physically active than kneading, but do a nice job of allowing the gluten chains to form.
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