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The major (I say major - that's a relative term) difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the gluten and protein content; bread flour has more of both. In practical terms, this means...
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#2: Post edited
- The major (I say major - that's a relative term) difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the gluten and protein content; bread flour has more of both. In _practical_ terms, this means that bread flour rises slightly more and that dough made with bread flour is more coherent and less prone to falling apart.
Realistically, you _can_ just straight substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour if you don't have any of the latter. If you really want to make up for it, you can:- * Add a _small_ (and I mean small - no more than 10% extra, _at most_) amount more yeast to compensate for the lower rise;
- * Add a likewise _small_ amount of something like xanthan gum to compensate for the lower gluten - this will help bind the dough, but again you don't need much.
- If you don't have more yeast and have never heard of xanthan gum... just use the all-purpose and don't worry about it.
- The major (I say major - that's a relative term) difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the gluten and protein content; bread flour has more of both. In _practical_ terms, this means that bread flour rises slightly more and that dough made with bread flour is more coherent and less prone to falling apart.
- Realistically, you _can_ just straight substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour if you don't have any of the latter. You mention that you've got a little bread flour left over, which you can just mix into the all-purpose. Beyond that, if you really want to make up for it, you can:
- * Add a _small_ (and I mean small - no more than 10% extra, _at most_) amount more yeast to compensate for the lower rise;
- * Add a likewise _small_ amount of something like xanthan gum to compensate for the lower gluten - this will help bind the dough, but again you don't need much.
- If you don't have more yeast and have never heard of xanthan gum... just use the all-purpose and don't worry about it.
#1: Initial revision
The major (I say major - that's a relative term) difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the gluten and protein content; bread flour has more of both. In _practical_ terms, this means that bread flour rises slightly more and that dough made with bread flour is more coherent and less prone to falling apart. Realistically, you _can_ just straight substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour if you don't have any of the latter. If you really want to make up for it, you can: * Add a _small_ (and I mean small - no more than 10% extra, _at most_) amount more yeast to compensate for the lower rise; * Add a likewise _small_ amount of something like xanthan gum to compensate for the lower gluten - this will help bind the dough, but again you don't need much. If you don't have more yeast and have never heard of xanthan gum... just use the all-purpose and don't worry about it.