The Complete Guide to Baking Flour Types

Why Flour Type Matters

Flour is the foundation of every baked good, and its protein content is the single most important variable. Protein forms gluten when mixed with water, and gluten is the structural network that gives bread its chew, cakes their tenderness, and pastries their flakiness. Choosing the wrong flour can be the difference between a perfect bake and a disappointing one.

This guide covers every major flour type you'll encounter, what makes each one unique, and exactly when to use it.

All-Purpose Flour (10–12% protein)

The workhorse of the kitchen. All-purpose flour is a blend of hard and soft wheats, designed to be acceptable for virtually everything — bread, cakes, cookies, pastries, sauces. It won't be optimal for any single application, but it will never be a disaster.

Best for: Cookies, pancakes, muffins, quick breads, pie crust, and when you only want to keep one flour in the pantry.

Not ideal for: High-rise artisan bread (too low protein) or delicate sponge cakes (too high protein).

Bread Flour (12–14% protein)

Bread flour has significantly more protein than all-purpose, which means more gluten development and a chewier, more structured result. It absorbs more water, which is why bread flour doughs feel different from all-purpose doughs even at the same hydration percentage.

Best for: All yeasted breads — sourdough, pizza, bagels, pretzels, sandwich bread, focaccia, brioche.

Tip: If a recipe calls for bread flour and you only have all-purpose, add 1 tsp vital wheat gluten per 130g of AP flour.

Cake Flour (7–9% protein)

Cake flour is finely milled from soft wheat with very low protein. This produces an incredibly tender, delicate crumb with minimal gluten formation. It's also bleached, which weakens the protein further and allows it to absorb more sugar and fat — both desirable in cake-making.

Best for: Layer cakes, angel food cake, chiffon cake, tender biscuits.

DIY substitute: For every 130g cake flour needed, use 115g all-purpose flour + 15g cornstarch, sifted twice.

Pastry Flour (8–10% protein)

Pastry flour sits between cake flour and all-purpose flour. It provides enough structure for pastries without developing too much gluten. Think of it as "slightly stronger cake flour."

Best for: Pie crusts, tarts, scones, croissants, danish pastry, shortbread.

Whole Wheat Flour (13–14% protein)

Whole wheat flour includes the bran, germ, and endosperm — everything that was in the wheat kernel. This makes it more nutritious (more fibre, vitamins, minerals) but also denser and more absorptive. The bran particles physically cut through gluten strands, which is why 100% whole wheat bread is always denser than white bread.

Best for: Hearty sandwich bread, flatbreads, pancakes, muffins.

Pro tip: For your first whole wheat loaf, use a 50/50 blend with bread flour. This gives you whole wheat flavour with better rise and texture.

Tipo 00 Flour (11–12.5% protein)

Italian-classified flour ground to an extremely fine particle size. Despite having similar protein to all-purpose, its fine grind and specific protein type (less tenacious than American bread flour) make it ideal for extensible, stretchy doughs.

Best for: Neapolitan pizza, fresh pasta, focaccia.

Why it's special: The fine grind means it hydrates very quickly and creates an amazingly smooth, extensible dough — exactly what you want when stretching pizza by hand.

Rye Flour (8–15% protein, varies)

Rye flour contains different proteins that form a weaker gluten network. It also contains pentosans — gummy carbohydrates that absorb massive amounts of water. This is why rye bread is dense, moist, and slow to stale. 100% rye bread requires different techniques (often sourdough-based) because the weak gluten can't trap gas effectively.

Best for: Pumpernickel, Danish rye, Scandinavian crispbreads, sourdough blends.

Types: Light rye (just endosperm), medium rye (some bran), dark rye (whole grain), pumpernickel (whole grain, coarsely ground).

Self-Rising Flour

Self-rising flour is all-purpose flour pre-mixed with baking powder and salt. It's common in Southern US baking traditions. If a recipe calls for self-rising flour, do not add extra baking powder or salt — it's already in the flour.

Best for: Biscuits, southern-style cornbread, pancakes.

DIY: 130g all-purpose flour + 1.5 tsp baking powder + 0.25 tsp salt = 130g self-rising flour.

Semolina & Durum Flour

Semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat — the hardest wheat variety with the highest protein (13–15%). Durum flour is the finely ground version. Both produce a firm, toothsome, slightly yellow result.

Best for: Fresh pasta (especially Italian shapes like orecchiette), couscous, some types of bread. Semolina is also used for dusting pizza peels to prevent sticking.

Quick Comparison Table

Storage Tips

• White flours — airtight container, cool dry place, 6–12 months shelf life.
• Whole grain flours — refrigerate or freeze in airtight bags. The oils in the bran and germ can go rancid within 1–3 months at room temperature.
• Always smell before using — rancid flour smells musty or like old paint. Fresh flour smells slightly sweet and neutral.