Can You Use Bread Flour To Make Cookies?
Cookies are a beloved treat that are perfect for any occasion – whether it’s a sweet snack, a dessert, or even a gift. When it comes to baking cookies, using the right type of flour is crucial to achieving the perfect texture and flavor.
But what if you’ve run out of all-purpose flour and only have bread flour in your pantry? Can you use bread flour to make cookies? This is a common question that many bakers have, and the answer may surprise you.
Bread flour could be a useful addition to your cookie recipe if you’re looking for chewiness and bend. A little-known fact about Alton Brown: his signature chocolate chip cookie recipe uses bread flour and is called “The Chewy.”
Can You Use Bread Flour For Cookies?
The name bread flour is certainly accurate – it adds lift and strength to bread like Back-of-the-Bag Oatmeal Bread, as well as other yeasted bread. Be careful not to let its name mislead you into thinking it’s only useful for that.
It turns out that bread flour also lends itself well to recipes that go beyond bread. In particular, cookies. Using bread flour for cookies will work as long as you want the cookies to turn out a certain way.
You will get different results when you make cookies with bread flour instead of regular all-purpose flour.
Today we’ll be trying to answer the question of whether or not you can use bread flour to make cookies and what implications it may have on the final product. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and get baking!
Bread Flour And Cookie Texture
The flavor of your cookies won’t change if you use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. It is more likely that the switch will impact the final texture of your product. The result?
These cookies are chewier than those made with all-purpose flour. Obviously, everyone has a different idea about the best cookie texture.
There are people who like their cakes thin and crispy, while there are others who prefer their cakes super soft, and half-baked (me!). Your cookie recipes may benefit from the addition of bread flour if you want chewy, bendable cookies.
Bread Flour Vs. All Purpose Flour
All-purpose flour and bread flour differ greatly in protein content. In order for bread to be stretchy and chewy, it must produce more gluten; therefore, bread flour contains a higher amount of protein. That’s how you get stretchy, chewy bread – and chewy cookies too!
Why Do the Cookies Turn Out So Chewy When Using Bread Flour?
The cookies will be denser than usual if the recipe calls for bread flour. Since you’ll be using bread flour, the cookies will be a bit denser and chewier than the cookies you’d normally make.
The Power Of Protein
Is there a reason why bread flour makes chewier cookies? The protein content is the key factor that distinguishes different types of flour.
The protein content of every type of flour is milled to meet our specific requirements – you’ll see this right on the front of King Arthur flour bags.
This is because the protein level of your flour affects how it behaves during baking, which impacts your final product.
In essence, the more protein in flour, the more gluten that will form when it is mixed with water. The dough becomes stronger as the gluten develops.
Furthermore, flours with a higher protein content absorb more liquid than those with a lower protein content.
For instance, cake flour has a low protein content (10%), so cakes are tender and light, without much gluten development. Higher protein content in bread flour facilitates an elastic, high-rising dough, resulting in strong, high-rising bread.
Try A Recipe For Cookies That Uses Bread Flour
There are other recipes you can use if all you have in your house is bread flour. In some cases, you might even get better results with a recipe that uses bread flour rather than all-purpose flour when compared with a cookie recipe that uses all-purpose flour.
If you are making cookies using bread flour, they will likely be denser than usual because they are made from bread flour. The cookies are usually thick and chewy in other cookie recipes, but this recipe calls for bread flour, so the cookies may be denser and chewier.
You can easily find recipes for bread flour cookies online. If you haven’t yet started baking, you might find it worthwhile to look up a new recipe.
For the best cookies, you’ll want to look for the perfect recipe. Ensure the recipe you use matches the ingredients available to you, and you should have a good experience baking them.
Can You Substitute Bread Flour for All-Purpose Flour Cup for Cup?
You should ensure you do things right when you replace all-purpose flour with bread flour. It might worry you that you’ll require less bread flour for cookies since bread flour differs from all-purpose flour.
The truth is, you can actually substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour cup for cup. There is just one thing you need to understand about the cookies: they will look different from what they would look like if you had used all-purpose flour.
Using the same amount of bread flour as if you were using all-purpose flour is the best move to make. Just use the bread flour you have in your kitchen and follow the rest of the recipe that you’re using.
The only difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is that bread flour tends to make baked goods dry. Protein is the reason for this, but you can compensate by adding a bit of water if you like.
You don’t need to add water when baking cookies because so many other ingredients provide moisture. Baking flour works with ingredients such as butter and eggs to create a significant gluten network that gives cookies their chewiness.
What Are Other Types of Flour That You Could Use?
There are wide varieties of flour besides bread flour and all-purpose flour. You might be able to substitute some other type of flour that you have in your kitchen if you need a substitute for all-purpose flour.
If you are not interested in making very chewy cookies, you might want to try another type of flour instead. Read on to find out how you can substitute other types of flour for all-purpose flour when baking cookies.
You Can Always Go Buy More All-Purpose Flour
You can just make a trip to the store if you don’t like the idea of using all-purpose flour instead. The general availability of all-purpose flour isn’t an issue since it’s available at most grocery stores and department stores that sell groceries.
Using all-purpose flour is the best way to ensure your recipe turns out exactly as you remember it. You can substitute other types of flour for all-purpose flour nicely, but sticking to your favorites is always safer.
Cake Flour
A cake flour’s low protein content makes it ideal for baking cakes. Making cookies with cake flour will require some adaptations to the recipe if you’re substituting it for all-purpose flour.
To replace one cup of all-purpose flour with cake flour, use one cup and two tablespoons of cake flour. In this way, you should be able to reproduce results that are similar to those of all-purpose flour.
Making cookies with cake flour shouldn’t be a problem if you want to use this. If you are using all-purpose flour, you will only need to use a little more cake flour.
Using cake flour as a substitute for all-purpose flour is a good idea if you do it right. Cake flour is usually kept around by people who bake lots of cakes, so you likely have some as well.
Pastry Flour
You might also have pastry flour in your kitchen. In general, cakes and other pastries are better off using this flour than all-purpose flour.
This type of flour works well when you want to make a tender pastry dessert. Certain types of cookies may not be suitable for this flour due to its softer texture.
There are recipes for cookies made with pastry flour, though, and they can be quite delicious. In a pinch, you can make good cookies with pastry flour.
Furthermore, you can substitute all-purpose flour for pastry flour when baking things such as cakes and bread. It works out fine because they’re fairly close to one another.
Whole Wheat Flour
All-purpose flour would be better substituted with bread flour rather than whole wheat flour. The protein content of whole wheat flour is even higher than that of bread flour.
The best thing to do if you decide to use whole wheat flour for your cookies is to combine it with all-purpose flour. Your cookie recipe may work better if you use half whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour if you don’t have enough all-purpose flour.
The cookies turn out dry when you use only whole wheat flour. Although adding a lot of moisture will make things less dense, this will still likely result in a very dense result.
You should find a recipe that uses whole wheat flour if you only have whole wheat flour.
Spelt Flour
In some ways, spelt flour is very similar to all-purpose flour. The protein content of this flour is almost the same as that found in all-purpose flour, so baking cookies with it will be similar.
Spelt flour can be substituted cup for cup for all-purpose flour without any problems. The only thing to watch out for is whether the batter becomes too dry.
If you use spelt flour, your batter might be a bit drier than usual. You may need to add more moisture than usual.
The recipe is likely to turn out fine if you use enough eggs and butter. You might be able to get a closer substitute by using spelt flour than bread flour.
There are even ones that call for spelt flour in cookies. A lot of people like the taste of cookies made with spelt flour, so you might want to give it a try.
Conclusion
While bread flour can technically be used to make cookies, it may not always be the best choice. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which can lead to a denser and chewier texture in cookies.
However, if you prefer a chewier and heartier cookie, then using bread flour could be a great option. Just keep in mind that the resulting cookies may have a slightly different texture and taste than what you’re used to.
Ultimately, the choice is yours, and experimenting with different flours in your cookie recipes can lead to some delicious and unique results. So, why not try using bread flour in your next batch of cookies and see what kind of flavor and texture you can create?
