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Grains, rice & flours · Flours

Bread flour

Strong, high-protein wheat flour (about 12–14% protein) that builds elastic gluten for chewy, well-risen yeast breads.

Also called: strong flour, strong white flour, pizza flour

A kind of all-purpose flour

38 recipes with it

What it is

Bread or strong flour is milled from hard wheat with more gluten-forming protein than all-purpose flour. The extra gluten traps more gas, so dough stretches further and bakes taller with a chewier crumb. It absorbs a little more water. Italian '00' refers to how fine the milling is, not protein: some 00 flours are strong pizza flours and others are soft pastry flours.

Triticum aestivum

How it’s used

  • Sandwich loaves, rolls and baguettes
  • Pizza and focaccia dough
  • Bagels and soft pretzels
  • Sourdough and enriched doughs such as brioche

Characteristics

Texture
Slightly coarser and creamier than plain flour.
When cooked
Develops gluten with kneading; takes slightly more water than plain flour.
Sold as
ground
Cooking uses
Suitable for baking

Storage

Cool, dry and dark. Airtight in a cool, dry cupboard; best within several months.

Diet, allergens and safety

Contains Wheat, Gluten.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Contains wheat and gluten; unsuitable for people with coeliac disease or a wheat allergy.
  • Raw flour is not a ready-to-eat food and can carry harmful bacteria; do not taste raw dough or batter, and wash hands and surfaces after handling.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
361 kcal
Protein
11.98 g
Carbohydrate
72.53 g
Fat
1.66 g
Fibre
2.4 g
Sugars
0.31 g

USDA FoodData Central: Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • All-purpose flour — Works with a slightly softer, less tall result; use a little less water.
  • Vital wheat gluten — Add about 1 teaspoon per cup (roughly 2–3%) to plain flour to approximate bread flour.

Related ingredients

Recipes with bread flour

See all 38

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