All-purpose flour vs Bread flour
The difference is protein: bread flour runs about 12 to 14 percent, all-purpose about 10 to 12. More protein means more gluten, which gives bread its chew and structure. Use bread flour for yeast breads, pizza and bagels; use all-purpose for cakes, cookies and anything you want tender. They swap 1:1 in a pinch — bread flour makes cookies a little chewier, all-purpose makes bread a little less springy.
At a glance
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Type | Key trait |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | Flours & Starches | Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off — scooping straight from the bag packs it down and can add up to 20% more flour than a recipe intends. |
| Bread flour | 120 g | Flours & Starches | Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour, but it weighs about the same per cup. |
How to swap all-purpose flour and bread flour
- 1 cup AP = 1 cup bread flour (or vice versa) (King Arthur Baking)Higher-protein bread flour yields chewier results; expect a slightly tougher crumb in cakes and biscuits. Acceptable in most recipes outside delicate pastry.
- Equal all-purpose flour, optionally with 1 tsp vital wheat gluten per cup (King Arthur Baking)Plain AP flour works for most home bread recipes — the dough is slightly less elastic and the crumb a bit less chewy. The vital wheat gluten addition brings it closer to bread flour's protein content (12–14%).
Full conversions: All-purpose flour converter · Bread flour converter. More swaps: All-purpose flour substitutes · Bread flour substitutes.
More comparisons
* Conversion figures are typical average weights for one US customary cup (236.6 ml), based on the King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart and cross-referenced with the U.S. Department of Agriculture FoodData Central database. Actual weight varies with packing, brand and humidity — see our methodology.