Bread Machine but no Bread Flour...
I recently inherited a bread machine and I’d like to try it out. All of the recipes that accompany the machine call for bread flour, however. I’m wondering, is there an easy way to substitute with all-purpose flour without ruining the bread? Use more yeast or something?
My Husband’s family works for a bread manufacturer, so I haven’t needed to make bread for a long time. But, if I truly need the bread flour, I can go get some. I just wanted to get opinions from everyone here at CH first. I did a quick search and couldn’t really find much about the topic, hope this isn’t a duplicate post.
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chipoltay
Jan 4, 2012 01:40 AM
What brand of AP flour do you have on hand? If the protein content is high it will work just fine; I've used King Arthur AP from time to time and it makes a very decent loaf (I believe it's the highest). A minute on google will find the protein content of your flour.
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this recipe is great - we make it a lot in our mini-Zo, and it calls for all purpose, not bread flour: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe...
(we sometimes substitute whole wheat flour for some of the all purpose)
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re: kazhound
Thanks for the link! I bought a mini Zo and tried this out after my first effort (scrupulously following the instructions) was tiny and dense. This was a little too sweet and rose to hit the lid, so the next time, with half the sugar and 2 cups flour it was perfect.
I also found that adding the yeast to the water, then adding flour works better that what the mini zo instructions say (make sure the yeast doesn't touch the water). Does anyone know why the instructions say that?
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chowser
Aug 21, 2011 08:41 AM
It will work w/ AP but won't give you the same chewy texture (it'll be more cake like). You could add more flour to improve it, or even better, remove the dough during the rise cycle and knead more than the machine does. I like to do that anyway to bake in the oven.
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It won't be quite the same, but it should make acceptable bread with good all purpose flour- give it a shot, there's very little to lose. Bread flour isn't all that expensive, though, and will work better in recipes designed for it. It makes a stronger dough, which is likely to stand up better to machine handling.
