Have you come across the ingredient ‘all purpose flour’ in a recipe? Don’t worry, you probably already have it in your cupboard.
Quite a few American recipes use the phrase ‘all purpose flour’, but in Australia, we just refer to it as plain flour. This guide will take you through what you need to know.
All purpose flour in Australia
In Australia, plain flour is the equivalent to all-purpose flour. If you come across an American recipe you might see all-purpose flour listed as one of the ingredients in pie crusts, cakes, sweets and sometimes bread.
When you do, you can just add plain flour in its place.
It is affectionately named overseas as you can use it for all purposes, but in Australia, self-raising flour is more popular in baking which is why we call it plain flour.
More flour substitutes and alternatives
Self-raising flour is flour with a raising agent, and sometimes salt, added into it. If you are looking to substitute self-raising flour with plain flour you will need to add a raising agent such as baking powder into it.
Bakers flour or bread flour is used to create bakery products such as loaves and bread rolls. An alternative to bread flour is all purpose flour.
Cake flour has a protein content of between 6-8% and is made from soft wheat flour so it can absorb more moisture and sugar than other flours to help create softer textures in cakes. For an alternative to cake flour, you can use all purpose flour to create an alternative to cake flour.
Three of our favourite cake recipes
01
Berry Rhubarb Topped Cheesecake recipe
Two of the yummiest fruits in the same dish!
02
Caramel Toblerone Cheesecake
You simply must try this ultra decadent dessert!
03
Nutty Snickers cheesecake recipe
This decadent dessert is a dream.
