The following Family & Consumer Sciences article printed in the 2021 Spring edition of the Oldham County Extension Newsletter.
Cooking Corner
Recipe Substitutions
| If you don’t have… | Then use… |
| 1 cup self-rising flour | 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt |
| 1 cup cake flour | 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons |
| 1 cup all-purpose flour | 1 cup cake flour plus 2 tablespoons |
| 1 teaspoon baking powder | 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon baking soda |
| 1 tablespoon cornstarch | 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour |
| 1 cup yogurt | 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup sour cream |
| 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk | 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice plus milk to equal 1 cup |
| 1 cup milk | 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder mixed in water to make 1 cup |
Types of Flour Used in Baking
The use of different flours will result in varied textures, flavors, and nutritional value. Some flours will produce a heavy, compact bread, while others will produce a lighter bread. Some flours may cause a fullbodied or bitter flavor while others present a nutty, woodsy flavor. Follow your recipe for best results. With practice you can begin to substitute flours with good success.
- All-purpose flour is a blend of hard and soft wheat.
- Self-rising flour is simply all-purpose flour pre-blended with baking powder and salt.
- Bread flour is made from hard wheat, which has a high protein content. It is the preferred flour for making bread.
- Enriched flour has the B-vitamins and iron, that are lost during milling, added back to the flour.
- Whole-wheat flour is milled from the whole kernel. When used alone, whole-wheat flour produces a heavy, compact, dark bread. The germ and bran cut the developing gluten strands.
- Whole-wheat bread flour is ground from hard wheat and has a higher gluten content. To create your own whole wheat bread flour, add one tablespoon gluten to each cup of whole-wheat flour.
- Graham flour resembles whole wheat flour in taste but has less protein.
- Durum flour is made from the hardest of wheats. A bread made entirely from durum wheat is inedible.
- Semolina flour is durum flour minus the bran and wheat germ. It is usually used as a pasta flour but can be used in breads.
- Kamut flour is a relative of durum wheat. It is high in protein but low in gluten, so it must be combined with a higher gluten flour to produce an acceptable bread.
Source: Sandra Bastin, PhD, RD, LD, CCE; Extension Specialist for Food and Nutrition
Oldham County Cooperative Extension Blog 