Your First Homemade Bread - All Purpose Flour (2024)

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Introduction Video FAQs

Introduction

Homemade bread made with All Purpose Flour. My Deep South Texas video "Homemade Bread for Beginners" has received hundreds of comments asking if All Purpose Flour could be used in place of the bread flour. It seems most beginning bakers do not have, or are not familiar with bread flour. In this video I follow the same process using All Purpose Flour. As in the original video, there is no sugar in this recipe. A couple amazing time lapse clips show the dough and bread rising like crazy! The overall results were exceptional. Ingredients below.

7 cups All Purpose Flour
3 cups water, warm to the touch
2 Tablespoons instant yeast
3 tea spoons salt
2 Table spoons oil

Loaf Pans are 9.5 in by 5.5 in, 3 in deep

Bake at 400 F for 40 minutes

Video

Hi y'all, this is larry from deep south, texas and today, we're going to remake our homemade bread for beginners.

But this time we're going to use all-purpose flour when I made the original video, I used bread flour.

But since this was a video for beginners, lots of beginners don't have bread flour around and don't, even know what bread flour is.

So bread flour has about 12 to 14 percent protein and all-purpose flour has eight to 11 percent.

The extra protein gives the bread flour, more gluten and it's it's more suitable for making bread.

And I had lots of questions asking if all-purpose flour could be used.

Luckily, I had lots of subscribers who had tried this recipe with all-purpose flour, and they had reported back a success.

So we're going to try to remake this bread with all-purpose flour today and show you how it turns out.

So we start off with three cups of water.

And the water is just warm to the touch and to that I'm going to add 2 tablespoons of instant yeast and we'll, just uh, let that yeast set up on top of the water for a little bit until it rehydrates and then we'll mix it in well.

It's been just a couple minutes, let's, uh, mix this yeast into the water.

Now, this this step and the next one where I'm going to let the yeast activate, this is not necessary when you're using instant yeast, but if you're using dry active yeast, you might want to, uh, you might want to do this step.

But I just do it out of habit.

I think so we'll let that set until the yeast looks like it's active and then we'll move on to the next step now, we're, waiting for the yeast to activate we'll, uh, get our seven cups of flour into the mixing bowl and to that I'm going to add three teaspoons of salt and I'm, just using kosher salt and get that all mixed together and continue to wait on that yeast it's been about 10 minutes.

And I can see that my yeast is active from the foaming that's coming on top now, I'm going to add to the yeast two tablespoons of olive oil.

I think in my last video, I used the sunflower seed oil, but olive oil is probably a little bit healthier so we're going to use that this time.

And now we will add that to our yeast or to our flour and salt mixture and just get that all mixed up incorporate all of this flour into that liquid that'll take a few minutes.

So we have our dry and wet ingredients incorporated.

And now we're just going to cover this and let it set for 15 minutes.

This is not to rise it's just to finalize the rehydration of the flour with the with the water it's been 15 minutes.

And the flour should be pretty well hydrated now now we're going to, uh roll it out of the bowl and knead it.

Okay, I'm going to knead this for about eight minutes.

You can do this in a stand mixer.

If you like, probably for about five minutes and you'll see it's a little sticky that's.

Okay, I think as we need it, it will get less and less sticky now you'll.

Obviously notice I haven't put any extra flour down on the board.

I get all kinds of comments about that telling me to put flour down.

But in this technique, um, you don't do that.

So you get a little bit of a dough on your hands and have to wash that off.

But the board from time to time just scrape up what's sticking to the board and continue on with kneading.

I know this is kind of different, but it seems to work really well.

I think the point is to not add a bunch of unneeded flour, unhydrated flour to your bread.

So if it gets too sticky, I might add a little bit of flour, but for the moment, we're just going to go on with the kneading process again, when I'm when I'm using bread flour as I need, it gets less and less sticky, hoping for the same thing here we're about halfway through the kneading process.

And uh, the dough has certainly become less sticky it's still a little bit stickier than when I use bread flour, though so maybe it could be the all-purpose flour making it stickier, or it could be it's just a more humid day today here in south texas, but we'll just keep kneading the bread for another four minutes eating the dough for another four minutes.

Well, I've been kneading for about eight to ten minutes.

And the dough is certainly less sticky than what it was now we're going to, uh, move this dough over into our back into our mixing bowl, and let it rise for one hour, I'm going to cover this with saran wrap by the way.

Well, the hour is up.

And the dough is jumping out of the bowl.

Now I was supposed to put dust the top of that dough with some flour.

And I forgot to do that so I'm, hoping this, uh, plastic wrap doesn't, stick too badly.

So let's, uh, punch this down and roll it on to our board, which I have slightly floured only because I forgot to dust the top of this.

Okay.

Now, we're just going to flatten this out a little bit and then we'll divide it in half because we're going to make two loaves of bread.

And since we want the lobes to be about the same size, I want to be kind of careful about getting them.

Equally cut here now, we're going to take each half and fold it over and then we're going to pick up the corners and move it into the middle.

And what we're trying to do is create a ball, create some tension on one side of the bread.

This is just a pre-shaping here and we'll do the same thing with this other half.

Now we have the pre-shape done.

We sprinkle a little bit of flour on top, and then we'll cover them with saran wrap.

And let them set for 20 minutes before we do the final shaping it's now time for the final shaping take our vote out turn it over we'll, uh, flatten it out a little bit again and then we'll, fold it over at an angle to try to make a trapezoidal shape a little bit narrower on one end than the other.

And we want the bottom end to be about the size to fit into this pan.

And this pan is let me let me measure it get this right about nine and a half inches long it's about five and a half inches wide and it's, uh about three inches deep.

And what you want is we're going to roll this up, and you want the the bottom end to be about the size of the pan here.

Well, I think that's pretty good.

Now we just take it from the top and roll it down pinch it in pretty good get that seam all set sprinkle it with a little flour all over on the edges, too and we're going to take and put that seam side down in our pan and then we'll cover that.

And let that rise for another hour, let me get to the other one and then I'll get back to you.

And here they are in the pans, um, again, we're going to let them rise for about an hour.

The pans have been buttered, pretty liberally.

So hopefully, uh that all works out.

Well did last time and we'll wait an hour and then we'll put these in the oven.

Well, I went a little bit over my hour rise time because I got an emergency phone call, but uh, let's get this bread in the oven, the oven has been preheated to 400 degrees fahrenheit and expect to cook them for about 40 minutes.

Well, the 40 minutes is up let's, uh, take our bread out of the oven.

They look pretty good.

Let's.

Take a closer.

Look.

I don't know it doesn't look like that all-purpose flour, hurt them at all let's, uh, get them out of the pan onto the cooling rack.

Wow, they look pretty good let's, uh brush.

The tops with a little melted butter make sure they try to stay soft.

So so and then we'll, let these uh cool down and slice into one.

Well, the bread has cooled down let's, slice some up, uh, well, it looks pretty good let's.

Uh, put some butter on a slice and try it out.

Well here it is let's.

Give it a taste very good, very good.

So this bread was made with, uh, all-purpose flour and uh, how does it compare to the bread flour? Pretty good pretty good.

I don't think the outside of the crust is as pretty, but sliced up it's, wonderful, it's, wonderful, it's, nice and soft and got a really good crumb.

There was no problem with how it how it rose.

So I'd say, no problem making this bread with all-purpose flour.

I hope you enjoyed this video.

If you did, please give it that thumbs up.

Thanks for watching we'll.

See you again.

Next time you.

Your First Homemade Bread - All Purpose Flour (2024)

FAQs

Can you make bread with all-purpose flour? ›

All-purpose flour can also make great bread — many professional bakers use and love it in their loaves. It can be particularly good for Irish soda bread or other quick bread recipes that use baking soda instead of fermentation to leaven the dough and are meant to have a denser crumb.

Can I add yeast to all-purpose flour? ›

All-purpose flour will not rise on its own. If a recipe calls for all-purpose flour, it will typically require a leavening agent like baking soda, baking powder, or yeast to provide lift.

What flour to use for homemade bread? ›

Flour: Bread flour or all-purpose can both be used with no changes to the recipe. Bread flour will produce a slightly chewier loaf. Whole wheat flour can't be substituted cup-for-cup because it's gluten levels are different.

How do you adjust all-purpose flour to bread flour? ›

Another option is to create your own bread flour substitute by combining all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten, an isolated form of the flour protein. Measure out a cup of flour, remove one teaspoon of flour, and replace it with a teaspoon of vital wheat gluten.

Is it better to use bread flour or all-purpose flour for bread? ›

All-purpose flour produces tender baked goods (as opposed to chewy ones) and is ideal for cakes, muffins, biscuits, piecrust, etc. Bread flour, on the other hand, is ideal for bread, pizza dough, pretzels, etc. – items where a strong crumb and a chewy texture are coveted.

What happens if you use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour in a bread machine? ›

Even if your all-purpose flour doesn't have enough gluten, it's okay to use it in the bread machine. Again, the worst that will happen is that your bread won't rise as much as it would have with bread flour.

How much yeast do I add to all-purpose flour? ›

Depending on the recipe and rising time, you may use as little as 1 teaspoon, or up to 2 1/4 teaspoons (sometimes more) of instant yeast per pound (about 4 cups) of flour.

What is the ratio of yeast to all-purpose flour? ›

With different yeast options available at supermarkets or bakeries, this may get a little confusing. As a rule of thumb, use: 1.4% of the weight of flour you are using (for example, 14g yeast per 1kg of flour) fast-acting yeast. 1% for dried yeast.

How long do you let yeast sit before adding flour? ›

Stir gently and let it sit. After 5 or 10 minutes, the yeast should begin to form a creamy foam on the surface of the water. That foam means the yeast is alive. You can now proceed to combine the yeast mixture with the flour and other dry ingredients in your recipe.

What is the best all-purpose flour for bread? ›

If you bake a lot of bread and prefer stocking only one flour in your kitchen, we recommend buying a higher-protein all-purpose flour such as King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Bob's Red Mill Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour.

What is the healthiest flour to make homemade bread? ›

The healthiest bread flour is 100% whole grain flour. Whole grain flour could be rye, barley, spelt, oat, or wheat flour - the key is that the flour is made from 100% whole grains. Whole grain breads provide essential nutrients that are lacking in bread made from white flour.

What makes the tastiest bread? ›

12 tips for making perfect bread
  1. Use the right yeast. ...
  2. Store your yeast properly. ...
  3. Treat salt with care. ...
  4. Take your time. ...
  5. Try different flours. ...
  6. Consider vitamin C. ...
  7. Practice makes perfect. ...
  8. Don't prove for too long.

Does all-purpose flour need more water than bread flour? ›

Bread flour can be substituted with all-purpose flour, but you have to keep in mind that bread flour, since it has a higher gluten content, requires more liquid. When using all-purpose flour you can either add more flour (usually 1 tbsp per 1 cup flour) or add less water.

What helps all-purpose flour rise? ›

Making self-rising flour at home is easy. Just use this basic formula: For every 1 cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt. Whisk the ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl or put them in a glass jar and shake well.

Does bread flour take longer to rise than all-purpose flour? ›

Bread flour has a higher amount of protein and higher amount of gluten which is why it's good for an airy, chewy bread that needs time to rise. All purpose flour has a lower protein content which makes it good for cookies and cakes that don't need to rise.

Is it OK to add yeast to self-rising flour? ›

No, at least not the traditional bread yeast. When using self rising flour the bread proofs much faster. Therefore, if you also add yeast to it you will need to wait for it to act. As a result your bread will be way over-proofed and will most likely collapse while baking.

How do you activate dry yeast in flour? ›

To activate dry yeast, you'll need to leave it in a bowl of warm water (100–110℉) mixed with a pinch of sugar for 10–15 minutes. You can also use warm milk if you nix the sugar. Yeast is used in baking as a leavening agent, meaning it makes cakes and bread rise.

Do you need to put yeast in self-rising flour? ›

Also like all-purpose flour, self-rising flour is enriched with added nutrition. It also contains salt and baking powder that has been distributed evenly throughout the flour and acts as a leavening agent. This raising agent helps dough to rise without having to add yeast.

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