All-Purpose Flour

In general, you may find that cakes made with all-purpose flour are a bit tougher and less delicate than those made with a softer pastry or cake flour. Likewise, breads made with all-purpose flour may be a bit softer and flatter than those made with bread flour. But overall, these differences should be slight for the casual baker.

If a recipe calls for a certain type of flour and all you have is all-purpose, some manufacturers recommend using 1 tablespoon more per cup when making breads and 1 tablespoon less per cup for cookies and biscuits. This will increase or decrease the total amount of protein going into the batter or dough.