Can You Use Bread Flour For Cookies?

On the weekend, a lot of people like making cookies. Especially as there is a broad range of cookie recipes online, with chocolate chip cookies being the most popular.

HoweTver, most recipes will ask you to use all-purpose flour for cookies.

Yet sometimes, you may not have all-purpose flour on hand, therefore you may have wondered whether you could use bread flour in your cookies.

In this article, we will be finding out whether you can use bread flour for cookies instead of all-purpose flour.

What Happens If You Use Bread Flour In Cookies?

There is nothing stopping you from using bread flour for cookies. These are known as bread flour cookies. In fact, it is known that by using bread flour, you will create a different texture than usual.

These will be much more chewer cookies. This is due to the gluten that is added from the bread flour. Overall, you will create crispy and chewy cookies that are delicious to eat.

A lot of bakers like to create chocolate chip cookies using bread flour. However, be prepared for much chewer texture. If you don’t want your cookies to be chewy, instead you want them soft and fluffy, then you should avoid using bread flour, and use cake flour.

Can You Substitute Bread Flour For All Purpose Flour For Cookies?

When it comes to substituting all-purpose flour in your cook recipe for bread flour, will notice a big difference in the cookies you create. You want to use a ratio of 1:1, therefore one cup of bread flour for every cup of all-purpose flour.

However, all the other ingredients will remain the same. This will include your brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, eggs, and butter.

Your recipe will still produce cookies once baked that taste great. Although, the cookies themselves will have much more volume and be chewer. However, they may have less spread on the baking tray, as they will rise up.

However, it is important to note, that while bread flour isn’t always good news. Sometimes the high-protein flour can soak up all the wet ingredients, which means the dough will have a much drier and crumbly texture.

Therefore, if you do happen to notice that your cookie mixture looks a lot drier than normal, then you will need to add some extra liquid. All you will need to do is add one to two teaspoons of water, and that will help you achieve the correct consistency.

Why Do The Cookies Become So Chewy?

When using cookie recipes that calls for bread flour, the cookies will become really chewy. This is because bread flour has a high protein content.

In fact, bread flour contains around 12% to 14% of protein. Therefore, the cookies will produce gluten and gain a lot more volume than they normally would.

Can You Use Bread Flour For Cookies

Alongside that, the protein will work with the eggs and butter in your cookie recipe. Therefore, as all these ingredients work together, they produce really chewy cookies. You can find recipes online that use bread flour to create a chewy texture.

What Kind Of Flour Is Best For Cookies?

Flour is a key ingredient when it comes to cookies. Although, there are many flours out there that you could think about using when making cookies.

When you next decide to bake some cookies, think about the type of flour that you are using, and whether it is suited for cookies.

All Purpose Flour

All-purpose flour is seen as normal flour, as it is one of the most well-known flours that you find. Low protein flours like all-purpose flour are a great choice when it comes to making cookies.

If you still want to use bread flour, you can use bread flour and all-purpose flour together. This can be done by using 1/2 cup of bread flour and 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour.

The cookies will be a mixture of soft and light, while also slightly chewy and full of volume.

Cake Flour

For the ultimate fluffy, delicate, and soft cookie then you should think about using cake flour. Although it should be noticed, these are very delicate cookies, that don’t have a very firm structure, that typically a lot of people look for. However, a lot of people do enjoy the soft texture cake flour cookies can produce.

Wheat Flour

Some people like to use wheat flour for cookies. If you are watching what you are eating, then wheat flour is a great healthy alternative. Although, it should be noted that cookies made using wheat flour will create very thick and dense cookies.

Pastry Flour

If you are an avid baker, then you may have pastry flour in your pantry. A great alternative for all-purpose flour is pastry flour, yet it is more suited for pastries and cakes, rather than cookies. This is due to this flour having an extremely soft texture.

Spelt Flour

Finally, we have spelt flour, which is quite similar to all-purpose flour. Therefore, it is a great swap in any cookie recipe. However, this kind of flour can make the mixture quite dry, so you will have to add more liquids.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to baking cookies, there are various types of flours that you can use, like pastry flour, all-purpose flour, or you could use bread flour.

Bread flour will create a chewy cookie, which contains a lot more gluten than other cookies. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes are made with bread flour.

Therefore, next time you are baking cookies, then you can use that leftover bread flour if you don’t have any other flour in the house.

If you are looking to create chewy cookies, then you should consider using bread flour.

Kathryn Sewell

Kathryn Sewell

Hi! I'm Kate and I have been baking and cooking for as long as I can remember. I like to share the most interesting tips and recipes I try here on What Kate Baked for you to enjoy. If you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share send it over on social.

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