I have a bread maker ( an older style)that I use periodically. I have usually used flour specifically for the bread maker but was wondering if regular All Purpose flour would work ok. If I sift it first would it work ok? What is the difference between bread flour and all purpose flour anyway?
Short answer: No. You can't use regular flour in a bread machine. You can, however, make bread in the regular oven with it.
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-...
Hmm. I've used regular flour in mine and it has always turned out. Maybe my bread maker doesn't know any better, and I'm not going to tell it.
i sue bread flour in mine. i make bread about twice a week in my breadmaker
As Karen T. said, bread flour is made from a harder wheat and has more protein and gluten in it. It's the gluten that makes the bread hold it's shape. You can use all purpose flour. The product may be different but it will still be good. I'm a home economist by training and I've never used bread flour. Bread flour was difficult to find back then. :)
It seems that you may want to use a tad bit more flour than you used with bread flour if the recipe calls for bread flour. But that may not be right. Exact measurements are not essential for a good loaf of bread that's not entered into competition.
I also go against training and rarely sift flour. The product is more dense but that's OK with me. I'm not entering it in competition. :) It's been years since I've baked bread and I'm not sure that recipes even tell you to sift flour for bread.
I have a wheat intolerance so I've never used bread flour in my bread maker. I use spelt flour (which can be used interchangabley with all purpose wheat flour) and it has worked just fine.
"Bread flour" is made from harder wheat, so it has a higher protein content and more gluten. Try some recipes with each. We definitely prefer bread flour.
I have used regular flour and the bread doesn't turn out perfect. It sometimes sinks a bit in the middle or is a little dense, but it's bread and tastes good and that's all I am looking for.
I've always used regular flour in mine and everything turns out fine. I thought the only difference is that bread flour is just sifted longer. Oh well - for the price difference I'll keep using regular flour !
