When making a cake can you substitute all purpose flour for cake and pastry flour?

I've never used cake and pastry flour, don't really know what the difference is. Makes sense to me that you might get a fluffier cake from pastry flour....?When making a cake can you substitute all purpose flour for cake and pastry flour?
Cake flour is a low gluten flour. This means that it binds less and is not as airy. Pastry flour is a high gluten flour. This means that it creates carbohydrate strands within the product and is more firm.


If the recipe is a cake, I probably wouldn't worry about it. The cake may be a little less fluffy if you use regular all purpose flour, but not much. If you're concerned but don't know where to buy cake and pastry flour your best bet is either buying bleached flour in place of cake flour and unbleached flour in place of pastry flour (bleaching flour breaks down the gluten in flour) or using unbleached flour for pastry flour and one of those weird boxed minute flours (go to the baking aisle in any supermarket, you'll see what I mean. They all claim to be 'the greatest flour in the world!' on the box.';) in lieu of cake flour.


Really, even the phrases cake and pastry flour are sort of loose. In Canada the flour can have nearly twice the gluten that Americans are used to and in the south they consider cake flour all purpose. Something to keep in mind if you ever decide to make cornbread.


Also, that thing about yeast not being in some flour? That's just wrong. Yeast isn't in ANY flour. It would die and leave a bad taste. Self rising flour contains baking soda or baking powder.


Hope this was helpful.When making a cake can you substitute all purpose flour for cake and pastry flour?
Make sure it's Self Rising All Purpose Flour
pastry flour has no yeast in it
You can use it. You have the right idea it won't be as light and fluffy and something amde from pastery flour. But only serious bakers bother with keeping two or three or four types of flour in the house.





I think self rising flour is mostly a Europen thing, if the recipie does not call for it don't use it.
If you substitute all purpose flour for cake flour, use less of it and make sure you sift it. Cake flour is very light and airy...