How Can I Make Pastry Flour With Only Having All Purpose Flour?

Pastry flour is often used in baked goods, such as pie crust.

Pastry flour is a specialized flour often used in making baked goods like croissants or tarts for tender results. However, if you only have all-purpose flour on hand, you can substitute it for pastry flour easily. Made from a soft wheat, pastry flour has a smaller amount of gluten -- which gives bread elasticity and structure -- than found in all-purpose flour. In a pinch, a simple substitution using all-purpose flour in a recipe calling for pastry flour will not change the final baked goods.

Things You'll Need

• All-purpose flour
• Sifter
• Mixing bowl
• Spoon
• 1-cup measuring cup
• Knife
• Measuring spoons

Instructions

1. Sift the all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl when sifted pastry flour is called for in the recipe.

2. Spoon the sifted flour into a 1-cup measuring cup without packing down the flour.

3. Level the flour over the mixing bowl using the straight edge of knife.

4. Place the measuring cup of flour on a flat surface, then remove 2 level tbsp. of the pre-measured flour in the measuring cup. Pour the flour from the measuring cup into a fresh mixing bowl.

5. Continue to pre-measure 1 cup minus 2 tbsp. of all-purpose flour per cup of pastry flour listed in the recipe until you have enough for the recipe.

Tips & Warnings

• One cup minus 2 tbsp. of flour is equivalent to 7/8 cup flour.

• If sifting is not required for your recipe, skip sifting the all-purpose flour in Step 1.

• Do not use this pastry flour substitution for other types of flours which may affect the final results of your baked goods.

References

• Colorado State University Extension: Ingredient Substitutions
• Michigan State University: Quick Breads

Resources

• Fine Cooking: How to Measure Flour