We all have that moment. Gathering ingredients at the beginning of baking something…walking to the cupboard…looking in…and then exclaiming “I can’t believe I’m out of that. I was SURE I had that!”
Note that substitutions are going to have an effect on the final product.
(Note: this is part of an ongoing series of posts covering the fundamentals of baking. For more information, check out the ‘Ingredients,’ ‘Substitutes,’ ‘Cooking 101,’ and ‘Cooking 201’ pages.)
For thickening, substitute cornstarch or quick-cooking tapioca.
1 C. all-purpose= 1 & 1/8 C. cake flour
1 C. all-purpose= 1 C. minus 1 Tbsp. whole-wheat flour
1 C. all-purpose= 1 C. self-rising, but omit baking powder and salt from recipe
1 C. all-purpose= 7/8 C. rice flour
1 C. all-purpose= 1/2 C. cake & 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
Bread flour
1 C. bread flour= 1 C. all-purpose & 1 tsp. wheat gluten (can omit gluten if must)
Cake flour
1 C. cake flour= 3/4 C. all-purpose flour & 2 Tbsp. cornstarch. Sift 5-6 times (must sift so many times to both mix everything together and give the flour the “airy” feel of cake flour).
Pastry flour
1 C. pastry flour=3/8 C. all-purpose flour & 5/8 C. cake flour
2 C. pastry flour= 1 & 1/3 C. all-purpose & 2/3 C. cake flour [ratio different from above…choose whether you’re going for a “lighter” product or a heavier, denser product.]
1 C. pastry flour= 2 Tbsp. cornstarch plus enough all-purpose flour to equal 1 cup
Self-rising flour
1 C. self-rising= 1 C. all purpose -and- 1 & 1/3 tsp. baking powder -and- 1/3 tsp. salt
Whole-wheat flour
1 C. whole-wheat= 7/8 C. all-purpose & 2 Tbsp. wheat germ
Women’s Health Magazine provides some substitutes in situations in which you want to just get rid of some regular flour for various “health” reasons. I personally don’t recommend them because they affect taste…but I have included them in case some of my readers are interested!
- Almond flour: can be used for coating chicken or fish; in meatballs, crab cakes, or anywhere else you’d use bread crumbs. It can also be used for replacing up to one-fourth of the white flour in cakes, muffins, pancakes, and cookies.
- Soy flour: can be used for thickening sauces, gravies, or soups. You can also replace up to one-third of the white flour in non-yeast recipes.
- Quinoa flour: Cut it with an equal amount of white flour—the texture will be a bit more grainy than usual, but the result will be so much better for you.
- Barley flour: use in place of wheat flour in biscuits, breads, and pancakes.
- Spelt flour: use in baked goods, pizza crusts, and breads. It can be exchanged one-for-one without changing the consistency of the end product.
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