All-Purpose Flour and Bread Flour

Although all-purpose unbleached flour may be used to make perfectly decent loaves, there is no question about the superiority of bread flour for the job. This hard-wheat flour used by professional bakers is rich in magical gluten, the mixture of wheat proteins that gives the dough its elasticity and strength to expand and hold rising gases. As bread flour is difficult to get in some places,^* we’ve included a proportion of the more readily available gluten flour in breads where the elastic quality is particularly desirable. It can be purchased in all health-food stores. Although it is expensive, a little goes a long way, and it can be stored for months. Without it certain breads will be nowhere near as crisp, chewy, or “bready.”