Chefs all over the world know that in order to run a proper kitchen, there are a few essential ingredients they need to have on hand. One of them is flour. But, since there are different types of flour, it can be hard to differentiate between them and figure out which one is best to have.
That’s why many chefs today just choose to go with all purpose flour. With all purpose flour, you can make many more things than if you were to go with traditional flour. From bread to pasta to pastries to cakes, all purpose flour can make these all and more.
In this review of the best all purpose flour, we’ll introduce you to the 10 best products on the market today. We’ll explain why these all purpose flour products are the best ones including what we liked and didn’t like about each.
Best Pick
Our best choice for all purpose flour is the White Lily All Purpose Flour. This flour is very high in quality and comes in a perfectly sized five-pound bag. It’s a great option for everyone including health enthusiasts since it has a lower amount of gluten and protein but still works like a charm when making your favorite bread.
Budget Pick
Our best budget choice is the Gold Medal, All Purpose Flour. It comes in a two-pound bag which can be enough for people who don’t regularly use flour in their cooking but would like to have it stored in case. It works well with all types of food including pastries and pasta.
Quick Comparison: Top 10 Best All Purpose Flour
The best overall all purpose flour is the White Lily All Purpose Flour. We like it for many reasons, none more important than it does an excellent job at making just about anything you want it to!
This package of White Lily All Purpose Flour comes in a heft five-pound bag and the package itself is roughly 15 inches tall and 5 inches wide. Inside the package, you’ll get more than enough all purpose flour to suit your baking needs.
Each serving size measures out to roughly one quarter of a cup and in that serving, you should expect 100 calories, 8% carbohydrate content as well as 2 grams of protein. This all purpose flour is made from a soft winter wheat as it says on the outside of the packaging. This soft winter wheat is made from soft wheat flour which tends to have a lower concentration of gluten and protein. For an all purpose flour, this one does have a lower amount of protein and gluten than other options.
Despite that, many people are thrilled with what they have been able to make in their kitchens, thus far. For example, many people are very happy with how their biscuits and gravy, cakes, breads, and pie crusts have turned out. Find a dry area in your house to store this all purpose flour away in when you’re not using it to prevent it from going bad, and possibly, even growing mold.
What we liked: biscuits can often be hit or miss when baked but with this White Lily All Purpose Flour, we have never made a better batch of biscuits before. They came out very light and fluffy and when it got cold, it didn’t completely solidify into a hard piece of wheat. To elevate your biscuits even further, you can even use this all purpose flour to make gravy for your biscuits as well.
What we didn’t like: because of it contains lower amounts of protein and gluten, when you’re baking something, what can tend to happen is that once it’s done it may not have a full or proper shape. For example, our bread was too light and the crust never really hardened and it turned out to just be a bit too mushy for our liking.Though it doesn’t take the gold medal spot on our list, the Gold Medal All Purpose Flour is one of the best choices for people because of the tremendous value it offers. For people not looking to buy a five, or more, pound bag of flour, they need to check out this Gold Medal All Purpose Flour.
This all purpose flour only weighs two pounds and is a great alternative for people just looking for enough flour to get them through their Thanksgiving dinner. Each serving of this all purpose flour contains 115 calories and 7% carbohydrate along with 3 grams of protein.
This Gold Medal All Purpose Flour won’t add any color to your baking which makes it ideal for breads and cakes. No color is added because this is a bleached all purpose flour. What that means is bleached flour tends to have a more white color thanks to the chemicals in bleach to making the aging process go faster. The end result of using bleached all purpose flour is bread or any other baked treats to have a texture that is much softer.
Many people that have purchased this Gold Medal All Purpose Flour say it is an excellent flour choice to make bread. Because it’s bleached flour, you can be guaranteed that your bread won’t have any coloring on it from the flour. Because of its smaller size, many people say they are able to easily fit it in one of their kitchen cabinets as opposed to a pantry or a room that’s located elsewhere in the house.
What we liked: this is truly a fantastic option for people that aren’t looking to have a huge supply of flour. We found that this lasted us quite a long time and is an excellent choice for people shopping for less amounts of flour.
What we didn’t like: despite there being less flour, the price for this flour was a little bit higher than what you would normally pay for a much larger bag of flour. However, you are paying for the convenience of not having so much flour sitting at home.
The Wheat Montana All Purpose White Flour is another fantastic choice for consumers looking for all purpose flour. Wheat Montana’s flour is grown and milled on farms in Montana and are all natural in its ingredients.
Unlike the previous all purpose flour choice (Gold Medal), this one comes unbleached and is GMO-free. Depending on who you ask, some people tend to prefer unbleached all purpose flour than bleached. Unbleached flour tends to add a bit of color to your baked goods and especially in bread. Some people like having a more colorful kind of bread whereas others will just want it to be as plain colored-looking as possible. Neither one is particularly better than the other, it just comes down to personal preference.
This Wheat Montana All Purpose White Flour comes in a blue and white package where you’ll get 10 pounds worth of this great flour. This flour has 12.25% protein content in it and this is important because all purpose flour that has a protein level of 10-13% means that it has a much greater chance of forming gluten. You can think of gluten as what gives your baked goods a solid and stable structure.
People that have been using this all purpose flour have been incredibly impressed by its ability to make all kinds of excellent bread.
What we liked: we were incredibly impressed by this all purpose white flour and its ability to make excellent bread. We love making sourdough bread and we can honestly say that this flour is probably some of the best we have used to make sourdough bread. The crust is perfect and chewy while the inside is fully cooked through and is the perfect combination of moist and dense.
What we didn’t like: one thing that stood out to us was that this all purpose white flour is considerably more expensive than other types of all purpose flour. However, if you’re satisfied with the quality of it, this might be a minor issue as some people are willing to pay more for higher quality product.
The Jovial Organic Einkorn All Purpose Flour is a terrific all purpose flour choice for people that especially have a preference towards organic products. Despite being organic, there’s no real noticeable difference in the quality and texture of your baked goods while using this organic all purpose flour.
This organic all purpose flour by Jovial is a healthier alternative to people whose diets or stomachs are too sensitive to ingest modern wheat products whose gluten content is much higher. This all purpose flour has a much lower concentration of gluten which makes it easier for people to be able to digest it.
Despite having a lower gluten content, there’s still plenty of that familiar flour content you’re used and familiar with. For each serving, you’ll get 4 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. You’ll also be treated to plenty of nutrients including vitamin B and E. Bakery lovers that prefer a bit of color with their bread will be happy to know that this all purpose flour is not bleached or bromated.
This Jovial Organic All Purpose Flour is also a good choice because this comes in a pack of two. Each package of this organic all purpose flour weighs two pounds but the price reflects paying for the price of one.
What we liked: we really liked baking different types of bread for our friends who are particularly sensitive to flour that is high in gluten. They said it tastes very much the same as regular bread but it was much easier for their stomachs to be able to digest it.
What we didn’t like: we would have preferred instead of getting two, two-pound packages of this organic all purpose flour if it would have just come in one, four-pound bag. Even though these bags are fairly small, it can be cumbersome to find a spot for both bags in our pantry.
Next up on our list is a brand that most western households are probably familiar with because of its easily recognizable mascot, the Pillsbury dough boy. It’s appropriate then that this Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour also does an amazing job at creating some amazing dough that translates into amazing tasting bread.
This Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour comes in a singular bag that weighs five pounds. This five-pound bag is packed with pre-sifted flour already. This is not only incredibly convenient for many bakers to have since it saves them the time and effort from doing it themselves, but the flour in most all purpose flour packages come in clumps and this can be irritating to sift through. These clumps can also weigh down your package and actually offer you less flour than what you should be getting.
Since the flour is pre-sifted already, it makes it a perfect choice to bake with right away. This flour is milled from the best grains and so you know you’re getting a high quality product already.
Each serving size is roughly one quarter of a cup and this serving has 110 calories, 9% carbohydrate, and 3 grams of protein. Many people really enjoy baking with this all purpose flour because of nostalgia as it was something they grew up with. Others say it’s an excellent flour choice for all of your flour-cooking needs.
What we liked: this all purpose flour is very fresh when you open the bag and the fact it comes pre-sifted is such an amazing thing to have because it prevents us from having to deal with an extra (and unnecessary) step whenever we bake something.
What we didn’t like: we did not find anything in particular we didn’t like about this all purpose flour however, we did notice that there is a tremendous amount of price gauging going on. We purchased it about a year ago and then re-purchased it again recently but found out that we paid double the price we paid for it last year.
If you happen to cook regularly for your large family or if you perhaps have a small little pastry shop, you might want to consider purchasing an all purpose flour that comes in greater quantities. For that, you might want to turn to the King Arthur Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour.
Before purchasing this King Arthur All Purpose Flour, it’s probably best that you have either tried it before and like it or have used it previously. That’s because this package comes with six, five-pound bags of this organic, all purpose flour. That’s a lot of flour to have in your house if you happen to buy this one accidentally, so it’s advised to read the description before buying as a few people were unaware they were getting six bags of flour with this package.
However, people that have purchased this all purpose flour have been extremely happy with it. They love that it is 100% certified organic and is not bleached or bromated. This unbleached flour simply means that when you bake something, a little bit of color will naturally appear to give it a bit more personality and flavor.
The flour in this package is made and grown on American farms and is produced and milled organically to the highest standards. As such, it is a favorite choice for many bakers.
What we liked: we like that this is a completely appropriate all purpose flour to purchase if you have a small bakery and deal with lots of flour. Not only is this flour organically made, it is very fresh and produces excellent baked goods.
What we didn’t like: we didn’t mind it so much because we knew we were getting six bags but many people did not know they were getting six bags of this flour so it might be better for King Arthur to make that more abundantly clear when selling this.
Another good source of all purpose flour is the Arrowhead Mills Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour. This one offers an abundance of all purpose flour in a way that is really unnecessary but good if you don’t mind giving some out to your friends to try out.
That’s because this all purpose flour comes in six bags with each bag being only one pound in weight. It may seem a bit silly to have six, one-pound bags of flour because it can be a nuisance to find a spot for them all to store away when you’re not using it.
Despite this minor headache, this all purpose flour is still a very good choice. It is another unbleached type of all purpose flour giving your breads and pastries a nice bit of color to it. It is also certified as an organic product as more and more people are turning to organic products today for their supreme health benefits.
This organic all purpose flour is produced from red winter wheat which makes it slightly higher in protein content. This makes it an ideal candidate to create many different baked treats including cakes, pastries, and bread.
What we liked: if you’re a big lover of organic products, you can be certain that you will love the fresh-tasting quality of this organic all purpose flour. When baking breads especially, the finished product is very consistent with bread you would find fresh out of the oven at your local bakery. It’s simply very good.
What we didn’t like: we obviously didn’t like their idea of packaging six separate, one-pound bags of this organic all purpose flour. It seemed incredibly unnecessary and they would have just been better off packaging it in one, six-pound bag. Also, the cost of this is much higher than what you would pay for a normal bag of flour so beware.
Heckers has been a mainstay brand in American kitchens dating all the way back to 1843! It’s no surprise then that the Heckers Unbleached All Purpose Flour is one of their top flour products.
This all purpose flour comes in a bag weighing five pounds so you’ll be sure to have more than enough flour to last you for a while. As it says on the front of the package, this all purpose flour is “unbleached forever” which means that this all purpose flour will add a bit of color to your breads and crusts because as we know, unbleached means it will naturally add a lively golden color.
A serving size of this all purpose flour is roughly one quarter of a cup and in this serving, it will produce 100 calories, and contain 7% carbohydrate and 3 grams of protein (or roughly 11.5%). This makes it ideal to create just about anything that has flour in it.
What we liked: we really enjoyed using this all purpose flour to make our pizzas with. The pizza crust turned out beautifully and it was the perfect amount of crunchy and chewy.
What we didn’t like: the one thing that is noticeable about this packaging is that it is far more brittle than other brands’ and can easily get cut and puncture. If you have a container large enough at home, we recommend transferring this flour to it right away.
Bob’s Red Mill is another timeless and classic American brand and they bring their own version of Organic White Flour to the mix. This premium product is made using organic ingredients and is milled from some of America’s best wheat.
By using this Bob’s Red Mill Organic White Flour, you’ll be getting consistent and fantastic results each and every time you use it. It’s really an excellent all purpose flour to use to make your cookies, pastries, and even pancakes.
A bag of this organic all purpose flour comes full of five pounds of flour. It is, relatively speaking, one of the more affordable all purpose flour choices on the market today and is a great product to have at home for all of your baking and cooking needs.
What we liked: everything that we made using this organic all purpose flour turned out exceptionally well. There’s nothing more we could have asked for using this product.
What we didn’t like: as is the problem with many flour products that come in paper packaging, this one is also susceptible to ripping and tears and you really have to be careful with how you handle it.
For another organic all purpose flour option, many people turn to the Central Milling Company’s Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour. As the name suggests, this all purpose flour is both organic and unbleached, leaving you with a healthier choice to cook or bake with.
As a fully certified organic product, this Central Milling All Purpose Flour is made of the best organic hard red wheat America has to offer. The primary organic ingredients in this all purpose flour are wheat flour and malted barley flour.
A package of this all purpose flour will get you a heaping amount of flour as it comes in a 10-pound bag. This is a fantastic option for people looking for a large amount of flour in one bag that will last them for a long time. As a bonus, this all purpose flour is also certified as Kosher, making it accessible to many more people.
What we liked: if you’re tired of the two-pound or even five-pound bags of flour because you find yourself going through them rather quickly and have to repurchase it again, this 10-pound bag is sure to last you a lot longer and prevents you from having to frequently keep repurchasing flour.
What we didn’t like: the only problem with buying a 10-pound bag of flour is that if you don’t use it often enough, the expiry date will creep up on your pretty fast and this one tends to have an expiry date of roughly one year.Things to Consider Before Buying the Best All Purpose Flour
Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour
The biggest differentiator between bread flour and all purpose flour is that bread flour should be specifically used for baking bread. It does an excellent job at making just bread and the end product is probably something you would find in your local bakery. You could use bread flour to make other things but it may not necessarily turn out the way you want it to due to its higher concentration of protein and gluten.
All purpose flour, on the other hand, is that type of flour that can be used to make anything requiring flour. It has a much more consistent finish across all of the things that you can cook or bake with it.
For example, you can make bread, cakes, pastries, pancakes, and even pasta, using all purpose flour. The end result will be something that tastes very familiar to what you’re used to tasting. In other words, go with all purpose flour if you’re looking for versatility in terms of what you can make with it as opposed to bread flour.
Bleached or Unbleached
You’ll often find that flour comes either bleached or unbleached. For all purpose flour that is bleached, what this means is that the flour will be much more white in color and will be a lot softer to touch because the grains are much finer.
On the other hand, unbleached flour is a bit thicker or dense and has a more rougher texture than bleached flour. Also, bleached flour means that it undergoes a chemical process that tries to simulate the aging process in a quicker fashion that makes it this whiter color and finer texture.
Unbleached flour does not go through a chemical process and instead, after the milling process is complete, it is aged naturally and without speeding it up. As such, unbleached flour will naturally produce an off-white color to whatever you bake.
How Much You Get
Another important consideration is how much all purpose flour will you get in a package. If you’ve gone through the 10 all purpose flour products we’ve reviewed, you will see that they come in all sorts of different package sizes. The package size is usually measured in terms of its weight and we have seen packages coming in one-pound, two-pounds, five-pounds, and ten-pound bags.
What’s more is that many of these bags, in particular the smaller weighted ones, come in multiples per package. It’s not uncommon to find packages that can have six bags of all purpose flour per package. If you do happen to purchase a package that features multiple bags of flour, we recommend that you have tried it before and are happy with it before you purchase it.
Final Thoughts
For people that enjoy cooking or baking with flour, using all purpose flour is simply the best option for making just about anything. It’s much more versatile than bread flour or any other flour for that matter. It can be used for breads, cakes, pancakes, pasta, and much more.
They come in bags of different sizes with some packages offering multiple bags of all purpose flour. Thus, for people that love to use flour, you would be hard pressed to find a better flour choice than all purpose flour.
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