Bread Flour Substitutes: What to Use When You Run Out

Bread flour has a protein content of 12-14%, which produces strong gluten networks and chewy, well-structured loaves. But not everyone keeps bread flour on hand, and sometimes you’re mid-recipe before you realize the bag is empty. The good news: you can substitute other flours for bread flour in many situations. The catch: you need to understand why the substitution works in some recipes and fails in others.

The key principle comes from the science of flour protein: higher protein flour absorbs more water and builds stronger gluten. When you substitute a lower-protein flour, you’re changing both the structure and the hydration balance of the dough. Hamelman’s rule applies here above all else: “When switching flours, always adjust hydration based on the feel of the dough, not the recipe number.”

All-Purpose Flour: The Most Common Substitute

All-purpose flour (AP) has a protein content of 10-12%, depending on the brand and the wheat blend. That’s roughly 2 percentage points lower than bread flour. The gap sounds small, but it produces a measurably different dough.

What changes when you use AP instead of bread flour:

• Less water absorption. Higher protein flour absorbs more water. At the same hydration percentage, AP flour produces a wetter, slacker dough than bread flour would. If a recipe calls for 75% hydration with bread flour, you may need to drop to 70-72% with AP to get a comparable consistency.
• Weaker gluten network. Less protein means less glutenin and gliadin available to form the gluten matrix. The dough will be more extensible (stretchy) but less elastic (springy). It won’t hold its shape as aggressively during proofing.
• Softer crumb. The finished bread will have a softer, more tender texture. For some breads, this is actually better.

The practical difference: A sandwich loaf made with AP flour will be slightly softer and more tender than one made with bread flour. A baguette made with AP will have a less chewy crumb. Neither will be bad — they’ll just be different.

The Vital Wheat Gluten Fix

Vital wheat gluten is concentrated wheat protein — it’s the gluten network extracted and dried. Adding it to all-purpose flour boosts the protein content, closing the gap between AP and bread flour.

The formula: Add 1-2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten per cup of all-purpose flour (roughly 7-15g per 125g flour). This raises the effective protein content by 1-2 percentage points, bringing AP flour into bread flour territory.

How to incorporate it: Whisk the vital wheat gluten into the flour before adding any liquid. It needs to be evenly distributed. Don’t add it directly to the wet dough — it’ll clump.

One tablespoon vs. two: Start with one tablespoon per cup if you’re making a recipe that doesn’t demand maximum gluten strength (sandwich bread, dinner rolls). Use two tablespoons for recipes that need strong structure (high-hydration artisan loaves, anything that needs to hold its shape during a long proof).

When the Substitution Works Well

AP flour (with or without vital wheat gluten) performs well in these bread categories:

Sandwich bread and pan loaves. The pan provides structural support, so the dough doesn’t need to hold a freestanding shape. Softer gluten actually produces a more tender crumb, which is what you want in a slicing loaf. Many dedicated sandwich bread recipes already call for AP flour. Full recipe: Sandwich Bread.

Dinner rolls. Same logic as sandwich bread — the baking pan supports the shape, and a tender crumb is the goal. AP flour makes excellent dinner rolls without any modification.

Pizza dough. This depends on what style you’re making. New York-style pizza dough benefits from bread flour’s chewiness, but Neapolitan-style pizza traditionally uses lower-protein flour (Italian tipo 00, around 11-12.5% protein). AP flour at 10-12% is actually closer to Neapolitan tradition than American bread flour is.

Enriched breads. Butter, eggs, and sugar all interfere with gluten development anyway. In doughs like brioche and challah, the enrichments soften the crumb regardless of flour choice. AP flour works fine here — the fat and sugar are doing more to determine the texture than the flour protein content.

Flatbreads. Flatbreads don’t need the structural strength that bread flour provides. AP flour produces a softer, more pliable result, which is often preferable.

When the Substitution Falls Short

Some bread types genuinely need the higher protein content and stronger gluten network that bread flour provides. Substituting AP in these cases produces noticeably inferior results.

Bagels. Bagels need maximum gluten strength for their characteristic dense, chewy texture. The dough is stiff (55-58% hydration), and the boiling step requires a gluten network strong enough to hold its shape in hot water. AP flour produces bagels that are soft and bready rather than properly chewy. If you’re making homemade bagels, use bread flour or add 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten per cup of AP.

High-hydration artisan loaves. Country bread at 75-80% hydration depends on a strong gluten network to keep the slack dough from spreading flat. Robertson’s country bread at 75% hydration needs the extra gluten strength to maintain shape during the long bulk fermentation and freestanding proof. With AP flour, the loaf spreads wider and flatter, with less oven spring and a denser crumb. You can compensate with vital wheat gluten, but you’ll also need to reduce hydration by 3-5%.

Ciabatta. At 80%+ hydration, ciabatta is the most demanding bread in terms of gluten management. Hamelman’s ciabatta recipes use bread flour and still require bassinage (holding back 10% of the water during mixing) to prevent the dough from becoming unmanageable. AP flour at these hydration levels produces a slack mess that can’t hold the open, irregular crumb structure ciabatta is known for.

Lean baguettes. A proper baguette needs enough gluten to create thin, crisp crust and an open, irregular crumb. AP flour can make a serviceable baguette, but the crumb will be tighter and the chew will be softer. If baguettes are your target, use bread flour.

Whole Wheat Flour as a Partial Substitute

Whole wheat flour has protein content comparable to bread flour (11-14%), but it behaves very differently. The bran in whole wheat flour — 14% of the wheat kernel — punctures gluten strands during mixing, weakening the network even as the protein content suggests it should be strong.

Whole wheat flour also absorbs significantly more water than white flour. Robertson raises hydration to 80% for his whole wheat country loaf. Forkish notes that a mostly whole wheat dough needs at least 82% hydration to be considered wet.

Practical approach: Replace up to 30-40% of bread flour with whole wheat for added nutrition and flavor, but increase hydration by 5-10% to compensate for bran absorption. Expect a denser crumb and shorter rise. For a deep dive into whole wheat options, see our whole wheat flour guide.

Going beyond 50% whole wheat changes the character of the bread fundamentally — it’s not a substitute anymore, it’s a different bread. The additional bran interferes with gluten development enough that technique needs to shift: shorter mixing times, higher hydration, and adjusted expectations for crumb openness.

European Flour Types Explained

If you encounter a European recipe calling for Type 55, Type 550, or Type 00 flour, don’t panic. The numbers aren’t random — they indicate ash content (mineral content remaining after incineration), which correlates loosely with how much of the wheat berry is in the flour.

French type numbers:

• Type 55: Low ash, roughly equivalent to American AP flour. Standard for baguettes in France.
• Type 80: Moderate ash, more of the wheat berry retained. Close to a light whole wheat.
• Type 110: High ash, approaching whole wheat.

German type numbers:

• Type 550: Similar to French T55 / American AP flour.
• Type 800: Similar to French T80.
• Type 1100: Whole wheat equivalent.

Italian tipo 00: This is grind fineness, not protein content. Tipo 00 can range from 9% to 13% protein depending on the wheat. Pizza flour tipo 00 is typically 11-12.5% protein — close to American bread flour in strength but with a finer texture.

The important thing: European flour types describe ash content, not protein content. American flour labels describe protein content. They’re measuring different things. A French baguette recipe calling for T55 flour works with American AP flour because French AP wheat holds less water than American wheat — American bread flour at the same hydration would produce a stiffer dough than the recipe intends.

As Forkish notes: “American wheat flour holds more water and has a different quality of gluten-forming proteins than that used by French and Italian bakers. A wet dough in France would probably contain about 5 percent less water than an American high-hydration dough.”

A Quick Reference for Flour Substitutions

For a deep dive into flour protein content by brand, see our best bread flour brands guide. And for the full science of what protein content does in bread, check out bread flour vs. all-purpose.