13 Types Of Flour And How They Affect Homemade Cakes

There's a well-worn saying in the culinary world — "Cooking is an art, baking is a science." That isn't to say that cooking doesn't involve a fair amount of science, just that it leaves more room for error and experimentation. It also doesn't mean baking doesn't allow for creativity, but that it requires a lot more precision and in-depth knowledge to perfect. A key example of this is flour, a key component in the vast majority of cake recipes.

While there are flour-free cakes, flour is critical because it provides baked goods with structure. The most common type is made from milling wheat, but there are many different kinds of flour. The term can refer to most powders created by grinding raw grains, nuts, roots, beans, or seeds. Every flour can have different properties depending on what it's made from, how it's milled, and how it's been treated. They can have varying levels of protein, starch, and gluten, which impact how they absorb moisture, fat, and sugar. These make a notable difference to the final texture of your cake, so you may need to change your flour depending on the recipe. As a home baker, I've experimented widely with different types of flour, using knowledge I've learned over almost two decades in the restaurant industry. I wouldn't consider myself a world-class baker, but I have been fortunate enough to work alongside a few, and today I'm going to share what I've learned about how different types of flour affect homemade cakes.

While there are exceptions — some of which we'll be looking at today — flour typically contains protein. When moisture is introduced to this protein and the flour is worked into a dough or batter, it forms an elastic network of gluten. Rising agents, like baking soda, then produce gases which become trapped within this network, ultimately determining the final texture of whatever it is you're baking. Finely milled from soft wheat, cake flour typically contains between 6.5% and 8% protein, which is considered low in flour terms.

Low protein means low gluten. Low gluten means it's harder to end up with a tough cake texture from overworking your batter. As a result, cake flour is superb for baking airy, delicate cakes, such as angel food cake or extra-tender cupcakes. It's worth being aware that a lot of cake flour in the U.S. is bleached, meaning it's treated with chlorine to accelerate its aging and maintain a pure white color. There are claims that bleached flour helps cakes rise better and can result in a softer crumb than unbleached flour; however, I try to avoid it where possible. While deemed safe by the FDA, bleached flour is banned in Europe due to safety concerns surrounding the chemicals involved, and I feel the final difference is negligible.

As the name suggests, all-purpose flour is extremely versatile. You can use it for making bread, pasta, or even as a sauce thickener. All-purpose flour is perfectly suitable for homemade cakes, and it's great for balancing a soft texture with a reliable structure. However, there are a couple of things to be aware of if you want to avoid your treats coming out too tough or chewy.

All-purpose flour can be milled from both soft and hard wheat, and usually contains between 9.5% and 12% protein. As I just mentioned, more protein means more gluten, so, for cakes, you're better off choosing a brand or product at the lower end of that scale. You should also be careful not to overmix your cake batter, as the more you work it, the tougher the gluten network will become. All-purpose flour tends to taste a little wheatier than cake flour and gives baked goods a slightly denser crumb, but these aren't issues if you're using the right recipe. It's an excellent choice for chocolate cakes or butter cakes that benefit from a tighter texture, and it won't stop you from creating delicious cupcakes, snack cakes, or muffins.

Despite what the name implies, pastry flour can also be versatile enough to use in cakes. It's made from soft wheat and is pretty similar to cake flour, but it's less finely milled. Pastry flour typically contains between 8% and 10% protein, which puts it roughly in between cake flour and all-purpose flour.

Pastry flour has good moisture retention and will give your cakes a soft and airy texture while maintaining a slightly more robust texture than cake flour. It's great for making things like biscuits and pie crusts, where a crispy or flaky texture is desirable after baking, so it works well in certain cake recipes. I recommend substituting all-purpose flour for pastry flour when you're after fudgier, chewier brownies or tender muffins. It is possible to make a good approximation of pastry flour by combining cake flour and all-purpose flour, but it can take some experimentation to get the ratios right. Personally, I feel you're better off picking one and sticking to it, as it won't make a huge amount of difference in your home baking.

Typically milled from soft wheat, self-rising flour has slightly less protein in it than all-purpose flour. However, the main thing that sets it apart is that it comes with a leavening agent pre-mixed in — usually baking powder and a little salt. Leavening agents are what release the gases in baked goods that become trapped in the gluten network, causing them to rise and impacting their final texture.

Most cakes require a leavening agent, so self-rising flour is generally used as a more convenient alternative to other wheat flours. It produces a light crumb that's similar to cake flour but a little bit denser. The drawback to using self-rising flour is that it can be harder to gauge how much leavening agent to add to your batter. Occasionally, you may need to add more, but if you use too much, your cakes may collapse or end up with a slightly bitter taste. That said, it's a versatile all-rounder that you can use in a wide variety of recipes, including for things like Victoria sponges, muffins, fruit scones, and banana bread.

A wheat kernel is made of three parts, and one of the key stages of flour milling is separating them from one another. All of the flours we've covered so far are made by grinding just one of these — the starchy middle layer called the endosperm. Made from hard red spring or winter wheat, whole wheat flour refers to the fact that the flour is made using all three parts. It also includes the bran and the germ. The bran is the fiber- and vitamin-rich outer layer, and the germ is the nutrient-rich core.

Whole wheat protein is pretty high in protein — it typically contains between 12% and 14% — due to the inclusion of the full kernel. While this means it'll give your cakes a denser texture than lower-protein flours, the bran interferes somewhat with the formation of gluten, which helps prevent the crumb from becoming too tough. Whole wheat flour can have a slightly nutty flavor, and it's a healthier alternative to other wheat flours thanks to all the extra nutrients. It's an excellent option for heartier cakes like banana bread, carrot cake, or muffins, and gives them more of a rustic feel. The main thing to be wary of is that whole wheat cakes can dry out if they don't have enough moisture, so you may need to compensate. You may need to reduce your dry ingredients or, depending on your recipe, introduce extra moisture with water, butter, sour cream, or even honey.

White whole wheat flour is very similar to standard whole wheat flour. The key difference is that it's made by milling all three parts of hard white spring or winter wheat, rather than the red variety. Nutritionally speaking, the two are essentially identical; however, this white variety is paler in color and has a less rich, nutty taste.

For baking cakes, this type of flour is an excellent middle ground between standard whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. You still get all of the health benefits of the former, but with the taste and color neutrality of the latter. The texture will likely be denser than if you were to stick with all-purpose flour, but if this is an issue, you can try using a combination of the two. To keep your cakes light and airy, I wouldn't substitute more than half of the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat flour. I also recommend adding a little additional moisture to counter the extra absorbency of the whole grains.

Milled from dehusked barley with the bran removed, barley flour usually contains between 10% and 12% protein. While this is relatively high, barley contains molecules that inhibit the formation of gluten. It's not entirely gluten-free, so although it can be useful for making cakes for someone with gluten sensitivity, it's not suitable for those with allergies, like coeliac disease.

Barley flour can make your cakes more tender and help them stay moist, but you have to be wary of using it on its own, because the lack of gluten means it struggles to form a sturdy gluten network. Ideally, you'll want to combine it with another type of flour; otherwise, your cake will turn out dense and stodgy. I recommend experimenting with a half-and-half ratio of barley flour to wheat flour, and adjusting your measurements from there. Barley flour also has a subtly nutty taste and a touch of malt sweetness, so it complements rich flavors. It's excellent in chocolate or coffee and walnut cakes, and my personal favorite — decadently fudgy sticky toffee pudding.

Out of all the flours we're looking at today, spelt is one of the less well-known. A distinct type of wheat, spelt is considered an ancient cereal grain native to southern Europe and parts of the Middle East. It was a hugely popular staple grain, commonly used for bread and, at some points in history, even considered to have medicinal properties. Around the time of the Industrial Revolution, spelt took a backseat to modern-day wheat varieties. However, it's now experiencing something of a comeback thanks to its unique taste and excellent nutritional qualities.

Similarly to white whole wheat flour, spelt flour strikes a nice balance between all-purpose and whole wheat flour. It's slightly higher in protein and gluten than wheat flour; however, in my experience, it doesn't form as strong a gluten network during baking. Besides the additional health benefits, spelt brings a deliciously toasty grain flavor to the table. You can swap it 1:1 with all-purpose flour in most cake recipes that use standard wheat flour, but it's particularly well-suited to wholesome fruit muffins, hearty carrot cakes, or traditional Bundt cakes.

While semolina flour is not necessarily something you'd encounter in your typical cake recipe, it's still worthwhile knowing about. It's a particular coarse flour milled from the endosperm of durum wheat, the hardest of the wheat species. Native to the Middle East, this flour is notably soft and forms dough that's very easy to work, which makes it ideal for making pasta — it's even commonly referred to as "pasta flour."

There are some cakes that rely solely on semolina flour, particularly from Mediterranean and North African cuisines, such as galettes, basbousa, and Revani. It provides a soft yet sturdy, slightly chewy crumb and provides a slightly nutty flavor that can work very well when combined with standard flours. You can use it in most standard cake recipes that use wheat flour; however, I wouldn't substitute more than a quarter with semolina flour. There's also another neat trick for improving cakes with semolina flour. A dusting on the top before baking creates a wonderfully delicate yet crunchy texture. This technique isn't limited to cakes either – my favorite pizza place dusts their crusts with the stuff, and Gordon Ramsay is said to use semolina flour to crisp up his roast potatoes.

So far, all the flours I've covered have been grain-based, either made from wheat or similar. They can all make a noticeable impact on the outcome of your cake due to the different levels of gluten formation or moisture absorption, but, for the most part, you can consider them part of the same family. Now, we're getting to flours that differ greatly from wheat-based flours.

Almond flour is made from finely ground blanched almonds. It's high in both fat and protein — making it a popular option for keto and paleo cakes — but contains no gluten. It can be an excellent addition to cake recipes, especially as a gluten-free flour option; however, you'll need to make some crucial alterations. As I explained earlier, a gluten network is what gives a cake structure and allows it to rise by trapping gases. No gluten means no structure, so without adjusting your recipe, you'll end up with a very dense cake. If you're just after the lovely nutty flavor and an extra tender crumb, you can combine almond flour with a wheat flour and slightly increase the amount of baking powder. However, if you're only using almond flour, you'll need to add extra leavening and binding agents, like eggs, ground psyllium husk, or xanthan gum.

Despite what the name suggests, coconuts are a fruit, not a nut, and coconut flour is made by grinding the dried meat within the tough shell. Like almond flour, coconut flour is high in fiber and protein, and can be a great choice for gluten-free cakes. However, it also means that you'll have to adjust your recipe to avoid a hard, flat cake.

When used correctly, coconut flour can give your cake a delicately fine crumb, but you'll have to combine it with regular flour or use some of the binding and leavening ingredients I mentioned above. You should be aware that coconut flour is extremely effective at absorbing moisture, so you'll need to either use less of it or increase the ratio of wet ingredients in your recipe to prevent your cake from drying out. Coconut flour also has a pretty strong, sweet taste that may be a little too overpowering in many cases. It can be an excellent addition to tropical-tasting cakes, but you may need to add other flavoring ingredients, like baking spices or citrus, to balance things out.

Milled from rolled oats, you might expect oat flour to behave similarly to other cereal grain-based flours; however, oats don't actually form gluten. Although it can be suitable for gluten-free cakes, it's one to be extra wary of if you have a gluten allergy. The risk comes from the fact that oats are frequently processed or transported with other grains that do contain gluten, so always double-check the packet if that could be an issue.

Oat flour is nice and light, so it's great for fluffing up cakes, and it can produce a moist, soft crumb. It's great for giving healthier, hearty cakes an airier texture, so it works well in muffins, snack cakes, and banana bread. The lack of gluten means you'll still need to mainly rely on regular flour for structure, so I wouldn't substitute out more than a quarter of the required amount. As with other gluten-free flours, if wheat is off the table, you'll need to make some recipe tweaks. Almond flour can help with binding your ingredients, but you might need some extra help to boost that structure — I recommend arrowroot powder or cornstarch.

Another ancient whole grain that's made a recent comeback in the culinary world, sorghum is a versatile crop that's been around for thousands of years. The grass-like grain has found all sorts of uses throughout its history — in the American South, it was commonly turned into a sweet syrup that was used as an alternative to sugar. However, being gluten-free, bakers are turning back to sorghum flour to make breads and cakes.

As with the other gluten-free flours I've mentioned, you can combine sorghum flour with wheat-based flour in your recipe, and it'll produce a beautifully smooth crumb. It has a slightly sweet flavor, but it won't overpower your cakes. If you want to keep your recipe fully gluten-free, you'll need to rely on the same methods I covered earlier. You can blend sorghum flour with almond or oat flour, and use starchy rising agents like arrowroot, tapioca, or xanthan gum, to get a reasonable rise out of your cake.