Low-Protein Wheat Flour: The Key to Making Crispy Fried Foods

25 March 2025

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Fried foods are a favorite snack for many people. Their crispy texture and the “crunch” sound when bitten provide a pleasant sensation while eating. However, not everyone can make fried foods that are crispy. What’s the secret? It turns out that the key to delicious and crispy fried foods lies in the type of flour used, which is low-protein wheat flour.

Read Also: Tips for Choosing the Right Wheat Flour for Your Dishes

What is Low-Protein Wheat Flour?

Low-protein wheat flour, or commonly known as soft flour, is made from soft wheat. This type of wheat has a soft texture and a lower protein content, which results in lower gluten content in the flour.

Typically, this flour contains about 7% to 11% protein. Because of its low protein content, it produces a smoother and softer dough.

As a result, foods made with low-protein flour tend to have a lighter and more tender texture. For fried foods, low-protein wheat flour creates a crispy texture without making the dough tough or chewy.

In addition to fried foods, low-protein flour is also perfect for making various cakes like sponge cakes, brownies, pastries, and martabak.

Photo by: Pexels

Want to Make Crispy Fried Foods? The Key is Low-Protein Flour!

Why does low-protein wheat flour produce crispy fried foods? This is due to its lower protein or gluten content, which creates a dough that is not too elastic. This dough tends to absorb oil more easily when fried, leading to a crispy texture.

Moreover, low-protein flour also gives tenderness to the inside of the fried food. So, it’s not just crispy on the outside, but the inside remains soft and savory.

If you’re looking for even better results, you can also try combining low-protein wheat flour with other flours, such as rice flour or cornstarch. This combination will yield even crispier and drier fried foods.

Some types of fried foods that are perfect for using low-protein wheat flour include tempe mendoan, fritters, crispy tofu, fried bananas, pastel, tempura, and breaded fried chicken.

Photo by: Freepik

Apart from Fried Foods, What Else Can Low-Protein Wheat Flour Be Used For?

In addition to being perfect for fried foods, low-protein wheat flour is also great for making cakes and snacks that have a crispy and tender texture, such as:

  • Cookies: Cookies, biscuits, and crackers will have a crispy and crumbly texture when made with low-protein wheat flour.
  • Baked Cakes: Some types of baked cakes, such as pies, tarts, and muffins, can also use low-protein wheat flour to create a soft and crispy texture.
  • Snacks: Snacks like crackers, chips, and fried wontons are also ideal for using low-protein wheat flour to create a crispy, crunchy texture.
  • Spring Roll Wrappers: Low-protein wheat flour can also be used to make spring roll wrappers and dumpling skins. Its low gluten content creates a softer dough that is less likely to tear.
  • Indonesian Traditional Snacks: Some Indonesian traditional snacks like bolu kukus mekar, kue lumpur, kue perahu, and dadar also benefit from low-protein wheat flour.

Read Also: High-Protein vs Low-Protein Wheat Flour: The Difference and Its Uses

To get crispy fried foods or soft cakes, make sure to use high-quality low-protein wheat flour. PT. Manunggal Perkasa offers various types of wheat flour with the best standards, using carefully selected wheat seeds imported from various countries.

Some of our top products that are perfect for making fried foods are BAKUNG and DAHLIA flour, which have a protein content of 8.5–10.5%, as well as RAFLESIA flour, which has a protein content of around 8.0–9.0%.

(syo/csb)