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What is All-Purpose Flour? What are its Advantages and Disadvantages?

29 March 2025

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All-purpose flour is one of the ingredients commonly found in various types of recipes. It’s called “all-purpose” because it is highly versatile and suitable for a wide range of dishes, from cakes, noodles, to fried foods. However, this flour also has its own advantages and disadvantages. What are they? Let’s discuss!

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

What is All-Purpose Flour?

All-purpose flour is made from a blend of hard wheat and soft wheat, with a specific ratio to achieve a balanced texture. In Indonesia, all-purpose flour is also often referred to as medium-protein wheat flour, with a protein content ranging from 11% to 12%.

As the name suggests, this flour is highly versatile and suitable for almost any type of dough, whether it requires a more elastic texture or a softer one. That’s why all-purpose flour can be used for a wide variety of foods such as donuts, traditional cakes, brownies, sponge cakes, and even cakes. Additionally, this flour is often used as a low-protein flour for coating fried foods or as a thickener for sauces.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of All-Purpose Flour One of the main advantages of all-purpose flour is its multifunctionality, so you don’t need to stock multiple types of wheat flour at home. This one can meet all your cooking needs.

Moreover, all-purpose flour is widely available in almost every grocery store, and it is also more affordable compared to high-protein wheat flour.

Its stable consistency is also a plus because it will yield dough that is consistent enough—not too tough nor too crumbly.

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However, despite its many advantages, all-purpose flour also has its drawbacks. For example, bread made with this flour may not rise to its maximum potential. This is because the gluten content is not strong enough to hold the gas produced by yeast during the proofing process.

Its softness is also not the same as bread flour, which has higher gluten content, so the final result may not be as optimal.

Therefore, if you are looking to make bread that requires high elasticity, especially for commercial purposes, it is recommended to use high-protein flour.

Read Also: A Guide to Properly Storing Wheat Flour

No matter what type of wheat flour you need, PT Manunggal Perkasa has everything. If you’re looking for all-purpose flour, options include SOKA and MELATI, which have a protein content of 10.0% – 12.5%. This flour is milled from the finest quality hard and soft wheat, providing a smooth consistency and rich flavor. It is perfect for making cakes with leavening agents, such as brownies, sponge cakes, and other types of cake.

(syo/csb)
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