AP flour instead of Bread flour?

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pacanis

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I could have sworn I still had a five lb bag of bread flour in the cupboard.....

I'm making a loaf of white bread in my bread machine. The recipe calls for 4c. I've got almost 3. Can I finish it off with AP flour? Should I add something to it? I do not have gluten on hand (don't even know if you can buy it, but I think I read that that is what the main difference in flours is?)

I can't even downsize the loaf because I already started mixing things :(

What do you think?
 
That's good to read, too, Alix. Thank you.
For some reason I was under the impression you had to use bread flour.
I doubt I'll even know the difference, but you never know. I could tell the difference when I substituted the scalded milk for dry milk.... That's a bit more drastic though.
I just hate to waste three hours on something that's not going to come out right :huh: Especially because I need the bread for meatloaf sandwiches tomorrow! :)
 
I'm not SURE but I think the only thing that might happen is your loaf will be a bit denser. With only a 1/2 cup or 1 cup in there though I don't think it will matter a bit.
 
You may need a spoonful or two fo extra AP flour to equal the bread flour. Higher protein (bread) flours absorb more liquid per measure than AP flour.
 
This was the easiest the bread machine incorporated everything. Usually I'm spending a lot more time helping it out by scraping the sides with a spatula. Probably because I let it sit a short time before continuing on though.
I hope it doesn't come out too dense.... I noticed the other day that it can be a little dense and dry when making a simple sandwich (egg salad in this case). I don't make cold sandwiches often, but it was definitely lacking something in the texture department.
 
pacanis, do you use milk or water? My favorite bread recipe calls for milk and the loaf is lovely. Fine textured, a bit dense and very moist.
 
I use water. It's great for toast, grilled sandwiches, garlic bread or leaving it untoasted and using it for burgers.
When I substituted scalded milk for the dry milk I didn't have a week ago, it was different. I don't know that I liked it as much for my "typical" uses, but that loaf might have made a better cold sandwich loaf.

Could you post your recipe? I'll give it a go next loaf. I really need to start experimenting more and not just sticking with the same recipe.
 
Whoops! Sorry, I didn't get online yesterday at all.

10 oz milk (cold)
2 tbsps oil
3 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp regular yeast or 1 1/2 tsp fast rise yeast

Pour wet ingredients into pan. Sift dry ingredients in on top of wet. Tap pan to settle. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and put the yeast in that. Use medium colour setting or it will over brown. Use basic setting for this loaf.
 
Thanks for the recipe. I will try it my next loaf. This loaf does seem slightly more dense, but "softer", too..... and yeasty smelling. I don't know if it had anything to do with the reg flour or if that's just the way it came out because I don't weigh my ingredients and the weather is changing day by day.

I have KA's instant yeast. Is that fast rise yeast do you know?
And is this for a 1-1/2 lb loaf? My bread machine has two loaf sizes....

Looking forward to it! This will be my first variation.
 
Yes that is fast rise yeast I think and this is the 1 1/2 lb loaf. Its a bit smaller than other 1.5 lb loaves, but has a lovely fine grain and is soft and chewy.
 
Its a bit smaller than other 1.5 lb loaves, but has a lovely fine grain and is soft and chewy.

Boy you weren't kidding! This is one smallish, but heavy loaf. The dough lifted my paddle up a bit!
It's dense, yet has air pockets, chewy fantastic tasting. Great for sandwiches and great for toast. I will make this one as my "on hand" loaf of bread and the other recipe I used I will cut into slices, butter and freeze, to be pulled out and turned into garlic bread slices as needed.

Thanks again for a great recipe :)
 
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