# All purpose flour **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905 "2016-07-02T04:00:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rotntoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rotntoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rotntoe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/1 "2016-07-02T04:00:32Z")
Ok, just looking for a good all purpose flour for making banana bread. I have some White Lily self rising bleached flour. That I use for biscuits. I am not a great bread cook. Just recently rolling out my dough for biscuits instead of dropped. Can I use the White Lily, And cut out the baking soda and what not to make it? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/2 "2016-07-02T07:46:15Z")
Self-rising flour contains salt as well as baking powder (not baking soda). Your banana bread recipe probably doesn’t call for much salt, so I don’t think there’d be any way to adjust for that. As for omitting the leavening from the recipe and relying on the baking powder in the flour: it seems unlikely that you’d end up with the right amount of leavening. Also, White Lily self-rising flour is made from soft wheat (i.e. low-protein), while most all-purpose flours are made from a blend of soft and hard wheats. Soft flours are good for things like biscuits and cakes that need a light texture. For something moist and dense like banana bread, you probably need the higher protein (i.e. gluten) level to give it structure. I think you’d be better off using a regular all-purpose flour (assuming that’s what your recipe calls for). Any brand should do. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/3 "2016-07-02T11:40:47Z")
White Lilly is going to be too soft for banana bread (and self rising just means you have less control. It’s ok for biscuits but I don’t like it personally). The bread will end up not rising right because you won’t have enough gluten and you’ll end up with a flat brick. Or it will rise and then collapse in on itself as it cools. Regular AP flour is what you are looking for. I am brand loyal to King Arthur, but I make lot of kneaded yeast bread (banana bread is a quick bread and not technically bread) and the slightly higher protein content of King Arthur makes for better loaves. For banana bread almost any AP flour will do. Gold Medal is another good brand. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/4 "2016-07-02T15:07:16Z")
[Might want to stay away from Gold Medal and Signature Kitchens.](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/health-officials-widen-flour-recall-after-4-more-people-get-n602746) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/5 "2016-07-02T15:22:32Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Might want to stay away from Gold Medal and Signature Kitchens.](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/health-officials-widen-flour-recall-after-4-more-people-get-n602746) This recall happened about a month ago. There shouldn’t be any tainted flour left on store shelves. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/6 "2016-07-02T15:26:20Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > This recall happened about a month ago. There shouldn’t be any tainted flour left on store shelves. And it’s fine if it’s cooked. I was a little surprised that e coli can survive in flour. Maybe they aren’t drying it as much as they can to increase the weight. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/7 "2016-07-02T15:47:46Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > This recall happened about a month ago. There shouldn’t be any tainted flour left on store shelves. If you clicked on the link, you’d see that the recall was widened yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/8 "2016-07-02T15:50:00Z")
How the heck is e coli even ending up in flour? Cripes. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/9 "2016-07-02T23:09:06Z")
From birds shitting on wheatfields. ---
**Author:** ![rotntoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rotntoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rotntoe)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/10 "2016-07-03T01:27:07Z")
Thanks for replies, I usually `have some AP flour, and would use it for anything I was doing. Drop biscuits seem to rise impressively when I use a recipe that calls for it. Baking is rewarding, the little nuances you learn as you do more, makes the next one even better. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/11 "2016-07-03T03:03:37Z")
Aren’t most banana bread recipes quickbreads of some sort or other? Self-rising flour should work just fine if that’s the case. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/12 "2016-07-03T07:03:14Z")
I’ve been cooking various quickbreads for decades (banana, mostly, but others as well). Self-rising flour does \*not \*give impressive results. I’d strongly recommend using AP flour instead. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/13 "2016-07-03T11:51:12Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Aren’t most banana bread recipes quickbreads of some sort or other? Self-rising flour should work just fine if that’s the case. The issue isn’t the self rising flour, but that it’s a very low protein flour designed for biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/14 "2016-07-05T15:25:10Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > The issue isn’t the self rising flour, but that it’s a very low protein flour designed for biscuits. Sure, but if it’s a quickbread, you don’t really need protein(i.e. gluten) anyway, as you’re not kneading it to develop that gluten like you would a normal bread. It’s not really going to help you much in that situation. I’d think the biggest risk would be having inadequate or excessive leavening amounts due to not knowing how much is in the flour to begin with. Don’t get me wrong; I wouldn’t advocate going and buying self-rising flour to make banana bread, but nor do I advocate making a special trip to get AP flour, if you already have the self-rising flour. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/15 "2016-07-05T16:57:41Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but if it’s a quickbread, you don’t really need protein(i.e. gluten) anyway, as you’re not kneading it to develop that gluten like you would a normal bread. It’s not really going to help you much in that situation. > > I’d think the biggest risk would be having inadequate or excessive leavening amounts due to not knowing how much is in the flour to begin with. > > Don’t get me wrong; I wouldn’t advocate going and buying self-rising flour to make banana bread, but nor do I advocate making a special trip to get AP flour, if you already have the self-rising flour. Fair. I’ve made the mistake of thinking cake flour would make for a better quick bread before. The result is edible, but it really doesn’t rise correctly and will collapse under its own weight as it cools. White Lilly has iirc, a little more protein than cake flour but not much. Anyway, if you cook anything you should have ap flour on hand. It’s handy for all sorts of stuff, not just baking. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/16 "2016-07-05T18:55:00Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Fair. I’ve made the mistake of thinking cake flour would make for a better quick bread before. The result is edible, but it really doesn’t rise correctly and will collapse under its own weight as it cools. White Lilly has iirc, a little more protein than cake flour but not much. > > Anyway, if you cook anything you should have ap flour on hand. It’s handy for all sorts of stuff, not just baking. We buy it by the 25 lb sack! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/17 "2016-07-05T19:49:35Z")
I’d opt for AP flour and add your own leavening(s) Self-rising, as noted above, has baking powder and sometimes salt added, but you can never be sure just how much. Some quick bread recipes call for baking soda AND powder, others one or the other. This is where it begins to get complicated, if you’re trying to compensate for what you think is already in the flour(and may not be, or in different proportions to your calculations) Acidic ingredients need a higher proportion of soda, are bananas acidic, and what about if you add nuts or chocolate chips or sesame seeds? See? Complicated. Go for the AP, just avoid General Mills products at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![rotntoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rotntoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rotntoe)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-flour/758905/18 "2016-07-07T03:59:16Z")
Wow. I almost started a flour war. Lulz, I’m going to bake an easy artisan bread also, on my 2 days off. so banana bread with AP, and artisan with a bread flour. Funny, but with the White Lily, Gold Medal AP, Gold Medal Bread Flour, and… My Martha White corn meal mix. All of a sudden there is 20 lbs of flour in my pantry. Is or are?