4 Best Pastry Flour Substitutes That Work

Looking for the best pastry flour substitutes? You are at the right place. I once had a terrible experience being out of pastry flour when I had promised to bake pastries for my little sister. The search started from there and here I am preaching about the best pastry flour substitutes like an old granny!

I had the help of a few ingredients in place of pastry flour and made my recipes tasty. Wondering which are those ingredients? The best pastry flour substitutes are all-purpose flour, cake flour, whole wheat flour and cornstarch. Don’t think you can use them just as such. Read the whole article to find out how to use the pastry flour substitutes.

Pastry flour is a mild variety of flour used often to bake soft pastries, cookies and other baked goods. It is made of soft white or soft red wheat. This flour is used for a variety of classic recipes, which include biscuits, cinnamon rolls and pancakes.

You need to have a very good idea about pastry flour so as to understand its uses and health benefits. Expanding your knowledge base isn’t a harmful thing to do, right? Let us explore the pastry world before we deal with the best pastry flour substitutes. 

Quick Peek: Pastry Flour

The following scribbles tell you what pastry flour is, its flavor, texture, culinary uses and health benefits.

What Is Pastry Flour?

Pastry flour is a variety of wheat flour to start with. It is made using milled soft white or soft red winter wheat. As the name implies, it is typically used to bake some mouth-watering, delicate pastries. But it can also be used to bake cookies, pie crusts, biscuits, muffins and cinnamon rolls.

Describing Pastry Flour: Flavor and Texture

Pastry flour particularly doesn’t have a flavor of its own. It has a raw flavor, a pleasant smell and a firm texture. Since pastry flour is flavorless, the recipes take on the flavor of other ingredients used, such as sugar and salt. Combining pastry flour with yeast yields a chewy texture.

How Is Pastry Flour Different From Whole Wheat Pastry Flour?

Pastry flour is made from soft white or red winter wheat. It is different from whole wheat pastry flour, which is made using the entire wheat kernel. The bran, endosperm and germ are kept intact, which makes whole wheat pastry flour quite nutritious. Whole wheat pastry flour also has less protein content. 

Uses of Pastry Flour

Pastry flour is a versatile ingredient in the world of baking. It is used for its flavor and aroma in the making of pie crusts, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, tarts, cakes, cookies, muffins and lastly, pastries. If the tender texture is what you are aiming for, pastry flour is your answer and for the same reason, it can be used to substitute for other flours also.

Pastry Flour on The Health Radar | Looking Through The Wellness Telescope

On one hand, pastry flour can’t be deemed a highly nutritious ingredient because it is devoid of many significant nutrients. But it does contain fiber which regulates the way the body uses sugar and also helps in controlling blood sugar and hunger as well. On the other hand, whole wheat pastry flour is a much healthier option to consider since it retains a significant amount of nutrients.

Why Should We Substitute Pastry Flour?

Pastry flour is a rarely available commodity which makes it imperative for us to find the best pastry flour substitutes. To add to that, it is quite expensive as well. Thus, using these pastry flour substitutes can help you enjoy those pastries even without using pastry flour. 

Other Food Substitutes You Can Try

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• Best Chickpea Flour Substitutes You Can Try
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• Best Buckwheat Flour Substitutes You Can Try2

4 Best Pastry Flour Substitutes 

Now that you know everything you need to know about pastry flour let us discuss the four best substitutes for pastry flour.

1. All-Purpose Flour

All-purpose flour is a type of flour made of wheat. It is also known as referred flour or just flour. It is made of hard and soft varieties of wheat. This flour can be prepared using refined, milled and bleached wheat grains. It is the most-sought after flour for baking recipes. Since the bran and germ are removed, it is not so healthy. Nevertheless, it is a good source of micronutrients. 

All-purpose flour has no flavor of its own and a powdery texture. All-purpose flour, when mixed with cake flour, is one of the best pastry flour substitutes. To replace a cup of pastry flour, use ¾ cup all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cake flour in your recipes.

2. Cake Flour

Cake flour is a low-protein flour used to make cakes. It is made of soft wheat and when used to bake, it gives a beautiful, soft and fluffy texture. It has low-protein content too. It is bleached with chlorine gas to help the cakes set quickly. Thus, it has a different flavor.

Cake flour, when mixed with whole wheat flour, is another best pastry flour substitute that can be used in recipes. You can use the same amount of each of these flours to replace pastry flour. For a tablespoon of pastry flour, you can use a tablespoon of cake flour and a tablespoon of whole wheat flour.  

3. Whole Wheat Flour

Whole wheat flour is the flour obtained from grinding the whole grain of wheat. The bran, germ and endosperm of the grain are not discarded and this makes it highly nutritious. It is used to prepare bread, cookies, crackers, and tortillas. It is a good source of vitamins, iron, calcium, protein and other nutrients. It has a nutty flavor and a firm texture. 

Whole wheat flour mixed with all-purpose flour can be used as a pastry flour substitute due to its rich flavor and nutritional benefits. If it is whole wheat pastry flour, try adding whole wheat flour with a cup of milk to substitute.  

4. Cornstarch

Cornstarch is the starchy portion of corn kernels. It is often mistaken to be corn flour but both are different. Cornstarch has a bland flavor and a thick, powdery texture. It is used as a thickening agent and for frying purposes. It is not a very healthy ingredient but a good source of calories and glucose.

Cornstarch mixed with all-purpose flour is another best pastry flour substitute that can be used in baking recipes. Since all-purpose flour is low in gluten, this combination will work as a pastry flour substitute. For two cups of pastry flour, use 1 ¾ th cup all-purpose flour and ¼ th cup cornstarch.

Short Recap Of Best Pastry Flour Substitutes

Let me make it easy for you to remember the details of the best pastry flour substitutes with the help of some points.

Best Pastry Flour Substitutes In Terms of Flavor And Texture-

1. All-Purpose Flour and Cake Flour
2. Cake Flour and Whole Wheat Flour
3. Whole Wheat Flour and All-Purpose Flour
4. Cornstarch and All-Purpose Flour

Final Musings

That was all about pastry flour and its best substitutes. I know the list is small, but I am sure these substitutions will work well when added correctly. Try these substitutes and let me know how the pastries turned out. See you soon with another article on substitutes!

How To Use Pastry Flour Substitutes In A Recipe

Pastry Flour Substitutes

If you wish to bake some soft and delicious pastries, you need pastry flour. But if you don't have pastry flour, these substitutes will help you. The best pastry flour substitutes are all-purpose flour, cake flour, whole wheat flour and cornstarch.

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Ingredients

  

• All-Purpose Flour
• Cake Flour
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Cornstarch

Instructions

 

• Go through the substitutes and see which one seems fit for the recipe.
• Collect your ingredients and use your preferred substitute.
• Use the substitute in the required amount and proceed to make the dish according to the recipe

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Frequently Asked Questions