Pastry flour, milled from soft wheat, produces quality results in baked goods.
There are multiple types of flour available for home bakers, varying in their intended purpose and the amount of protein, or gluten, they contain. Bread flour uses a high percentage of gluten to produce a strong, tough dough, while cake and pastry flours have low gluten content for a tender, delicate crumb. All-purpose flour straddles the categories, providing acceptable but unexceptional performance for bread or pastry. When making pastry, all-purpose flour and cake flour can be combined if there is no pastry flour available.
Instructions
1. Measure 1-1/3 cups of all-purpose flour by spooning it into a measuring cup and leveling it with the back of a knife or other straight-edged utensil. Do not shake or tap the cup to level the flour. Place a bowl on a kitchen scale, and adjust the scale reading until the display shows "0." Spoon 6-1/2 oz. of flour, or 185 g, into the bowl on the scale.
2. Spoon out 2/3 cup of cake flour into a measuring cup, and level it. Place another bowl on the scale, and adjust the scale "0." Add 3 oz. of cake flour, or 85 g, to the bowl. This is a 2-to-1 ratio when measured by volume and a 2.2-to-1 ratio when measured by weight.
3. Pour the all-purpose and cake flours into a sifter placed over a third bowl. Sift the combined flours four times to ensure the two are mixed thoroughly.
4. Use as directed in your pastry recipe. This process will produce 2 cups of pastry flour. Adjust the measurements accordingly, based on the amount of flour needed, using the ratio in Step 2.
Tags: 2-to-1 ratio, 2-to-1 ratio when, adjust scale, all-purpose flour, bowl scale, cake flour, flour available
