Need to bake gluten-free? Substitute corn flour to thicken a sauce? Or do you simply want to learn more about all the different kinds of flour out there?
00 flour substitute
00 (‘double zero’) flour is a very finely ground Italian wheat flour. Unlike plain flour, 00 flour is made from durum wheat, which has higher levels of protein and gluten than standard wheat, making it perfect for bouncy, chewy pizza doughs and al dente pasta.
The best substitute is plain (all purpose) flour or semolina flour, however, you may end up with a crispier dough or less pliable pasta than you would with 00 flour.
All purpose flour substitute
Plain flour is milled from the kernels of wheat only, and is graded according to its gluten content: low-gluten flour for cakes and pastry (see cake flour and pastry flour) through to high-gluten flours (see 00 flour) for bread and pasta.
Because bread flour and cake flour are both wheat flours with slightly higher and slightly lower levels of protein respectively, either flour – or a mixture of both flours – will work best. Use bread flour for breads, doughs and pizza. Use cake flour for cake, pastries and biscuits.
Whole wheat plain flour substitute
The best substitute for whole wheat plain flour is spelt flour.
Almond flour substitute
Almond flour, not to be confused with almond meal, is made from blanched almonds ground into a very fine powder (almond meal is typically made with raw almonds that have a slightly coarser grind).
Where possible, use another nut or seed flour as an almond flour substitute, such as sunflower seed, cashew, hazelnut or tigernut flour. You can use plain (white, not wholemeal) flour, but you will need to adjust the ratios. The rule of thumb is a 1:2 ratio of plain flour to almond flour. For example, if your recipe calls for 2 cups of almond flour, you’ll need 1 cup of plain flour.
Arrowroot flour substitute
Arrowroot flour is made up of several starches, namely, arrowroot. It is flavourless and commonly used to thicken sauces, soups and pie filling (in the same way you might use corn flour).
Arrowroot flour substitute
A mixture of two-thirds corn flour and one-third wheat flour.
Bread flour substitute
Bread flour is a kind of wheat flour with a higher protein content than plain flour (usually around eleven to 13 per cent). It is best for baking bread and pizza because you need higher levels of protein to develop lots of gluten, which is what you need for chewy, bouncy bread.
The best substitute is plain flour. It will work in the same way as bread flour (because they are almost the same thing), you just won’t get the same ‘rise’ as bread flour and your bread may turn out a little denser.
Cake flour substitute
Cake flour is a kind of wheat flour with a lower protein content than plain flour (usually around seven to nine per cent). It is used for cakes that have a very fine or delicate crumb, because less protein = less gluten development, which means a lighter, fluffier end result.
The best substitute is a mixture of plain flour and corn flour. The easiest way to substitute cake flour is with a mix of plain flour and corn flour. Start with 1 cup of plain flour. Remove 2 tablespoons. Add 2 tablespoons of cornflour and stir until combined. Now you have 1 cup of cake flour.
Cassava flour substitute
Cassava flour is made from dried, finely ground cassava root. It is gluten, grain and nut-free.
There are a few good substitutes for cassava flour.
Tapioca flour. Cassava flour and tapioca flour are made from the same plant, so it’s no surprise that tapioca flour makes a good substitute for cassava flour. You can use it as a 1:1 substitution.
Almond flour. Almond flour can be used as a 1:1 replacement for cassava flour. Keep in mind that, unlike cassava flour, almond flour is not nut-free.
Chickpea flour substitute
Chickpea flour, also known as besan flour, is made from finely ground dried chickpeas. It is a staple in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cooking.
The best substitutes are quinoa flour, oat flour, almond flour or cassava flour.
Coconut flour substitute
Coconut flour is made from ground coconut flesh. It is a by-product made from the leftover coconut flesh used to make coconut milk. It is sweet and slightly nutty in flavour.
The best substitute for coconut flour is almond flour. However, it is not a 1:1 substitution because coconut flour is more absorbent than almond. To substitute, swap every 1/4 cup coconut flour with 1 cup of almond flour (not almond meal). It’s also wise to reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe. You will need to reduce the liquid in your recipe slightly too.
Cornflour substitute
Cornflour is a flour derived from (maize) corn. Use as a thickener for sauces and gravies, and in sponge cakes.
For thickening, the best substitutes are cornstarch, rice flour, wheat flour, potato flour or plain flour.
For baking, you can swap cornflour for plain flour, but the texture won’t turn out as crispy and light. When making biscuits, go for rice flour as a substitute. When baking cakes, swap cornflour for potato starch.
Cornstarch substitutes
Can you substitute cornstarch for corn flour?
For most Australian recipes, you can substitute cornstarch for corn flour.
In the US, cornflour and cornstarch are very different things (cornflour is finely-ground whole corn kernels, whereas cornstarch is a fine, white powder – a starch – derived from the starchy part of a corn kernel). But in Australia and the UK, cornstarch and cornflour often refer to the same thing: technically, they’re both referring to cornstarch (the fine, white powder made from the starchy part of corn).
Cornflour, in the American sense, is more difficult to come by in Australia and you will need to buy it online, from speciality supermarkets or from health food stores. Keep this in mind when using recipes from outside of Australia.
Can you substitute flour with cornstarch?
Yes, you substitute plain flour with cornstarch, but it won’t be a 1:1 substitution. You will need more plain flour than cornstarch when swapping the ingredients in a recipe. For example, if your recipe requires 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, you can substitute it for 2 tablespoons of plain flour.
Gluten free flour substitute
Bought gluten-free flour is typically a mixture of gluten-free starches, such as maize and tapioca starch, and gluten-free flours, such as rice and maize flour. It is a convenient option for gluten-free cooking and baking, and can usually be substituted 1:1 for plain wheat flour (always check the packet for instructions before you make any substitutions).
There’s no 1:1 substitute for gluten-free flour, but you can make your own with a blend of rice flour, potato starch (not potato flour) and tapioca starch. Just whisk together 4 cups rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch and 2/3 cups tapioca starch in a large bowl.
(Gluten-free flour recipe from Allergy Awesomeness).
Keto flour substitute
While you can find some ‘low carb’ or ‘keto’ flour options at select supermarkets and online, generally speaking, ‘keto flour’ is an umbrella term for any low-carb flour.
There’s no 1:1 keto flour substitute for wheat flour. However, you can use almond and coconut flour in recipes as a substitute for wheat flour, you’ll just need to adjust quantities slightly.
Almond flour is moister than wheat flour and doesn’t bind quite as well to liquid ingredients. Start with a 1:1 ratio of almond to wheat flour and add more almond flour, a little at a time, until your desired consistency is reached. You may also want to add an extra egg or egg white to help the recipe bind better. When substituting almond flour for wheat flour, go for recipes like cookies, dense cakes, pudding and tarts – nothing too light or fluffy as almond flour will weigh it down.
Coconut flour is very absorbent and doesn’t bind as well as wheat flour either, so you will need to adjust the amount of liquid and eggs in your recipe. Start with a 1/4-1/3 cup of coconut for every 1 cup of wheat flour. Typically, each 1/2 cup of coconut flour substituted in a recipe should be accompanied by 3 eggs and about 1/2 cup of liquid (such as milk).
Oat flour substitute
Oat flour is made from finely ground rolled oats. It adds a little more flavour to baked goods than wheat flour, but will also yield a crumblier, chewier texture.
Oat flour is incredibly easy to make, so the best substitute is simply to make your own. For 1 cup of oat flour, just blitz 1 1/4 cups rolled oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground. And voila, you have oat flour.
If you don’t have any oats on hand, the best substitute for oat flour is rice flour. You can use rice flour as a substitute for oat flour in a 1:1 ratio. You can also use coconut flour as a 1:1 substitute for oat flour, but you will need to add more liquid to your recipe because coconut flour is more absorbent than oat.
Pastry flour substitute
Similar to cake flour, pastry flour is wheat flour with a lower protein content than plain flour.
While you might think cake flour is a good substitute for pastry flour, pastry flour actually has even lower levels of protein than cake flour, so a 1:1 substitution won’t yield the desired results. The best substitute for 1 cup of pastry flour is 1 cup plain flour, minus 2 tablespoons, plus 2 tablespoons rice flour.
Potato flour substitute
Potato flour is made from finely ground peeled potatoes.
Potato flour can be substituted 1:1 with rice flour, however, the flavour will not be exactly the same.
Rice flour substitute
Rice flour is made from finely ground white rice (don’t get it confused with rice starch which is made by steeping rice in an alkaline mix and multi-stage purification).
The best substitute for rice flour will depend on what you’re cooking. When thickening a soup, sauce or stew, or making a batter for frying, cornstarch or plain wheat flour are the best substitutes. When baking, go for almond flour or tapioca flour as a substitute for rice flour.
Self-raising flour substitute
Self-raising flour is a mixture of plain flour and baking powder (and sometimes a little salt).
The best substitute for self-raising flour is a mixture of plain flour and baking powder. To make 1 cup self-raising flour, place 1 cup of plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder in a bowl. Stir until combined then sift. Store in an airtight container.
Semolina flour substitute
Semolina flour is a kind of coarse flour made from durum wheat. It’s commonly used to make pasta, couscous, bulgur, noodles and baked goods.
The best substitute for semolina flour is bread flour or whole wheat flour. This is because, like semolina flour, both bread flour and whole wheat flour have a higher protein content than plain flour. However, you can substitute semolina flour for plain flour if you don’t have bread or whole wheat flour on hand, but the end result may not be as firm and bouncy.
Spelt flour substitute
Spelt flour is a kind of wheat flour made from finely ground spelt (also known as farro, dinkel or hulled wheat). It is a sub-species of wheat.
Spelt flour has a lovely, nutty flavour not dissimilar to barley. It is typically used bread, pasta, biscuits and crackers.
The best substitute for spelt flour is whole wheat flour.
Tapioca flour substitute
Tapioca flour is made from the starchy part of the cassava root.
The best substitution for tapioca flour is cassava flour. This is because both flours are made from the cassava root (cassava flour is made from the whole root. Tapioca flour is made from the starchy part of the plant). You can use cassava flour as a 1:1 substitute for tapioca flour, just bear in mind that, because cassava flour has more fibre than tapioca, you will need less of it for thickening. It also has a slightly stronger, nuttier flavour than tapioca.
Whole wheat flour substitute
Whole wheat flour is made by milling the entire wheat kernel – bran (outer layer), germ (embryo) and endosperm, and has a higher fibre count than plain flour.
For convenience, the best substitute for whole wheat flour is plain white flour. You can use plain white flour as a 1:1 substitute for whole wheat flour, but the outcome will be lighter, fluffier and not as nutritionally-dense.
You can also substitute spelt flour for whole wheat flour at a 1:1 ratio. As spelt is a kind of wheat too, it functions much the same as whole wheat would, but will turn out slightly softer, fluffier baked goods than whole wheat.
Whole wheat pastry flour substitute
Whole wheat pastry flour is made from milled low-protein wheat (whole wheat plain flour is milled from hard wheat). Softer wheat means a lower protein content, which is great for light, fluffy and delicate baking.
The best substitute for whole wheat pastry flour is mixture of cake flour and whole wheat flour. For 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, substitute 1/2 cup cake flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.
Can I substitute bread flour for all purpose flour?
Yes, you can substitute bread flour for all purpose flour. However, because bread flour has a higher protein content, your mixture may become dry, so you made need to add more liquid than the recipe calls for.
It’s also worth noting that because of its higher protein content, bread flour will develop gluten more quickly than plain flour. So, when substituting it in cakes and baked goods, make sure you do not overmix it.
Can you substitute almond flour for regular flour?
Yes, you can substitute almond flour for regular flour. But it won’t be a 1:1 substitute. Almond flour is moister and more absorbent than wheat flour, and wont bind ingredients together in the same way as plain flour.
So, it’s best to start with a 1:1 substitute and add more almond flour as you go to adjust what will be a wetter batter. Aim for a stiff batter when working with almond flour. Add an extra egg or egg white when substituting almond flour for plain flour to help your recipe bind better.
Can you substitute self-rising flour for all-purpose flour?
Yes, you substitute self-rising flour for all-purpose flour, but only for recipes that also call for baking powder and salt. To substitute self-rising flour for all-purpose flour, leave out the baking powder and reduce the amount of salt in the original recipe.
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