What Flour is Best for Brownies? | 8 Great Options

The best flour for brownies is a simple all cakes flour. Cake flour is low in protein and will make the brownies taste light and delicious. Plain, all-purpose flour is also a great option if you don’t have cake flour. Together with chocolate, sugar and butter it will make for yummy, chewy brownies that taste great.

Best flour types for brownies

These are the best types of flour to use for brownies.

1. Cake flour

Cake flour is the best flour for brownies as it is a fine flour that is low in protein. This makes for light and delicious brownies that become crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  The low protein levels in cake flour will mean that less gluten will form when you mix the brownie batter. This will stop them from becoming tough.

2.All-purpose flour

All-purpose flour is the most common option for brownies. This is a wheat flour that has been processed removing the husks making the flour light and lower in fiber.

To get the best results when making brownies it works best if the dry ingredients are mixed together first. This will help to avoid chunks of flour ending up in your brownies. Sifting the flour, baking powder and sugar together will help to distribute the ingredients evenly.

3. Plain flour

Plain flour is basically all-purpose wheat flour and is fantastic for brownies. Plain flour does not have any raising agent like self-raising flour so it works well for a variety of brownie recipes. That way you can add the right amount of raising agent for your brownie recipe.

4.Self-raising flour

Self-raising flour is a fantastic option for brownies. It can be used instead of plain flour in most recipes but requires an adjustment of the raising agent.

If you are adding self-raising flour instead of plain flour then you generally can reduce the amount of raising agent by half.

If you like your brownies fudgy then it is very important to reduce the baking powder or baking soda when using self-raising flour. Too much raising agent will make your brownies fluffy rather than fudgy.

Fudgy brownies can be made with self-raising flour, just reduce the baking powder in the recipe if you swapping it for plain flour.

5. Whole-meal or wholegrain flour

Whole-meal or wholegrain flours can be a great way to increase the fiber content of your brownies. Replacing 50% of the regular white flour with whole-meal or wholegrain will make the brownies more filling.

6. Gluten free flour

Gluten free flour can be used to make brownies. Regular gluten free flour can be swapped into brownie recipes and will still work well. Gluten free flour is often made with a variety of grains. My gluten free flour contains maize, tapioca and rice bran.

If you want a great recipe for gluten free brownies, check out the one below.

7. Almond flour

Almond flour is a great option for a rich brownies that are chewy and fudgy. Look out for a brownie recipe that is made for almond flour as you cannot straight swap it into any recipe for wheat flour.

8. Coconut flour

Coconut flour is another good substitute if you are looking to make a gluten free brownies. It is essential to look out for specific brownies recipes that are made for coconut flour as it differs a lot from regular plain flour.

Coconut flour can have a delicious, sweet flavor that can liven up your brownies and give it great flavor.

Flours to avoid using for brownies

Here are 2 flours that are best to avoid using for brownies.

Bread flour

Bread flour is not a great option for brownies as it is high in protein. The high protein content means that more gluten will develop as you mix the dough. This can make the bread tough and chewy.

Pasta flour

Pasta flour, like bread flour is also high in protein so is not a great option for brownies. It will tighten as the batter is mixed. Look out for a simple plain flour or cake flour if you want to make great brownies.

Should you sift flour for brownies?

It is always best to sift flour for brownies as it will remove any lumps and lighten the mix. You can also sift through the raising agent like baking soda or baking powder to mix it through thoroughly.

I like to buy my flour pre-sifted. I look out for triple sifted flour so that it is extra light and has no lumps.

What Flour is Best for Brownies? | Summary

The best flour for brownies is cake flour. This will give you delicious brownies that are light, chewy and taste great. Depending on if you like your brownies fudgy or cakey, you can use cake flour to make both versions in no time.

Happy cooking.