Cake flour vs regular all purpose flour?

Cake flour has a lower gluten content. When you make things with it, it will give a lighter, softer effect. A cake is made with cake flour, and bread is made with bread flour, bread flour has more gluten in it that cake flour; to give an example of texture difference. You can use cake flour in things other than cake, like pastries, and cookies. You really just can't make bread out of cake flour, it won't hold very well, or give the right texture. So, you would use cake flour when you want a softer texture. Cake flour is also bleached. (All purpose flour is a mixture of bread flour and cake or pastry flour ... so it is simply a middle-ground flour ... hence 'all-purpose'.)

Cake & pastry flour is made from summer wheat whereas winter wheat is used for all-purpose flour. Winter wheat is considered harder and denser because it has been put through a harsher growing season.

Good Eating

The Muse