Okay, let’s talk about this King Arthur All Purpose flour situation. I’ve been using it for a while now, like a lot of folks. It’s just kinda my go-to when I’m at the store.
So the other day, I was messing around in the kitchen, trying out a new bread recipe. Sometimes things work out great, other times… not so much. This got me thinking about the basics, you know? Like the flour itself. I hear people talk about protein content all the time, how it makes a difference.
I figured, hey, I got the bag right here, let’s actually check it out. So I pulled my bag of King Arthur All Purpose out of the pantry. You know the one, the classic red and white bag. Flipped it around, looking for that nutrition label. Sometimes you gotta hunt for it, tucked away on the side.
Digging into the Details
Found it. Squinted a bit – the print isn’t always huge, right? Scanned down past the calories and fat, looking for ‘Protein’. And there it was. The label says 4 grams of protein per serving, and a serving size is like 1/4 cup, or 30 grams.
Now, just knowing the grams per serving doesn’t always paint the whole picture for baking. Bakers usually talk percentage. So I did some quick math in my head, well, maybe grabbed my phone calculator to be sure. 4 grams divided by 30 grams… that gives you about 0.1333. Multiply by 100 to get the percentage. So, it comes out to roughly 13.3% protein if you calculate it that way directly from the label serving size.
Hold on, though. I remembered seeing online discussions and the King Arthur website itself often states it’s 11.7% protein. Why the difference? Well, nutrition labels can be tricky. Sometimes the serving size rounding or how they measure affects the numbers. The official 11.7% is what the company states and what most bakers go by. I trust that more than my quick label math, honestly. Companies have labs for this stuff.
- Grabbed the actual bag I use.
- Located the nutrition facts panel.
- Found the protein listed per serving (4g per 30g).
- Did a quick calculation (approx. 13.3%).
- Recalled the official company number is 11.7%.
- Decided the 11.7% figure is the more reliable one to use for baking purposes.
What This Means For My Baking
So, 11.7%. What’s that tell me? Well, it’s a solid middle-ground protein content. It’s higher than most typical grocery store all-purpose flours, which often hang out around 10% or so. But it’s not as high as bread flour, which can be 12.5% or even higher.
This actually explains a lot about my own experiences. It’s why King Arthur AP often gives my bread a bit more chew and structure than cheaper store brands. It’s got enough protein to develop decent gluten for bread, but not so much that it makes cakes or cookies tough. It really is pretty versatile, lives up to the “all-purpose” name quite well because of this specific protein level.
Knowing this specific number, 11.7%, helps me adjust things. If a recipe feels a bit off, I can think, okay, maybe I need a little less kneading because the protein is already reasonably high, or maybe for a really crusty loaf, I should actually reach for their bread flour next time. It’s good info to have in your back pocket when you’re trying to figure out why your bakes turn out the way they do. Just looking at the bag and knowing the number makes things a little less mysterious.
