All-purpose flour, also known as AP flour, is a versatile type of wheat flour that is suitable for most baking and cooking purposes. It is milled from hard red wheat or a blend of hard and soft wheats, typically at an 80:20 ratio. All-purpose flour is a medium-gluten white flour that contains an average amount of protein, around 12 percent gluten, which makes it suitable for making crusty breads as well as delicate pastries and cakes. The more protein in the wheat, the more gluten is formed. All-purpose flour is a fine-textured flour milled from the inner part of the wheat kernel and contains neither the germ (the sprout) nor the bran (outer coating) . U.S. law requires that all flours without the wheat germ have riboflavin, niacin, iron, and thiamin added, which is called “enriched” . All-purpose flour can be bleached, which creates a softer texture, or unbleached, which provides more structure in baked goods and retains more of the nuance of the wheat. All-purpose flour is suitable for most purposes, such as baking, cooking, coating meats, vegetables, and as a thickening agent for sauces and gravies.

In summary, all-purpose flour is a versatile type of wheat flour that is suitable for most baking and cooking purposes. It is a medium-gluten white flour that contains an average amount of protein and is milled from the inner part of the wheat kernel. All-purpose flour can be bleached or unbleached and is suitable for making crusty breads as well as delicate pastries and cakes.