About Pastry flour[]
Wikipedia Article About Pastry flour on Wikipedia
Pastry flour (also called cookie flour or cracker flour) has slightly higher gluten content than cake flour, but lower than all-purpose flour. It is suitable for fine, light-textured pastries.
Pastry flour has a protein level of 9-10% as opposed to 12-13% found in bread flour. There are four primary types of wheat flours used in baking and they vary in the amount of protein they contain. When moisture is added to the flour, a protein called gluten is developed and depending on the finished product, different amounts of this protein are desired. Since protein gives structure and strength to baked goods, most pastries require a limited amount. Lower levels of protein are found in a softer flour such as pastry flour; whereas the structure of bread demands a higher level.