Duff Goldman's Hack For Cake Flour Is Unbelievably Easy

Baking, the art of cooking using dry heat, especially in an oven, is a science — a delicious science! We're talking about cakes, bread, scones, cookies, brownies, and all the other bake sale treats we can't resist. Unlike roasted chicken or meatloaf, these kinds of baked goods require exact measurements, the right techniques, and the proper ingredients to achieve the best result.  

Gone are the days when all we had was all-purpose flour for these baking projects. Today's cooks have options when choosing a flour, including but not limited to gluten-free, self-rising, whole-wheat, non-wheat (made from grains, nuts, and starches), and those developed specifically for pastries and pasta. The differences between these types of flour dramatically affect how your baked goods turn out, which means that all flours are not interchangeable. Sometimes bakers need a substitute to satisfy that sweet tooth. 

Many recipes call for cake flour, which has almost half the amount of gluten as all-purpose flour and is milled to a finer consistency, giving muffins and other treats a softer, less structured bite. The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, explains on her website that recipes such as biscuits and pancakes use cake flour to achieve a tender, moist texture. All-purpose flour, meanwhile, will give these dishes a hardier, less delicate result. If you're all set to make a pillowy cake but find yourself without cake flour, fear not, because Duff Goldman has a hack for making cake flour from pantry staples you may already have on hand.

Food Network star Duff Goldman recently took to Twitter to educate users with a simple hack for making cake flour in a pinch. He suggested adding just 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to every cup of all-purpose flour to turn regular flour into cake flour. This is likely a pretty strict ratio, as baking is known for precise measurements. According to King Arthur Baking, using a kitchen scale, which can be purchased in cooking stores or online for under $10, is the best method for properly measuring ingredients. 

If you don't have a scale at home, just be sure to follow the correct way to measure flour for recipes using cups: Instead of scooping the flour with the measuring cup, which can pack in more than you need, spoon the flour into the dry measuring cup, then sweep off any excess. Follow this technique for other dry ingredients and when using measuring spoons, too. Why is it so important? Adding too much flour can result in dry baked goods, which you especially want to avoid if you're making a tender, delicate dish that calls for cake flour. But don't take our word for it — why not conduct a delicious experiment yourself? Try baking a cake or sweet rolls with both flours and see if you can tell the difference.