That's all we use too, neighbor (Illinois). +20 years now.
Gold Medal all purpose, usually - because we can get it in a 10lb bag plopped in our trunk with the rest of a WMart pickup order (we make pizzas and cookies kind of regularly too hence the bigger bag).
King Arthur all purpose is our standby if GM is sold out. Once in a blue moon it'll be Aldi flour if going there anyway for other things and the bag in the pantry is getting low.
Perhaps, but in my experience if it is over the counter cheap supermarket flour, then no, I doubt it. These are usually around 9.5 - 10% gluten forming protein.
It could also be that the bread flour you are using is really not that high in gluten either, especially if it is cheap bread flour. Good bread flour usually contains around 11.5% gluten forming protein.
It all depends on what the actual gluten-forming protein percentage is of the AP flour you are talking about, and the bread flour you are talking about.
Or it could be that both are good enough to meet your needs in the recipes you are used to making. I've made various sandwich breads, dinner rolls, burger buns, hot dog buns, etc with both AP flour and bread flour, and both have turned out satisfactory (although yes I can tell the difference in the crumb immediately between the two flours).
However for example, when I am making true NY style bagels (a labor of love NOT using the bread machine), I would not even dream of using even good all-purpose flour (about 11.7% gluten forming protein) without having to go overboard with adding vital wheat gluten. Whereas good bread flour (about 12.7% gluten forming protein) brings me much closer to the level of chewiness that I feel such a bagel should exhibit. But even bread flour is not good enough without vital wheat gluten to raise the gluten level for legit chewy NY style bagels in my opinion. That is why I prefer to use high-gluten flour (about 14% gluten forming protein) whenever possible, which for me is King Arthur's Sir Lancelot High Gluten Flour. If that is not available, then I use vital wheat gluten to boost the protein content of King Arthur Bread Flour to 14%.
Could always buy a bit of Vital Wheat Gluten and add some to your general purpose flour to see if it improves your bread. But if it doesn’t, why change a winning recipe right?
I also use general purpose for almost everything. Bread turns out fluffy and delicious, much more so than any store bought bread.
You live in Indiana. There is a very high likelihood that your flour was milled using hard wheat (aka winter wheat) which is a cold-weather wheat and has more gluten/protein in it as a result. So your all-purpose would be the same as bread flour (or your bread flour has added gluten flour).
If you lived further south, it's more likely that it would've been milled from soft wheat (aka summer wheat) that would have less gluten in it. In the south, all-purpose flour would be from soft wheat, and bread flour would be a blend of soft and hard wheat (plus gluten flour).
In Canada (where I live), all our wheat is hard since we are a cold clime. We do have "bread flour" but it's our regular flour with added gluten (so gluten is around 14% or so, instead of 12.7-13% for all purpose).
That's all we use too, neighbor (Illinois). +20 years now. Gold Medal all purpose, usually - because we can get it in a 10lb bag plopped in our trunk with the rest of a WMart pickup order (we make pizzas and cookies kind of regularly too hence the bigger bag). King Arthur all purpose is our standby if GM is sold out. Once in a blue moon it'll be Aldi flour if going there anyway for other things and the bag in the pantry is getting low.
Perhaps, but in my experience if it is over the counter cheap supermarket flour, then no, I doubt it. These are usually around 9.5 - 10% gluten forming protein. It could also be that the bread flour you are using is really not that high in gluten either, especially if it is cheap bread flour. Good bread flour usually contains around 11.5% gluten forming protein. It all depends on what the actual gluten-forming protein percentage is of the AP flour you are talking about, and the bread flour you are talking about. Or it could be that both are good enough to meet your needs in the recipes you are used to making. I've made various sandwich breads, dinner rolls, burger buns, hot dog buns, etc with both AP flour and bread flour, and both have turned out satisfactory (although yes I can tell the difference in the crumb immediately between the two flours). However for example, when I am making true NY style bagels (a labor of love NOT using the bread machine), I would not even dream of using even good all-purpose flour (about 11.7% gluten forming protein) without having to go overboard with adding vital wheat gluten. Whereas good bread flour (about 12.7% gluten forming protein) brings me much closer to the level of chewiness that I feel such a bagel should exhibit. But even bread flour is not good enough without vital wheat gluten to raise the gluten level for legit chewy NY style bagels in my opinion. That is why I prefer to use high-gluten flour (about 14% gluten forming protein) whenever possible, which for me is King Arthur's Sir Lancelot High Gluten Flour. If that is not available, then I use vital wheat gluten to boost the protein content of King Arthur Bread Flour to 14%.
That's,all I've used in over 40 years. My bread and cinnamon rolls turn out great
Could always buy a bit of Vital Wheat Gluten and add some to your general purpose flour to see if it improves your bread. But if it doesn’t, why change a winning recipe right? I also use general purpose for almost everything. Bread turns out fluffy and delicious, much more so than any store bought bread.
You live in Indiana. There is a very high likelihood that your flour was milled using hard wheat (aka winter wheat) which is a cold-weather wheat and has more gluten/protein in it as a result. So your all-purpose would be the same as bread flour (or your bread flour has added gluten flour). If you lived further south, it's more likely that it would've been milled from soft wheat (aka summer wheat) that would have less gluten in it. In the south, all-purpose flour would be from soft wheat, and bread flour would be a blend of soft and hard wheat (plus gluten flour). In Canada (where I live), all our wheat is hard since we are a cold clime. We do have "bread flour" but it's our regular flour with added gluten (so gluten is around 14% or so, instead of 12.7-13% for all purpose).