High-gluten flour is typically used when making different types of breads, including artisan and diabetic breads, as well as pastas. Sometimes this flour is mixed with low-gluten or low-protein flour. This flour usually contains between 12 and 15 percent gluten, and it is generally harder to find in most grocery stores than all-purpose flour.
Gluten is a type of protein that is found inside wheat flour, and it helps give most baked goods structure. When making artisan bread, especially breads that are baked without a pan, such as French bread, high-gluten flour helps the bread hold its structure during baking. If a baker prefers cooking with traditional flour, high-gluten flour can be blended in to add to the stability of the baked good. Some bakers prefer to cook with high-gluten flour because it gives bagels and pastas more chewy and complex structures.
In the United States, all-purpose flour is easier to find in stores than high-gluten flour. All-purpose flour is a combination of soft and hard wheat. Unlike high-gluten flour, all-purpose flour only contains about 8 to 11 percent gluten. All-purpose flour is usually bleached or unbleached. If it's bleached, this means that it has been chemically treated, while unbleached flour usually contains more protein than bleached flour.