Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour for sourdough?
You can, all-purpose flour makes great bread too. Lower protein just means the dough holds a bit less water, so reduce the hydration slightly (start around 60%) and it stays easy to handle.
Answered by Hendrik, The Bread Code
From the book
Several recipes call for wheat bread flour, but bread flour can refer to different types of flour. It could be a T405 or a T550 in Germany,this is very often classified incorrectly,the terms strong or bread flour in this case refer to the properties of the flour. A bread flour is considered to have a higher amount of protein and thus gluten. This flour is excellent when you want to make a sourdough bread as your dough allows for a longer leavening period. As described earlier, the gluten is consumed by your microorganisms. The more gluten you have, the longer your dough keeps its integrity. If you wanted to make a cake, you might want to use a flour with less gluten. The gluten binding properties might not be desirable since the final cake could have a chewy texture.
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