All-Purpose Flour Test: King Arthur v. White Lily

Friends, let me tell you. I have been a King Arthur Baking fanatic for years. For just as long, however, I’ve been hearing a steady drumbeat about White Lily flour, so I finally decided to give it a try several months ago. This isn’t unusual; I’m always trying to figure out how to improve upon my recipes, so I frequently test ingredients to determine what works best, and it was time to see if my loyalty to King Arthur All-Purpose Flour for daily use was the best strategy.

**At the outset, I want to make clear that this all-purpose flour test is not sponsored by King Arthur Baking or White Lily. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and have not been influenced by any outside sources.**

When I do an ingredient test, I go into it with no expectations. It’s the only way to give a fair shot to contenders. I’ve been extremely surprised in the not-so-distant past with butter and egg tests, so I completely understand the importance of not giving any team home field advantage.

It was difficult, Friends. Because I do love my King Arthur Flour. BUT it’s the only way to be fair about these things.

In this Post:

The Method

When I started this test, I knew that I wanted to do a true head-to-head test of these two titans in the baking industry. For this test, I used two commercially-available flours that you can readily find in a grocery store. Here are the stats on each:

King Arthur All-Purpose Flour: Unbleached, unenriched, unbromated flour. 11.7% protein content. Made from hard red wheat.

White Lily: Bleached, enriched, unbromated flour. 9% protein content. Made from soft red winter wheat.

Flour Texture

When doing ingredient tests, I start simply. By looking at the products. Actually reviewing the products side-by-side. In this case, I got into it and did an unscientific texture check by rubbing each of the flours in my fingers.

The test of these flours has included four different recipes to date: my Snickerdoodle Pound Cake, my BwB Snickerdoodle Cookies, my Classic Peach Pie, and my Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. The reason was simple: I wanted to test how both flours performed overall with different items.

There is a noticeable difference between the two. The White Lily flour actually feels softer between the fingers. This has everything to do with the fact that, at 9% protein, White Lily’s all-purpose flour is milled from soft red winter wheat, while King Arthur Baking’s all-purpose flour is milled from hard red wheat (and comes in at 11.7% protein).

From a pure protein (and texture) standpoint, White Lily All-Purpose flour is more consistent with King Arthur Baking’s Cake Flour, and not King Arthur Baking’s All-Purpose flour. BUT this is a comparison of the two companies’ all-purpose flours, so I continued with both all-purpose flours here.

Snickerdoodle Pound Cake

I picked the Snickerdoodle Pound Cake for this test because it’s kind of my signature. So, to test these flours in my kitchen, I wanted to make a cake that is familiar to my kitchen.

It’s also the most popular pound cake on my site, so I felt like it was a good pound cake representative.

The two batters looked the same until the addition of the flour mixture. At that point, it became clear that I was working with two very different products. The batter with the White Lily flour was noticeably looser and more silky. That was to be expected, considering that the protein content was so much lower for the White Lily flour (for more on protein content and how it impacts baked goods, take a look here!).

The bake time for each cake was quite similar: it took about 70 minutes for each one.

But that’s where the similarities ended.

The Finished Cakes

Both of the cakes came out of their pans nicely. That was to be expected, though, since I buttered and floured the pans the same way. There was no sticking whatsoever with either cake.

Why is that relevant? Because the edges on the White Lily cake were not nearly as sharp as the edges on the King Arthur cake. I’m kind of a stickler for sharp edges on bundt cakes, so this was a big deal for me.

The edges on the White Lily cake were not nearly as crisp and defined as I’m used to getting from my pound cakes. So, King Arthur was a clear winner for me here.

However, pound cakes are about more than sharp edges. Taste and texture are just as important, because…well, it’s cake!

Not surprisingly, the texture of the cakes were quite different. The White Lily cake had a looser crumb that was more delightfully crumbly. This isn’t a bad thing with cake! Indeed, it’s what I want in a layer cake.

The King Arthur cake had the tighter crumb that I want from a pound cake. This is unsurprising, since I developed the cake using King Arthur Flour in the beginning.

And here’s the side-by-side picture to show you the texture of each cake. The crumb of the White Lily cake is looser and lighter than the crumb of the King Arthur cake.

Honestly, there’s no wrong answer here. They are both premium flours. So, for texture, it really depends on the finished product that you want from your pound cakes.

If you’re asking me, though, I develop pound cakes to have a tighter crumb that doesn’t really crumble apart when you’re walking around with it in a napkin. (Yes, this is a real test!). So, King Arthur Flour won for me on a texture front.

…But How Did They Taste?

Of course, the ultimate arbiter of any baked good is taste. I can make a cake look pretty all day, but if it doesn’t taste good, it’s not a success.

There was a marked difference in taste! So much so that even I was shocked.

Let me start by saying that they both tasted good! But, with the White Lily cake, the flour taste was more pronounced. The mouthfeel was softer (not surprising, since the batter was so much smoother than the King Arthur batter), and reminded me more of a birthday cake than a pound cake.

Again, not a bad thing. Just not what I was going for when I developed this cake.

The King Arthur cake was as expected. Consistently delicious and tasted exactly as I wanted it to taste. The flour-y taste was noticeably absent from this cake (not that it’s super prominent in the White Lily cake, but it is there). The King Arthur cake tasted exactly as I intended this cake to taste. And that made me super happy.

Winner of the Snickerdoodle Pound Cake Battle: King Arthur Flour

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Next up in the flour test was my favorite cookie of all time.

So, absolutely no pressure whatsoever. LOL

It was time for the snickerdoodle cookie test.

The Dough

Once again, when I mixed the dough, the White Lily dough was noticeably more loose. It was still a cookie dough, but it wasn’t nearly as stiff as the King Arthur cookie dough. This didn’t concern me, since ultimately the texture of the dough wouldn’t necessarily impact the finished texture of the cookie. But I took note!

The Bake

Again, the bake time was identical for each cookie. Five minutes on the first side, four minutes on the second side. The two batches baked equally and looked nearly identical. In fact, it was hard to tell them apart!

And Finally, the Result

Texture-wise, they were nearly identical. I love a thick, chewy snickerdoodle cookie and neither of these flours disappointed on that front. I was truly happy to see that my cookies could produce a nice chewy cookie with either flour.

Once again, though, the difference came in the taste. With the White Lily cookie, I once again tasted more flour. It wasn’t the most off-putting taste, but it did impact the taste for me.

With the King Arthur cookie, I did not notice that taste. Just pure snickerdoodle nirvana. I might be splitting hairs though…

BECAUSE…

My children positively devoured the White Lily cookies. If they tasted flour (or anything off-putting), they didn’t tell me. Of course, it’s possible that the rate at which they were inhaling the cookies means that this was a failed experiment. With the sheer speed of consumption, they might not have tasted much of anything except snickerdoodle goodness.

This was good news to me.

Winner of the Snickerdoodle Cookie Battle: Tie

Layer Cakes

Remember when I said earlier that White Lily flour is more akin to cake flour than other “all-purpose” flours? Well, I needed to figure out how it would perform in a layer cake compared to my experiences with King Arthur Baking.

I’ll let you see for yourself:

The object with layer cakes is simple: I want to create a moist, almost ethereal crumb that is lighter-than-air. To achieve that, I typically use a lower-protein flour, since it won’t create strong gluten bonds (and thus a tighter, more dense crumb). But again, this is an all-purpose flour head to head, and White Lily is branded as an all-purpose flour, so off to layer cake land we went.

I won’t even bury the lede BB. White Lily is the positive GOAT when it comes to layer cakes. The crumb is absolutely outstanding; it is moist and a little crumbly, and crumbs just…float down the sides of the cake in the most beautiful, almost ethereal display.

King Arthur Baking does a great job as well. With its higher protein content, the crumb is tighter and doesn’t melt on the tongue as much as the White Lily cake, and I’m a texture buff so this is noticeable to me (but I am also admittedly strange in this regard 😂). But Friend, the soft wheat and lower protein content of the White Lily Flour creates such an aesthetically beautiful sight and a melt-in-your-mouth texture that it has quickly become my absolute favorite for layer cakes. I hope you’ll give it a try!

Winner of the Layer Cake Battle: White Lily Flour

Pies

Pies hold a particularly special place in my kitchen. When making these special treats, it’s extremely important to me to have a pie crust that positively shatters when you eat it.

Pie. Meet croissant. Croissant. Meet pie.

That is what I’m going for with every single pie crust that I ever make. And to ensure this effect, I laminate my dough. (Want to see what I mean by laminate? Check out my post on Apple Hand Pies for a video tutorial!)

Pie dough strikes fear into the most accomplished bakers, because it is a true test of bakers feel. Bakers feel is that instinct that bakers develop as they practice, and practice, and practice some more. It’s the hands and wrists knowing that something literally feels complete. It’s training the eyes to know what to look for to know when something is actually complete. It’s the confidence that you develop overall when you’ve developed proficiency. And when I say that pie crust (and pastry in general) will leave your confidence on the side of the road…

Why mention bakers feel in this discussion? Because it actually dictates my findings in this instance!

Successful pie crust is fully dependent on not overworking the pie dough. When you work the protein (gluten) too much, it creates strong gluten bonds that create more chew, and which are decidedly not flaky. In other words, too much chew = bad pie crust. For this reason, the smart money is on lower-protein flour for this very important task.

For these reasons, I love White Lily. It makes the absolute flakiest, most delicious pie crust I’ve ever made. Watching the final crust do its croissant-inspired thing is a beautiful sight.

BUT, with its lower protein content (and it being closer to a typical cake or pastry flour than a higher-protein all-purpose flour), it can be tricky and frustrating to work with White Lily as a beginning pie maker. This is especially true with my all-butter pie crust. And this is why, as a beginning pie maker, I recommend starting with a higher-protein flour until that bakers feel is well established. 😊

King Arthur Flour is actually a very good all-purpose flour for pie! Though it is a higher-protein flour than White Lily, it still makes a very flaky pie crust that is exceedingly delicious! It is also more forgiving than White Lily, so it will help you establish great muscle memory while you build your pie prowess!

Winner of the Pie Battle: White Lily Flour for intermediate/advanced pie bakers; King Arthur Flour for beginning pie bakers

Final Thoughts

Friends, I thoroughly enjoy ingredient testing. I’m constantly in search of the absolute best ingredients I can source for my baked goods (because ingredients can make a huge difference), so it’s wonderful to be able to do these kinds of tests from time to time.

What do I think? I think you really can’t go wrong with either King Arthur or White Lily. As a baker, you have to determine which flour meets your tastes. So, if you are a die-hard White Lily fan, I say use White Lily! Many baked goods will be lighter than those baked with King Arthur, and if that serves your taste, then keep on keepin’ on with White Lily.

I am going to use them both for different purposes. Working with both of them in their respective strong suits helps me make the absolute best product for you all, and I love that for us.

I will continue to update this post as I test White Lily and King Arthur Baking on more and more, and more, and more products…

Will update my findings as I do each project.

I hope you found this helpful as you go about your baking exploits! Whatever you choose, may you have the best bakes of your life.

See you soon!