The Best Substitute For White Lily Flour (And Why All-Purpose Won't Cut It) - Tasting Table

"In kitchens across the American South, a certain type of flour gets lots of love for its gentle, pillowy texture. Countless home chefs refuse to cook without it - at least when making fluffy biscuits, delicate cookies, or melt-on-your-tongue crumbly cakes. That manna from the gods is White Lily flour, originally produced in Knoxville, Tennessee, by a flour-mill owner who developed the now-famous Southern-style soft-wheat flour. It's distinct fluffiness leaves few, if any, comparisons."

"White Lily flour is crucially produced from a 100% soft red winter wheat with uniquely fine texture and low-protein content. After entrepreneur J. Allen Smith purchased a Tennessee flour mill in 1883 and cultivated this flour, he reportedly named it for his wife, Lillie Powell Smith. Other myths or assumptions over the name still linger, but its lasting pantry-power is indisputable. Before considering alternatives, it helps to know exactly what makes White Lily flour so special."

"It basically comes down to the lower amount of gluten formation compared to standard all-purpose flours. Proteins levels in White Lily clock in at 9%, while typical all-purpose flours hover between 11% and 12%. This means baked goods made with White Lily rise higher, feel more pillowy, and are less "chewy" compared to harder wheat varieties. That's why substitutions are tricky - but not impossible."

White Lily flour is milled from 100% soft red winter wheat with a uniquely fine texture and about 9% protein, which limits gluten formation. The low protein content produces lighter, pillowy baked goods that rise higher and avoid chewiness compared with standard all-purpose flours. The brand traces back to J. Allen Smith, who bought a Tennessee mill in 1883 and reportedly named the flour for his wife, Lillie Powell Smith. The company markets its primary product as all-purpose, but its texture is noticeably lighter. When unavailable, cake flour or pastry flour with similar low protein are the closest substitutes.

Read at Tasting Table