Can I use all-purpose flour to make ramen noodles?

You can, but results are usually softer and less springy. All-purpose flour sits between soft and hard flour, so ramen dough may crack more during rolling and noodles may lose chew faster in broth. Bread flour or high-gluten flour is more reliable for ramen.

What is kyorikiko (強力粉) and why is it best for ramen?

Kyorikiko means “strong flour” in Japanese and typically corresponds to bread flour or high-gluten flour made from hard wheat. Ramen dough is low hydration and alkaline, so it needs strong, elastic gluten to roll well, cut cleanly, and maintain a firm, springy texture after boiling.

What is hakurikiko (薄力粉) and is it good for ramen noodles?

Hakurikiko is “weak flour” in Japanese and is similar to cake flour or pastry flour. It’s designed for tenderness, not chew. For ramen noodles, it often produces fragile dough that cracks during rolling and noodles that soften quickly in broth.

Why do some cheaper bread flours behave differently in ramen dough?

Some lower-cost bread flours are optimized for everyday baking and consistency. They may include dough conditioners such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C). While helpful in bread making, conditioned flour can feel stiffer in low-hydration, alkaline ramen dough and may produce noodles that lose texture faster in broth.

Is premium bread flour healthier than cheaper bread flour?

Usually the nutrition is very similar for refined white bread flours, especially if both are enriched. Premium flour may offer benefits like fewer additives and more consistent milling, but it’s not typically dramatically more nutritious. If health is the main goal, consider higher-fiber flours or whole grains.

What flour does The Story of Ramen use in its ramen-making classes?

In The Story of Ramen classes in San Francisco, we use Rogers Canadian high-gluten flour because it produces consistently elastic ramen dough, rolls smoothly, and creates noodles with a springy bite that holds up well in broth.

What Flour Should I Use to Make Ramen?

Q: What flour should I use to make ramen noodles?

For homemade ramen noodles, use hard wheat flour—typically bread flour or high-gluten flour. In Japanese, this is called kyorikiko (強力粉). It forms a stronger gluten network that helps low-hydration ramen dough roll smoothly and creates the springy ramen bite that holds up in hot broth.

Q: What bread flour should I use to make ramen at the grocery store?

Look for bread flour or high-gluten flour (kyorikiko). Premium flours like King Arthur often provide more consistent performance, smoother rolling, cleaner noodle cuts, and better chew. Cheaper bread flours can work, but may feel tighter or soften faster depending on wheat quality and processing.

manvillechan5
1 day ago
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Hero image showing King Arthur bread flour, kansui, and fresh homemade ramen noodles on a floured countertop with the text “What Flour Should I Use to Make Ramen?” — Choosing ramen flour: the difference between “wow” noodles and “why did this crack?”

Why Hard Wheat Flour (Kyorikiko) Makes Better Noodles

One of the most common questions home cooks ask is:

“What flour should I use to make ramen noodles?”

If your homemade ramen noodles crack, feel stiff, or turn soft too quickly in broth, the issue is often the flour—not the recipe.

Ramen noodles require hard wheat flour, known in Japanese as kyorikiko (強力粉). Understanding why makes all the difference.

Kyorikiko vs Hakurikiko (and Where All-Purpose Flour Fits)

In Japan, flour is categorized by strength:

Kyorikiko (強力粉) – hard wheat flour
Used for bread and ramen noodles. Strong gluten and good chew.
Hakurikiko (薄力粉) – soft wheat flour
Similar to cake or pastry flour. Tender, fragile, and unsuitable for ramen.

All-purpose flour sits in the middle, designed to be versatile rather than specialized.

While all-purpose flour can technically be used to make noodles, it often produces ramen that:

cracks during rolling
lacks elasticity
loses bite quickly in broth

For consistent results, bread flour or high-gluten flour works far better than all-purpose flour.

What Bread Flour Should I Use to Make Ramen at the Grocery Store?

When shopping at a grocery store, you’ll usually see:

a 5-lb bag of cheaper bread flour (like Trader Joe’s brand) for around $2.99
a premium bread flour (like King Arthur) for about $7.99

Both are labeled “bread flour,” and both may list similar protein numbers—but they don’t always behave the same in ramen dough.

Cheaper bread flours are designed to be affordable and reliable for everyday baking. To achieve that consistency, some rely on dough conditioners, such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C). These additives help bread rise and tolerate mixing, but in low-hydration, alkaline ramen dough they can make the dough feel stiff, resist smooth rolling, and produce noodles that soften faster in broth.

Premium flours like King Arthur tend to rely more on wheat quality and consistent milling rather than performance-correcting additives. For ramen, this usually means dough that feels more elastic, sheets more smoothly, cuts cleaner, and produces noodles with better chew and texture retention.

Trader Joe’s bread flour isn’t “bad”—it works well for general baking—but ramen noodles tend to reward consistency and elasticity over price alone.

Why All Bread Flours Are Not Created Equal

Even when two bags are both labeled “bread flour” or “high-gluten flour,” they can perform very differently in ramen dough. That’s because ramen is an unusually demanding dough—low hydration, alkaline, and rolled repeatedly—so small differences in flour quality show up fast.

Here are the real-world flour properties that can make or break ramen noodles:

Protein level (and protein quality): Higher protein generally means stronger gluten potential, but it’s not just the number. The type of wheat and how that protein behaves matters just as much for elasticity and chew.
Milling consistency: Higher-quality mills tend to produce flour that is more consistent from bag to bag. With ramen dough, even small changes in absorption can affect whether your dough feels perfect—or suddenly too dry and crumbly.
Ash and mineral content: Minerals influence both flavor and dough behavior. Some premium noodle flours are chosen for a balance of strength without tasting harsh or “dusty.”
Additives and treatments: Cheaper flours may include processing aids that change how dough feels, such as dough conditioners (like ascorbic acid). Bleached flour can behave less predictably for gluten development, and while bromate is rare today, it’s something careful bakers still check labels for.

A good rule of thumb: If ramen dough is 90% technique, flour quality is the 10% that determines whether that technique works at all.

The Simple Rule for Ramen Flour

If you’re asking “What flour should I use to make ramen?”, remember this:

Best: bread flour or high-gluten flour (kyorikiko)
Use cautiously: all-purpose flour (softer results)
Avoid: cake, pastry, or tempura flour (hakurikiko)

Ramen noodles don’t need the strongest flour—they need the right flour.

Learn This Hands-On at The Story of Ramen

Ramen dough is tactile. You feel the difference more than you see it.

At The Story of Ramen, students work with proper ramen flours, learn how hydration and rolling interact with gluten, and understand why one bread flour works better than another.

In our classes, we specifically use Rogers Canadian Sun Peaks high-gluten flour—the same type of hard wheat flour trusted by many professional kitchens—because it produces consistently better ramen noodles than most grocery-store options.

Rogers flour is milled from high-quality Canadian hard wheat, which naturally creates a strong but elastic gluten network. That means ramen dough rolls more smoothly, cuts more cleanly, and produces noodles with the signature springy “ramen bite” that holds up in hot broth.

Unlike cheaper flours that may rely on dough conditioners to mimic strength, Rogers delivers performance through wheat quality and consistency—exactly what ramen noodles demand.

Once you experience the difference side-by-side, you’ll understand why flour choice is one of the biggest upgrades a home ramen maker can make.

If you’d like to learn this hands-on and make authentic springy ramen noodles from scratch, we’d love to welcome you to one of our ramen-making classes in San Francisco.

👉 Book your class at The Story of Ramen here: https://www.ramenpartysf.com/san-francisco

Once you understand flour, ramen stops being frustrating—and starts being fun.

And that’s when your homemade noodles finally taste like restaurant-quality ramen 🍜