Perfect fried chicken is a beguiling dish. On its golden, crispy surface it seems simple enough, requiring only a few ingredients: chicken, flour for dredging, seasonings, and buttermilk or eggs and milk. However, anyone who has attempted to make fried chicken knows that this simplicity does not equate to an easy-peasy recipe. Many cooks have struggled against soggy, burnt, or downright gummy results despite their best efforts. And there are many reasons why your fried chicken might have gone wonky. Your oil may have been too hot or too cold, or your dredge technique may have been uneven. But sometimes the error of your fried chicken ways has nothing to do with technique and everything to do with one of its core ingredients: flour.
That’s right, flour might just be the key to perfecting your fried chicken. But not all flours are built equally when it comes to making a batch of fried chicken. Bread flour, for example, is high in both protein and gluten, making it more likely to burn or turn gummy. This, of course, is less than ideal for frying, as crispier results are preferred. With this in mind, there are several flours that, thanks to their unique physical makeup, are ideal for achieving golden, crunchy fried chicken — and we’ve gathered up three of the best bets for your deep frying needs.
Get cracklin’ with Wondra flour
Let’s start with something Wondra-ful! Wondra flour, which is pre-cooked and finely ground with a low protein content, is a near perfect pick for frying all kinds of foods, including veggies. Its benefits, of course, also extend to fried chicken. In fact, legendary chef Jacques Pépin used Wondra flour for super crispy fried chicken. So why is Wondra flour so great for frying? Because it’s been pregelatinized (heated and dried) and has a low protein content, Wondra flour is less likely to clump and gum up the crispiness of your fried chicken. Rather, it produces a light and airy fry that lends a delicious and delicate crunch.
You might not have heard of Wondra flour, or perhaps you’ve passed it over at the grocery store, figuring it for a specialty product. But Gold Medal brand Wondra flour was developed in the 1960s for use in gravies to help prevent clumping. And thanks to those easy-blending properties, it can also be used in place of all-purpose flour for an excellent breading for fried foods.
Go gluten-free with rice flour
Wondra flour may work wonders for some, but it isn’t your only option. You can also swap in rice flour for the crispiest fried chicken. Rice flour is less absorbent than regular flour, so your fried chicken is less likely to become soggy or greasy. It’s also gluten-free, which means that there will be no gluten formation to turn your crust into a gooey mess. But rice flour also has another strength: Its low protein. Since it contains only two grams of protein per ¼-cup serving, or less than half the protein content of all-purpose flour, rice flour is less likely to brown too quickly or burn in a hot fryer than regular flour.
If using rice flour seems intimidating, you can combine it with wheat flour. This will give you all the benefits of rice flour along with the familiar flavors of wheat flour. And if you want to make your fried chicken extra crunchy, add a bit of cornstarch to your rice flour mix. You might never go back to strictly all-purpose flour again.
Get bubbly in the fryer with self-rising flour
If you find yourself short of rice or Wondra flour, you need not worry, as self-rising flour also makes a great choice for fried chicken. Though self-rising flour may be slightly higher in gluten than Wondra flour, since it’s made of regular flour with added leavening agents, it’s that baking powder in the mix that makes it a winner for the fryer.
Baking powder will help to give your fried chicken a crunchy, delicious crust due to the air bubbles it creates during the frying process. To counteract the gluten formation that can occur with self-rising flour, you can try adding cornstarch, which can prevent gluten from fully developing. This will help to create a firm, crispy crust on your chicken. If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can also add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt per cup of flour. Combining these will create the equivalent of the pre-made version of self-rising flour. With your flour mix on lock, you’ll be enjoying the best fried chicken you’ve ever made, in no time at all.
