There is no winner. I know, that’s a cop-out, but it’s the truth. They’re like apples and oranges—if oranges were built for heavy lifting and apples were pre-loaded with a party favor.
Keep a bag of bread flour for your weekend pizza nights and your chewy baguette ambitions. Keep a bag of self-rising flour for those lazy Sunday mornings when you want fresh biscuits without having to remember if baking powder is in the pantry.
Here’s my final, unprofessional advice: buy both. Store them in clear containers so you don’t accidentally lose a fight to the wrong flour. And if you ever confuse the two in a recipe? Laugh it off. Call it experimental baking. Worst case, you make dog treats. Best case, you have a story to tell over coffee.
Now go forth and bake—or at least, go forth and buy the right bag. You’ve got this.
