When it comes to fried chicken, the breading generally takes center stage over the actual flesh. For the same reason, texture may either make or destroy a dish.
Since flour is the primary ingredient in fried chicken batter, one may believe that more flour is better. Sadly, the reverse holds true.
A thick coating will not make the chicken more crunchy, and excessive flour can actually make the chicken soggy.
According to FoodsGuy, the crunchiness of fried chicken is a result of the heated oil eliminating the natural moisture from the wet ingredients.
So, if there are layers of flour held together with buttermilk and egg, the hot oil has to get through a lot more. So, the breading on your fried chicken doesn't get a chance to get crispy.
For fried chicken, you have to use flour. You won't need an entire sack of the ingredient, though. Southern Living says that a single coat of flour can go a long way.
The site suggests putting your flour and chicken in a large Ziploc bag and stirring it around for the best results.
You just need to add as much flour as sticks to the chicken; just be careful not to overfill the bag.
That being said, getting the flour to other ingredient ratio just right is crucial for flawlessly crisp fried chicken.