Basics
Homemade Self-Rising Flour
Self-rising flour is just flour with the baking powder and a little salt already mixed in. British recipes, Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge included, call for it all the time, and it is not always on the shelf in an American supermarket. This is the fix.
American all-purpose flour has more protein than the soft flour self-rising is traditionally made from, so the result is a touch less tender and a batter may want a splash more liquid. For a sponge, nobody will notice.
Based on King Arthur Baking’s homemade self-rising flour.
King Arthur also has a good guide to swapping self-rising and all-purpose flour in both directions, with side-by-side test bakes.
Recipe by Garrett (Bear)Homemade Self-Rising Flour
All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt whisked together: a stand-in for self-rising flour in any recipe.
Recipe originally written in US cups. These are the original measures.
Ingredients
Equipment
- Bowl
- Whisk
Method
- Whisk. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl until evenly mixed. Use it in place of the same weight of self-rising flour.
Baker's notes
This makes about 1 cup (128 g). The Victoria sponge needs 225 g, so make it at 2x and weigh out 225 g of the mix.
Storage + make ahead
Make it as you need it. Baking powder loses strength once it meets the air, so a big batch goes flat within a few months.
ricottabear.com/homemade-self-rising-flour · US measures, metric in brackets
Questions people ask
What is the difference between self-rising and all-purpose flour?
Self-rising flour has baking powder and salt already mixed in, and it is milled from softer wheat with less protein (around 8.5% against about 11.7% for all-purpose). Less protein means less gluten, so bakes come out a little softer and more tender.
Do I need to change anything when I use this instead of shop-bought self-rising flour?
Use it weight for weight. Because all-purpose flour has more protein it drinks slightly more, so a batter may want a splash more milk, and the crumb will be a touch less tender. In a Victoria sponge the difference is hard to spot.
Can I use self-rising flour in a recipe that calls for all-purpose?
Often, yes: in recipes that use about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flour. Leave out the recipe’s baking powder and salt, since the flour already has them, and keep any baking soda. If the recipe uses more than 1 teaspoon of baking powder per cup, add the difference yourself. Expect cookies to spread a little more.
Can I use self-rising flour for bread?
No. Bread needs the strong gluten of higher-protein flour, and self-rising flour is the softest flour on the shelf. Stick to bread flour or all-purpose.
Reviews + questions
Nothing yet. Bake it and be the first to judge, or ask me anything about it.
Review it or ask a question
I have not made this one myself yet, so amounts and timings may change once I have. Something not right? Tell me above and I will fix it.