# Homemade Self-Rising Flour

By Garrett (Bear) · 2026-09-22 · https://ricottabear.com/homemade-self-rising-flour


Out of self-rising flour? Three ingredients, one whisk, done. All-purpose flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

## The story

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: Homemade Self-Rising Flour

All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt whisked together: a stand-in for self-rising flour in any recipe.

> Status: UNTESTED. The author has not made this yet; quantities and timings may change.

- Makes: 125 g (about 1 cup)
- Prep: 5 min
- Bake: 0 min
- Total: 5 min

### Ingredients

- 120 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp table salt

### Method

1. **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.

Notes: Scale it to whatever your recipe needs: the Victoria sponge wants 225 g, so set the recipe to make 225 g and the amounts follow.

## 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.