Description
Learn how to make this homemade self-rising flour recipe with just three easy ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together until blended.
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I’ve always said that I like a good balance of cooking and baking in my life. But man oh man, somehow I have gotten on a mega baking kick lately. And since I tend to prefer savory to sweet, the object of my affection as of late has been this epic 3-ingredient biscuit recipe that has pretty much changed my life. Ok, at least it has changed my breakfast. I have already made it 3 times since and counting!
That recipe is coming on the blog tomorrow. But for today, I thought I would post a quick tutorial for how to make one of the three ingredients homemade — self-rising flour!
It’s fairly rare that I have a bag of self-rising flour sitting in my pantry, partly because it doesn’t stay fresh as long with that baking powder mixed in. But mostly because it is so darn easy to make homemade! I’m not kidding. All you need are three easy ingredients — all-purpose (or pastry) flour, salt and baking powder — and you have an easy substitution ready for any recipe that calls for self-rising flour to help those biscuits, pancakes, cakes and more fluff up.
So bookmark this recipe if you ever need it for the future. (Hint hint — tomorrow!)
One quick note about the actual flour base in all-purpose flours. I have always used just traditional all-purpose flour in the substitution. But some brands (i.e. White Lily, King Arthur Flour and others) use cake or pastry flour in place of all-purpose, because it is low-protein. I’ve never found that it makes a huge difference. But if a recipe specifically calls for one of those, you might want to use cake or pastry flour instead.
PrintLearn how to make this homemade self-rising flour recipe with just three easy ingredients.
Awesome post! I never have this stuff on hand, so I adore this! Pinned
It’s great to be able to substitute in a pinch, but I will say there is no true substitute for White Lily flour in biscuits (something I didn’t learn until I moved to the South). The flour is made with a very specific kind of wheat, soft winter wheat, which makes the flour lower in protein/gluten and much lighter in texture than AP. I never thought there’d be much of a difference until I tasted biscuits side by side with and without it! I know it’s hard to find though outside of the South, so not even an option for many.
Yep. Unfortunately our stores don’t carry White Lily here (or if they do, I haven’t ever been able to track it down). When trying to make a substitution to use in a recipe that calls for that specific brand, I usually use pastry flour instead of all-purpose, which is a little bit closer to White Lily.
Or maybe I just need to make a trip to Nashville to get some. :D
Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White Pastry Flour is also made from soft winter wheat berries. I live in a White Lily-free area, and it’s a great substitute.
So great to be able to make this at home! Fun post!
joeypieterse09@gmail.com
If the cake recipe require salt, and the subsitude require 1/2 teaspoon, won’t the salt be too much?
This recipe has been such a lifesaver so many times! I agree with Lindsay – White Lily flour is a game changer. I buy it on Amazon because I found out after doubting for so long what a difference it makes!
Love your graphic!
Love these photos!
Wow, this is so useful! Definitely pinning for later-and the photos are gorgeous!!
I LOVE that graphic above! So creative! I love that all of this is something most of us already have in our pantry! Can’t wait for the biscuit recipe tomorrow!
Thank you for this! I can’t tell you how many times I have passed up a recipe because self-rising flour isn’t something I usually keep on hand. Now it won’t be an issue!= )
I had no idea that you could actually “make” this. This is a perfect example of why I prefer to cook and not bake ;)
I pretty much always keep most types of flours on hand, but for whatever reason I NEVER have self-rising. Thanks for the sub, I’ll definitely be using this!
Oh wow, that’s good to know!
This is so good to know! Thanks for sharing!
So nifty!! The last thing I need is ANOTHER bag of flour hanging around that I only use twice year – I’d totally rather make it from scratch!
Wowoowoowowowo! you are my angel!! I always wonder what is in the self-raising flour. Whichever recipe calls for self-raising flour, I need to rush to store and buy that in order to make it. But more frustrating is the rest of the flour will sit there and forgotten…eventually to the garbage…. my dollars as well!
Love your “formula” no more buying from the shore. You save my cents and dollars. Thanks.
Thank you for this! I needed it for a recipe just this week, but didn’t want to go to the trouble of buying a whole bag. Pinned!
perfect!
Have you tried this with whole wheat flour instead of white flour?
YES! Pinned!
Thank you so much for this! I’m often faced with having to bypass recipes I want to make when I don’t have self-rising flour on hand. Now those days are over :)
Would whole wheat flour work for this?
It will yield a different texture and flavor.
Would a gluten free all purpose flour work in this?
No, sorry it will not function the same as all-purpose flour.
I saw the post about whole wheat flour and was wondering if it would work also.
It will taste and function slightly different than all-purpose flour.
Since I can’t eat gluten do you think this would work with other nut flours such as coconut, almond or sunflower or a mixture.
Hi Lori,
I’m working on a gluten-free alternative for this recipe right now. Still need to do some more recipe testing to give you a solid answer…
~Ali
Can you use coconut flour
I haven’t tried coconut flour, but imagine it will work. They might not just rise quite as much. Let me know how they turn out if you give it a try. Thanks!
Hi Ali!
Did you ever come up with a gluten free mix for this? Would love to eat biscuits again!
Love your site!
Regards,
Darlene
I made these biscuit and they turned out really well. My whole family liked them. I did use the self rising flour. I am a bit of a health person would have preferred to use a different one but once in awhile wont hurt. I like the fact that they only have 3 incredients. I will make these again. I did take a picture , not sure how to send. Thanks allie
Thanks Deborah, I’m glad they were a hit with your family!
Do you think spelt flour would work?
I haven’t tried spelt flour, and am doubtful it would perform exactly the same. But if you give it a try, let me know!
This little trick making your own self rising flour now goes into my books. I’ve used it twice and love the result. Let’s just say I now can make it in batches. Used it to make biscuits they rose nicely.
That’s awesome, we’re glad you find it useful! : )
Can you make the self rising flour with whole wheat/spelt flour substitution instead of all purpose or pastry?
We haven’t tried that Lilly, but we suspect it would work fine!
What is 1.5 tsp? I tried to Google it and nothing would come up. I am assuming it is a 1/2 tsp but then the measurement for salt says /2 tsp. So is that not the same?
Hi Jenny, yes, 1.5 tsp is the same as 1/2 tsp.
Just making sure if 1.5 tsp. baking powder is 1/2 instead of 1 1/2. The picture of the baking powder and the salt is not the same measurement-wise. The salt teaspoon is smaller. So which one is correct? Both salt and baking powder is 1/2 tsp. or 1/2 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder? Thank you.
Hi Fina! We’re sorry for the confusion on this. The recipe is correct for the self-rising flour (so it is 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt). We will re-edit this with easier-to-read fractions though. (We recently figured out that if we type a fraction like 1/2 into Google Docs, and then copy it to WordPress, it’ll show up as an actual fraction instead of the slash thing, hence the confusion.)
Hi! I just made this! How do you store this? Thank you for this!
Hi Stacey! You can store it in a tupperware container, canister or ziploc bag. :)
Sounds a fab idea, but what is baking powder? Is this bicarbonate of soda?
Thank you in advance. Kiku
Hi Kiku! Baking powder is a leavening agent and it contains bicarbonate of soda/baking soda, as well as cream of tartar (a dry acid).
Can you make these with gluten free flour?
Hi Vickie! Do you mean can you make self-rising gluten-free flour?
Hudson Cream Flour is a great flour! I had all purpose but was out of self rising. Used your recipe and it turned out great!
Thank you so much! My baking powder was out of date.
P
Pamamte and it still worked.
Pa
You’re so welcome Pam – we’re glad this worked out for you! :)
Love this! Simple and easy thank you.
I’m confused. My recipe ( rusks) calls for 1,5kg of self raising flour. I’ve always thought that 4 cups (250mls) are equal to 1kg. I measured my cups for the recipe into a Tupperware container and was horrified at the difference in quantity. Do I now measure the amount of cups and add the baking powder and salt ?? Or is there a standard mixture I can use for 1kg of flour
Hi Patricia! The measurements in this recipe worked for us, but if you have a recipe for self-rising flour that you already enjoy and you’re worried about the differences between the two, you might want to stick with the one you know.
If using 2 cups of flour do l double the baking powder and salt?
Yes, exactly.
Does it work the same if I double or triple the quantities?
Yes, you can make a larger batch of this!
Would this work for gluten free flour?
Hi Deb! We haven’t tried it, so we can’t say for sure, but we think it honestly depends on the recipe. It may work for certain things!
when you say flour, does that include almond flour and coconut flour?
Hi Glenda! We’re sorry but we’re not really sure we understand what you mean. This self-rising flour mix just uses all purpose flour.
Can all Purpose flour be replaced with coconut flour?
Can I double the recipe all at once or do I need to do this in batches?
So quick and easy. Saves you from going out and buying a big bag of SRF that will probably go bad before you can use it all. The really great part about this recipe is it yields a cup and that is all I need.
When my daughter became vegan we made these biscuits weekly, I now make them less often, she is now an adult and out on her own. I love them and still make them often and freeze several to eat during the week. YUM!