kitchen essentials — making your own self r(a)ising flour

often, i will come across a recipe which asks for self-raising (rising) flour — something which i'd never buy since i don't really ever use enough of it to warrant buying a whole bag and besides, i can make it myself in the quantity that i need. i also don't necessarily trust that the rising agent is at its best.

there are different "recipes" for making your own and all seem to differ slightly. after having tried several variations, i still go back to this one which blends both regular all purpose flour and cake flour.

an important issue with this type of flour is to check to make sure that your baking powder is still efficacious. often, if we don't bake on a regular basis, we buy a batch and it sits in the pantry and goes past its best before date.

....and what exactly is the difference between self-raising flour and self-rising flour?? same thing, different country ;)


making seLF-RAising flour at home

either make as needed or throw a batch together and keep in the fridge or freezer for later use. i wouldn't recommend keeping this on your pantry shelf for more than 3 months as its efficacy will deteriorate, the longer it sits — especially in the heat of the summer or humid conditions.

makes 2 cups

ingredients:

1 1/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 c cake flour*
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine sea salt

*note that you can use only all purpose flour but it is, in my opinion, best to include it. the cake flour helps to lower the protein content, giving a more tender finished texture to the baked goods.

method:

mix all ingredients together and use as indicated in your recipe.

you can keep this on hand, in the freezer or refrigerator for longer term use, if you use it regularly in your baking.