Self-Rising Flour

Self-rising flour is a staple in many baking recipes. It’s an ingredient that makes recipes like fried beignets and quick breads easy. Store-bought versions of this flour are available, but what happens when you need it and don’t have any on hand?

Check the pantry before you head to the store. You likely already have the three ingredients necessary to make self-rising flour on hand and can learn how to make all-purpose flour into self-rising. Just whisk the ingredients together, and you’re good to go.

What is self-rising flour?

Self-rising flour is exactly what it sounds like: all-purpose flour mixed with a leavening agent, such as baking powder, plus salt. This all-in-one mix is common in southern cooking. It gives buttermilk biscuits their moist, buttery centers and the baked topping of fruit cobbler recipes a rich texture. In England, it is known as self-raising flour and is a common ingredient in British dessert recipes, such as sponge cakes and scones.

The ingredients are evenly mixed within self-rising flour, resulting in a product consistent with each use. Store this type of flour the same way you store others, ideally in an airtight container or zip-top bag.

Ingredients for Self-Rising Flour

• All-purpose flour: No fancy varieties are necessary—just regular, white flour. Although it seems to last forever, flour does expire. If yours has been sitting around long, it may be time for a new bag.
• Baking powder: This leavening agent helps baked goods rise. It’s a blend of baking soda and cream of tartar that is activated twice—first by the liquid ingredients and then by the heat in the oven. As with the flour, make sure your baking powder hasn’t expired.
• Salt: A tiny amount of salt in this mixture enhances the flavors of baked goods and helps create a tender texture.

How to Make Self-Rising Flour

Step 1: Mix the ingredients

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Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Use a whisk to blend them thoroughly.

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How to Use Self-Rising Flour

• Biscuits: One of the most popular uses of self-rising flour is in homemade biscuits, as in Joanna Gaines’s biscuit recipe. The baking powder gives the biscuits a light, fluffy texture.
• Cookies: The baking powder in self-rising flour creates a tender texture in recipes like sugar cookies and butter pecan cookies.
• Quick bread: To leaven bread without yeast, use self-rising flour for honey beer bread or jalapeno buttermilk cornbread.
• Recipes with just a few ingredients: This flour can be used as a shortcut for simple desserts like one-bowl chocolate chip bread and ice cream bread.
• Fritters and donuts: This flour gives fried treats like plantain fritters, Italian fritole and sweet potato hand pies a light texture.
• Cobblers: Use self-rising flour in the biscuit-like toppings of blackberry cobbler, chocolate-covered strawberry cobbler and chocolate cobbler cake.

How to Store Self-Rising Flour

A self-rising flour recipe should be stored in the same way as other flour. To protect the mixture’s quality and flavor, transfer it to an airtight baking storage container and store it in a cool, dry location.

How long does self-rising flour last?

Because baking powder has a shorter shelf life (and you definitely don’t want to bake with expired baking powder), use self-rising flour within three to six months.

Self-Rising Flour Tips

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What happens if you use all-purpose flour instead of self-rising flour?

Because a self-rising flour recipe contains salt and baking powder, substituting all-purpose flour means your recipe will miss these extra ingredients. And without them, the baked good may be under-risen, heavy and dense, with a flat and less tasty flavor overall. Likewise, self-rising flour shouldn’t be substituted for regular all-purpose flour, as this could result in a dish with too much salt and baking powder, negatively affecting the texture and flavor.