The main difference between self-raising and plain flour is what's added into the flour, and what isn't. Plain flour should only be 100% Wheat flour, nothing more nothing less. Self-Raising flour will have wheat flour PLUS raising agents in there.
If a recipe calls for self-raising flour it is doing so because it is relying on the raising agents in that flour to make the baked good 'rise'. If you use plain flour instead and don't add any raising agents you will most likely end up with a very flat, dense bake!
As it is know that plain flour has a generally longer self-life than self raising flour, due to the fact it does not have rising agents which expire. We get through so much self-raising flour, there is not an issue with making sure that we use it up in time, therefore we prefer to use self-raising flour.
As long as the recipe you're making calls for leavening agents (as banana bread does), you can easily substitute self-rising for all-purpose flour. According to the baking pros at King Arthur Flour, look for recipes that use about ½-teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flour.
Baking powder: Add 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder for its leavening effect. This will take your flour from "all-purpose" to "self-rising." Salt: Finish off this self-rising flour recipe with ½ teaspoon salt.
To make your own self raising flour combine plain flour with baking powder or make your own baking powder. Measure the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir to combine. Sieve the flour blend into another bowl. Use this flour blend as self raising flour.
Can I Substitute Self-Rising Flour for All-Purpose Flour? Yes! If you make a big batch of self-rising flour but don't think you'll use it all making biscuits, for example, self-rising flour will work in recipes that call for about 1/2 teaspoon (and up to 1 teaspoon) baking powder per cup of flour.
Do not use self rising flour with yeast-raised breads or sourdough. As a general rule, you probably do not want to use self rising flour if there is another leavening agent called for in the recipe, such as yeast or baking soda. The leavening in the self rising flour should be enough.
Also like all-purpose flour, self-rising flour is enriched with added nutrition. It also contains salt and baking powder that has been distributed evenly throughout the flour and acts as a leavening agent. This raising agent helps dough to rise without having to add yeast.
If you are going to bake cookies, muffins, and brownies, you will want a good, all-purpose flour that ranges in the 10 to 12 percent protein range. If you're going to make sturdier products, such as bread, pizza, and pasta, you'll look to semolina, tipo 00, whole-wheat and/or bread flours.
To get the ratio right to making your homemade version, add two teaspoons of baking powder for each 150g/ 6oz/ 1 cup of plain flour. Make sure you combine the baking powder thoroughly by using a sieve and mixing it together in a bowl so it's aerated and evenly distributed.
Foods made with self-rising flour tend to be lighter, fluffier, and more crumbly. This can be a disadvantage for breads, depending on the type of bread one is attempting to make.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), expiration dates do not constitute safety. Expired flour can be safe to use if the flour is still good. However, flour does go bad, which you can determine from smell and appearance.
If a cake calls for self-raising flour and you only have plain flour then you will need to add a raising agent to make the recipe work. The easiest raising agent to add is baking powder (or 'baking soda' as it is known in some parts of the world).
It's important to note that you shouldn't add baking powder to self-raising flour since self-raising flour already contains baking powder.
Make sure that your baking powder has not passed its "use by" or "best before" date as baking powder also has a finite life and if it is old you may find that your cakes don't rise. In the US self-rising flour also contains added salt - around 1/2 teaspoon per cup.
"White or all-purpose flour is less nutritious because, in the milling process, they take off the outer bran, which contains most of the dietary fiber, and the germ, which is the heart of the seed. "It's become easy to point a finger and say white foods are bad.
Adding too much extra leavening in the hope of making something rise more can actually have the opposite effect. If there is too much leavening in the cake then as the cake bakes the it rises up too much and then falls back very quickly as the cake cools, leaving a sunken cake with a very wrinkled surface.
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, a fine white powder that has many uses. You may wonder about bicarbonate of soda vs. baking soda, but they are simply alternate terms for the same ingredient. If your recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda, it is simply referring to baking soda.
Use the ratio of 2 teaspoons of baking powder to every 1 cup / 150g / 6 oz of plain flour to make either a small batch or a bulk batch of self raising flour.
Can I use bicarb soda instead of baking powder? Bicarb soda has 3 to 4 times more power than baking powder, so if you need baking powder and only have bicarb soda on hand, you will need to increase the amount of acidic ingredients in your recipe to offset bicarb's power.
Cake flour is the best choice when you're making a cake with a fine, tender crumb, such as pound cake, devil's food cake or sponge cake. Cake flour is milled from soft wheat, and contains between 5 and 8 percent protein, according to Fine Cooking.
Either cake flour or pastry flour can be used as a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour in most baking recipes.
A. Yes, it does. Different flours have differing levels of protein, which affects the texture of your finished product. When you bake bread, protein turns into gluten strands, which form a web to hold in the carbon dioxide from the yeast.