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.
Thankfully, it's easy to make self-raising flour from the plain flour that is already in your cupboard; just add baking powder! This easy, make-at-home substitute for self-raising flour can be prepared in advance and stored in an airtight container for use in future recipes.
Pastry Ingredients:
Self-raising flour can be used for short crust or suet pastry but better results are obtained if plain flour is used for richer pastries.
Unless you're an avid baker, plain flour is usually your best option because its average protein content makes it highly flexible for baking purposes.
1. To substitute self-rising for all-purpose flour, look for recipes that use baking powder: about ½ teaspoon per cup of flour, minimum. Our self-rising flour includes both a concentrated form of baking powder, and salt.
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 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.
If you only have plain flour, you can make it into self-raising flour by adding 2 teaspoons baking powder to every cup (150g) of plain flour, and then sifting this mixture a few times to distribute the baking powder through the flour evenly.
To make self-raising flour add one teaspoon of baking powder (or equivalent homemade) to 110g plain flour.
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.
In baking a cake, eggs are primarily used for two purposes—emulsification and structure. Egg yolks contain proteins called emulsifiers that mix with both fats and liquids, so egg yolks play an important role in ensuring your batter is smooth and well-mixed.
It's important to note that you shouldn't add baking powder to self-raising flour since self-raising flour already contains baking powder.
If you have an unopened can of baking powder, please reference the expiration date on the bottom of the can. This date is two years after the day it was manufactured. If you have an opened can of baking powder, please use it within six months.
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.
The raising agent helps dough rise without needing to add yeast. You should only use self-raising flour as a substitute for other types of flour very carefully, due to the leavening effect. If the flour isn't carefully substituted, the result may not be desirable.
For every cup of self-rising flour, substitute one cup of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
Recipes that call for self-rising flour usually don't list additional baking powder or salt in the ingredients. In this way, self-rising flour is a 3-in-1 ingredient. Typically, self-rising flour is also made using a slightly lower-protein flour than all-purpose flour.
It is made from plain flour (also known as all purpose flour) and a leavening agent - usually baking powder. When plain flour and baking powder are sifted together, they create self raising flour which gives baked goods the perfect rise. What is this?
Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein. As Fine Cooking explains, when the protein in eggs combines with the protein in flour, they produce the overall structure of the baked good.
Add an Extra Egg
The additional fat in the egg yolk helps create a more tender and moist cake that is full of flavor. The extra egg also helps the cake have a more stable texture, which is great if you want to bake it up as a layer cake instead of a sheet cake or cupcakes.
In baking, it moistens batter or dough, and adds protein, color and flavor to baked goods. The most common form of milk in baking is non-fat dry milk (NFDM), which is dehydrated skim milk.
Self-Rising Flour is flour to which baking powder and salt have already been added. It is meant as a convenience so that you don't have to stock baking powder at home, but it does deteriorate quickly in humid conditions, and has the disadvantage that you can't use it for pastry, etc.
One exception to this is self-rising flour. While the flour itself remains stable, its added baking powder gradually loses potency — just like the can of baking powder in your cupboard does. Yes, you can bake with self-rising flour after its best-by date; but your baked goods may not rise as well.
In a single action product, such as baking soda, once exposed to moisture, it reacts once. In a double action product, such as baking powder, the products reacts once when it is exposed to moisture and then again when exposed to heat. January 2, 2017.