Self-Rising Flour Substitute

What self-rising flour is

Self-rising flour is all-purpose flour that already has baking powder and salt mixed in. It is common in Southern biscuit, pancake and quick-bread recipes, where it saves a step. If you only have all-purpose flour, you can add the leavening yourself. This page uses one and a half teaspoons of baking powder and a quarter teaspoon of salt per cup of flour.

Whisk the baking powder and salt into the flour thoroughly, or the leavening will be uneven and some of the bake will rise more than the rest. Use fresh baking powder, since it loses strength as it ages, and a stale tin is the most common reason for flat biscuits. If the recipe that called for self-rising flour also lists baking powder or salt separately, leave out or reduce those so the bake is not over-leavened or too salty.

Store-bought self-rising flour is also milled from softer wheat in some brands, so a biscuit made with the substitute may be a little less tender.

How this calculator works

Each substitute uses a tested ratio: baking powder from cream of tartar and baking soda (2:1), baking soda stepped up to baking powder (1:3, since baking soda is several times stronger), cake flour from all-purpose flour with a portion swapped for cornstarch, and self-rising flour from all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt whisked in.

Where these numbers come from

These are standard, widely-used baking substitution ratios drawn from baking science references and consistent across professional and home-baking sources.

• Baking powder (cream of tartar + baking soda, 2:1 ratio)
• Baking soda to baking powder (1:3 ratio, accounting for baking soda's greater strength)
• Cake flour (all-purpose flour with 2 tbsp per cup swapped for cornstarch)
• Self-rising flour (1 cup all-purpose flour + 1.5 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt)

Source: Standard baking-science substitution ratios, consistent across test-kitchen and baking-reference sources. A substitute changes texture slightly in some recipes -- these ratios get you functionally close, not identical.