Greetings from cold Seattle. Here in Seattle we call June, Juneuary. Yes, while the rest of the country is sweltering under 100 degree temperatures and heat sparked wildfires, we are still dressed in wool sweaters and in need of socks in bed at night. This is usual for here–the common wisdom is that summer doesn’t start until July 5th. What this means is that it’s usually cold and rainy up until July 4th, obscuring any view one could have of the fireworks. Then it starts to warm up–gradually. Therefore, I think the calendar for Seattle should call July 5th the summer solstice. Who’s with me?
I got a question from a reader, Alison, about making self-rising flour. I can’t believe I never posted a recipe for this. I don’t know about you, but I often run into wheat recipes that I would like to adapt to gluten-free that call for “self-rising” flour. I then have to go back to my notes on what to add to the flour to create this.
American Self-Rising flour, which is often used in Southern recipes (and as you know, I am a Southern girl at heart), contains flour, baking powder, and salt. I don’t really use it for my original recipes, but it is great to know how to make it when you are adapting wheat recipes to gluten-free.
There is also British Self-Rising flour. As far as I can tell, it only has baking powder and no salt. So, I’ve included a different recipe for that.
Thanks for the question, Alison! Happy baking!
Self-rising flour is only to be used in instances where “self-rising flour” is specifically called for in a recipe. It is NOT appropriate for use as a replacement for just “flour” (because it has baking powder and salt). If you want a recipe for “flour” use my Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour mix.
Self-Rising Flour, American, Gluten-Free
1 cup Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour mix
1 1/2 teaspoons of gluten-free, aluminum-free, double acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Mix together and use as needed. Can be doubled, tripled, etc.
This mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place or in the fridge. It will expire when the baking powder expires, so you might want to mark the expiration date found on the baking powder container onto your self-rising flour container.
Self-Rise Flour, British, Gluten-Free
1 cup Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour mix
2 teaspoons of gluten-free, aluminum-free double acting baking powder
Mix together and use as needed. Can be doubled, tripled, etc.
This mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place or in the fridge. It will expire when the baking powder expires, so you might want to mark the expiration date found on the baking powder container onto your self-rising flour container.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Jeanne Sauvage
Thank you so much for the wonderful information, it’s great.
Shari: You’re welcome!
My daughter has been getting migraines for a couple years, however about 18 months ago they started to lead to seizures …we have been through numerous tests to discover the cause but they have basically found nothing. We have been doing a food allergy journal and happen to discover that every time she eats anything with gluten she gets a migraine followed by a seizure. I have removed everything from her diet that contains gluten….problem is she loves toast for breakfast and is finding the the breads on the market are very dense. Do you have or know of a recipe that will produce a lighter texture bread?
P.S. ….happy to report she has been migraine/seizure free for 6 months because of the diet change
Janet: Check my GF Recipes Tab at the top of the page. I have a bunch of bread recipes, including Soft Sandwich Bread, Multigrain Bread, and Baguettes. And I’m so sorry about the migraines/seizures! But I am glad to hear that going gluten-free is helping!
Baking bread is fun, but time consuming. There’s some very good gluten free breads available at stores like Whole Foods, Krogers (called Fred Meyer in the Portland OR area), and Safeway If you have access to one of these stores I would check them out. Two of my favorite store-bought breads are “Happy Camper” and “Franz,” both soft and light. Udi’s gf bread is another that is not dense. Happy to hear your daughter is not experiencing headaches since the diet change.
hello, the same thing happened to me. i did not have the seizures, but very bad head and stomach pains as soon as i stoped eating it i started to feel better. i hope you daughter gets better like i am 🙂
I made your bread and wow!!!Thank-you so much.
Judy: You’re welcome!
Hi Jeanne, since I realised I was wheat intolerant about 2 years ago I have been scouring the internet for recipe ideas and tried several recipes out which were OK and then I discovered your blog with your amazing flour recipe! I just wanted to tell you how impressed I have been with it, it’s so easy to work with and it makes fabulous shortcrust and flaky pastry. It’s wonderful to be able to eat quiche and sausage rolls again! I have also successfully made dumplings with the self raising conversion, and had a go at hot water crust pastry for pork pies, which again gave great results although a little harder to work with and not so pretty but I had a pie that stood on its own with no leaks, so a success in my book! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. Betty Bakes.
Betty: Yay! I’m so glad my recipes are helpful!
I’m not sure if this is a silly question but I feel you may need able to help. I have an allergy to yeast. This self rising flour mix? Does this mean no yeast?
Kim: Not silly at all. You are correct: there is no yeast in this recipe. But, be aware that it doesn’t leaven things like yeast would–it leavens things like baking powder would (because baking powder is one of the ingredients).
Do you have any recipes for this flour? I am not a cook/bakers at all and so I have no clue what to do. All I know is I have not eaten bread for 3 years due to my food allergies. I am so glad I found you. Thank you.
Kim: not yet. I do have a recipe for the flour in my new book–that will come out in the fall. But I intended this to be used for people’s wheat recipes that they wanted to convert to gluten-free. I was getting requests for it all of the time!
Hi, do you have to use ” Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour mix ” for the self rising mix? I know it says “or mix of your choice” but i know some different GF mixes might call for different ratios of baking powder and salt, i was just wondering. I’m using “Bob’s red mill GF all purpose baking flour”. I’m using it to make Peach Cobbler for me and my Girlfriend tomorrow on Valentines day 🙂 Thank you in advanced!
Robert: I haven’t tried it for any other mix, but I think it should work fine if the mix you use is good (and Bob’s mixes are pretty good). I would recommend trying it with the mix you want and see how it goes. I recommend using volume measurements (instead of weight). Also, you need to add xanthan gum if the mix you’re using doesn’t contain it (I recommend about 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum per cup of flour). Happy baking!
Thanks for the GF Self-Rising Flour recipe. Please tell me if the salt should be the kosher granules or regular granules……. Volume wise, there is a big difference. Thanks.
Mimi: Regular table salt. Generally, when you see “salt” listed in a recipe, it’s table salt. Kosher salt is most often distinguished in a recipe as “kosher salt.”
is gluten free flour and self rising flour are the same ? if not then i want to know how to make gluten free flour – a friend of mine is making her flour into gluten free , which im just taking for granted now im searching it . well im staying far from her and dont know how to contact her . thank you so much for the slot . wish to hear from you ….liz
Liz: No, self-rising flour is not regular gluten-free flour because it contains baking powder and salt. Look in post for info on the distinction.
I am fortunate to have a Mennonite community store in our area. I have been able to get all flours, starches, what ever I need at a more reasonable price than in the “big” cities around us. I was told thirty years ago I had a possible “sensitivity” to wheat. I did not understand what that meant because when I gave it up I did not see a difference in how I felt or how my body reacted. Consequently after a few weeks I would give in and return to bread, pasta whatever I wanted to make and eat. I am a baker and cook by profession.
This year I decided to try again, but I decided I would give up wheat for Lent. This meant I would have to make a sincere effort for six weeks not to eat any wheat, I included Sundays even though Sunday is not a day of Lent I decided to see what would be the real results of giving wheat up completely for six weeks. When Lent was over and I could eat wheat again I decided I had found other things to eat i would just keep going, though I did not feel any healthier or different.
Well, for my husbands birthday I made his favorite meal Duck Etouffee with Jalapeno Cheese rolls. I couldn’t resist, the sauce is made with a dark roux and the rolls , wheat flour of course. I eat a little sauce and one roll. Now I get it, I was sick for the next three days until i got all the wheat out of my system!
I am on a quest! I am determined to eat the things I like with some changes in their makeup.
I am not necessarily looking to be gluten free but wheat free. I can eat oats, barley and rye with no problems it is difficult to make good bread like these without a wheat base. I love to make pastry and Croissants as they are my most favorite, it will be interesting to see what I can come up with on this front.
Wheat free Croissants……….don’t tell the French!
Deanna: Do it! I have a croissant recipe in my new book (it comes out Fall 2015), so it is possible! Happy baking!
JEANNE, THANK YOU! I made your sandwich bread and everyone loved it. I was wondering if I can freeze your self rising floor mix instead of the fridge. My fridge is small. Thanks again for all you do.
Linda: Yes, the mix can go into the freezer!
Jeanne,
I took the Dr. Gluten-Free diet for 2 weeks and realized I have Gluten intolerance. I was diagnosed with IBS over 20 years ago, when hardly anyone was using the GF term. Anyway, I felt better, so decided to keep on the path. I bought all the usual things, but like you – didn’t like the taste of the finished product. Yesterday, I made your “all purpose flour mix”, but had to substitute [temporarily, until I get to the store or internet source], organic oat and coconut flours in place of much of the white rice flour and sweet rice flour. I made the peach muffins from my salt-free cookbook and they turned out very delicious, considering it was the first time and I didn’t have quite the right stuff. I am beyond happy! Thank you for all you do. Now, for the bread………
Joan: Yay! Happy baking!
Can I use GF self raising flour (proprietors brand) in the same way as ordinary flour to bake a sticky toffee cake or is there something extra to do to the recipe or method? Thanks.
Jim: Most of the time it’s fairly easy to convert non-yeasted recipes to gluten-free. Yeasted recipes are more complicated because they need more tweaks. But, I would try it and see how it goes.
I love love LOVE to bake. Mostly because I love to eat baked goods. I love peoples faces when they bite into the best brownie they have ever eaten. So when I baked a gent I am dating cookies and he said he couldn’t eat them because he was diagnosed with celiac disease I was crushed! I ate all the cookies myself, true, but it wasn’t satisfying! And no, I didn’t eat them in front of him. But talking to him led to a discussion about how blah gluten free goodies you can buy taste. I learned this first hand by trying some. I have searched for different recipes, and found most lacking. Textures, no taste, bad tastes.. Ugh.
So to find this resource, a gem of flavour among tasteless rocks and healthfood grit.. I must say thank you! You have given me the tools to reintroduce baked goods into my gent’s life! Having a few trial runs at home with your soft bread recipe, I can say I am encourged by your flour recipe, and the self rising flour recipe.
Love all the tips, and the website is so well done considering how much information it contains.
Again, thank you!
JustJes: You’re welcome! And I’m so glad! Yay!
Thank you for your website. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 8 years ago while stationed in Germany, so I told myself that the Army doctor misread the biopsy or was wrong and I didn’t have it. Recently, during a graduate class, Celiac Disease and symptoms and side effects came up. I went home from class and researched it and realized how many of my health issues were Celiac symptoms. I started gluten free last Monday and have been suffering horribly from my lack of bread and wheat. I don’t know what to eat. I am not big on fruits and veges, and I eat bagels for breakfast, sandwiches or wraps for lunch, and meat and pasta for dinner. I just found your website today, and it has reinvigorated my motivation to stick to this diet. I will be buying the ingredients for your all purpose flour tomorrow and cooking the rest of the week. Yesterday, I made gluten free pumpkin muffins, and I substituted the wheat flour with the gluten free all purpose I had and it didn’t taste right. After reading your website, i know it’s because the all purpose I have has bean flours in it. I can’t wait to retry it with your flour mix. Thank you for sharing with others all that you have learned for free. There are many sites, apps, books, etc but they all charge, and you don’t know if you are going to like them. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Heather: I’m so glad to help! Also, it’s important to note that you don’t have to have celiac in order to react to gluten.
I want to to make your GF rising flour and I was wondering if I use the same milk (liquid) amount as I would a regular self rising flour. I make chicken pot pie and it calls for 1 1/2 cups of self rising flour and 1 cup milk. Thanks for all you do 🙂
Sharie: Yes, I think that should be fine. Happy baking!
Hi there!
Thanks for the recipe!
Question : Do I have to add Xantham Gum or leave it as it is?
Aura: yes, make my mix as usual (including the xanthan gum) and then use the mix to make the self-rising flour recipe. Happy baking!
Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into your article! I learned so much 🙂 I am working on being wheat-free for health reasons and information like this helps as I learn to make recipes new ways as well as eat somewhat differently.
Carol: You’re welcome!
Hey folks. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve removed several comments related to other issues that had nothing to do with self-rising flour. After much thought, I decided that they were confusing to the topic at hand.
Hi,
Is it possible to suggest some gf flour , that one can make at home for cakes and cookies.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Deep
Deep: Click on the link in this post for “Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour.” That will take you to the recipe for the flour mix I recommend–you make it yourself at home.
I have come up with my own Grain/Gluten Free APF and have been trying to make biscuits.
Since it is also Grain Free I can not use Baking Powder but I use a Baking soda/Cream of Tartar combination.
I have not gotten a very good rise out of my biscuits yet even thought they are tasty and soft.
So per your recipe above I would need 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 salt for each Cup of APF in my flour mix. Is this correct?
I mix my Cream of Tartar (2 parts) to (1 part) Baking Soda to replace my Baking Powder; I substitute this mixture in equal proportions of the Baking Powder required in recipe.
So from what you wrote above for 3 C. of My GF- APF I would need 4 1/2 tsp of my mixture.
Here is my problem. The recipe I was following called for 1Tbs. Basking Powder to 3 C. APF. Which means I would use 1 Tbs. of my CoT/BS combination.
How ever I did not get much of a rise.
Do you think there is something I am not doing. Should I let the biscuits rest a bit before I bake them or something? Is is possible to be putting too much of this mixture? I know some GF flours are heavy and need more to lift them.
I just need some help figuring out which was to move forward.
Alice: The problem is that homemade baking powder is single acting, not double acting. This means that you won’t get the rise you would get with a double acting baking powder. And there is no way (currently) to make a double acting homemade baking powder. Please see my Baking Powder post for more info.
Thank you. I actually did read your info on Baking Powder earlier.
I guess I can make my biscuits with yeast the night before put them in the fridge over night and let the rise the next morning before baking.
However, I was told that adding the Cream of Tarter to baking soda was making a double acting baking powder. I was hoping that using the butter milk would give it that extra height.
I guess I will just keep trying.
Thanks for the info.
Alice: I’m not trying to be negative. And I’m not trying to tell you that you don’t know what you’re talking about in terms of your experiences. Your and your daughter’s reactions to corn and rice and sorghum are very challenging, I have no doubt. And the fact that many other folks (including me) react to certain other grains is important. That said, personally I do very well with rice and non-GMO corn. On the other hand, I don’t do well with oats. We each need to find what foods makes us feel good and what foods don’t make us feel good. Also, I am quite open to alternative scientific studies.
But other people read these comments and I have a responsibility make sure that the information presented here is as accurate as possible. I personally do not experience, and the broader scientific research does not reflect the concept that all humans react badly to all grains in all conditions. And there are many nuances to what, exactly, this research means. That is what I am trying to communicate to via this exchange.
Finally, I am technically not celiac. I am gluten intolerant and I have a life-threatening allergy to wheat.
Jeanne, as usual you have the answers for everything GF. I was trying to figure out how to do self-rising flour and of course I got it right away here on your site. Thank you yet again!
Sofia: Aw, thanks! And I’m glad I could be of help!!
Where do you purchase MOCHIKO SWEET RICE FLOUR?
KT: I get it at my local grocery store in the “Ethnic” section. Or you can order it online. I think Amazon has it.
Thank you SO VERY MUCH!
Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your information, tips, and recipes on GF eating. I’m just now beginning to learn about GF eating & cooking and, by far, your information has helped me TREMENDOUSLY in trying to understand. Thank you. I do have a question though (for my clarification in knowledge on GF converting): Do I need to make the baking powder you listed GF before I add to your AP flour mixture and the salt or not? Please forgive my ignorance on GF info. as I am COMPLETELY new to GF. (In my quest to gain knowledge on GF cooking, I came across info. on making baking powder GF by mixing 1/4 c. baking soda + 1/2 c. cream of tartar. Is that correct or not? And should I do that to the baking powder 1st & then measure out the 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder that you listed?) [BTW, I am a true Southern girl. :)]
Cindy:
Greetings! I’m glad my site has been helpful! I would recommend that you use a commercial double-acting baking powder instead of a homemade one. Homemade baking powders are not double acting and therefore don’t do as good of a job. Most baking powders nowadays seem to be gluten-free–look on the label. The only one I would not recommend is Rumford–it doesn’t have the power that the other ones do. Choose one that is labeled gluten-free (Clabber Girl, Hain, and Bob’s Red Mill are listed as gluten-free on the label). If you choose another brand, I would make sure it’s “double-acting” and that it does not contain wheat starch.
Happy baking!
Jeanne,
Will your flour recipe work for pizza? I have been struggling with finding a good flour mix for making a good pizza. I tried Bob’s Red Mill tonight but didn’t like it. Any help you can provide for a good tasting pizza crust would be much appreciated, if there is any out there.
Thank you for sharing
Joanne
Joanne: Greetings! And yes, my regular flour mix will work for pizza! In fact, I have a pizza recipe here on the site–check it out:
https://artofglutenfreebaking.com/2009/08/gluten-free-pizza-edited-62910/
It always gets rave reviews!
Happy baking!
Thanks so much for giving us a flour mix recippe WITHOUT cornstarch and potatoe starch. My family needs to be gluten, corn and Potatoe free It has been a trial finding recipes and ingredients especially for baking. aND NO ONE HAS BEEN ASBLE TO SUGGEST SUBSTITUTIONS FOR BOTH THE POTAYOE STARCH/FOUR AND CORNSTARCH EXCEPT FOR TAPIOCA STARCH/FLOUR WHICH MOST GLUTEN FREE RECIPES ALREADY CONTAIN. THANKS. T ZAKLAN
T: Yay!
I’m with you on the July 5th Summer Soltice idea 🙂 Certainly is summer now in Seattle! Sorry – that’s completely off topic of gluten free flour 😉
Kadee: Yes! Summer is here and is so lovely! We are reveling in it. I hope you are too! And thanks for being “with” me on the Summer Solstice change. 🙂
Would this be able to replace Bisquick in recipes?? I have a cookbook that only uses biscuit mix and I’m super frustrated because I tried creating the biscuit mix recipe with the ap flour and it didn’t work :/ I need a bisquick recipe or something similar…I sincerely appreciate any help!!! Thank you!
Allison: No, it’s my understanding that Bisquick is a different thing that includes a leavener and a fat.
Jeanne, i linked to your flour mix on my blog. Is that ok? I use it in the recipe and want to make sure you are credited. If it is not Okay I will remove it immediately. http://flyingmomallergyfree.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/flaky-biscuits-gluten-soy-and-dairy-free/
Kendra: That’s fine! Thanks for letting me know! I’m so happy you like my mix!
I had no idea you could do this! Oh, my goodness! I’m so excited! I haven’t gone through my recipes yet to see what I’m going to keep and what I’ll toss and knowing this means I can keep more of them! I’m sort of new to all this. Thank you so much! And keep those bed socks handy! I’ll think about you when our temps are in the high 90’s with a heat index of 105-115. :>}
Diane: Yay! And I wish we could trade some of our temps and come to a happy medium that isn’t cold and isn’t sweltering!
Thank you, Jeanne! I, too, sometimes run into wheat recipes that use self-rising/self-raising flour and as much as I would have liked to make the recipe, I wouldn’t because I wasn’t sure what to do. (Especially confusing for me were recipes that used self-rising flour and an additional amount of baking powder, sometimes also baking soda.) Now I know what to do next time I want to adapt a recipe that uses self-rising flour to gluten-free!
Zoe: Yay! I am thinking that the recipes that have self-rising flour and then extra baking powder probably come from people who use self-rising flour as their standard flour. The ones that add baking soda need baking soda in addition to baking powder.