What Is Self-rising flour and How Can I Use It?

If self-rising flour has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 175 recipes to try it in.

What is self-rising flour?

Self-rising flour is regular wheat flour that comes pre-blended with baking powder and a little salt, so the leavening is already built into the bag. Measure it and mix it, and the rise happens on its own without a separate tin of baking powder.

It is milled from soft, lower-protein wheat, which is why it behaves differently from all-purpose flour. Less gluten means a tender, fluffy, slightly crumbly result, exactly what you want in a Southern biscuit or a light cake.

The trade-off is structure. It will not build the strong, chewy crumb that a good yeast loaf needs, so it stays in the quick-bread lane.

This is a staple of Southern and British home baking. It turns up in everything from morning biscuits to afternoon scones and quick weeknight breads.

Cooking With Self-Rising Flour

Reach for it whenever you want lift without fuss: biscuits, scones, pancakes, muffins, drop dumplings, and quick breads. The classic use is a batch of Grandma's Easy Buttermilk Biscuits, where the soft flour and built-in leavening give that high, flaky split down the middle.

One rule matters more than any other. Baking powder activates the moment it meets moisture, so mix wet and dry ingredients only just before the batter or dough goes into the oven.

Wait too long and the bubbles form and burst on the counter instead of in the heat. That is the usual reason behind flat scones and sunken muffins. Heat the pan first, mix, then bake without dawdling.

The salt and leavening are already in the flour. So leave out any baking powder and most or all of the salt that a recipe lists separately, or you get a soapy, metallic taste and a coarse crumb.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

This flour is the backbone of tender baked goods rather than a flavor of its own, so it pairs with whatever you fold in. Buttermilk and cold butter carry Basic Butter scones, ripe fruit carries a Ripe Banana Loaf, and beaten eggs with milk carry Light Waffles.

It works in savory cooking too, thickening batters for fritters and quick flatbreads like a Welsh Batch Scone.

The biggest mistake is using it for yeast bread. The low protein cannot trap gas through a long rise, and the chemical leavening fights the yeast, so you get a dense, oddly flavored loaf. Keep bread flour for anything kneaded.

The second mistake is overmixing. Stir soft-wheat batters just until combined; beating them develops what little gluten there is and turns a tender crumb tough.

Substitutes

You can make your own in seconds. For every 1 cup of all-purpose flour, whisk in 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, then sift so the leavening spreads evenly. That ratio is the widely cited home-baking standard.

For an even more delicate crumb, build the blend on cake flour instead of all-purpose using the same leavening amounts. This mimics self-rising cake flour, a low-protein mix that some old dessert recipes ask for by name.

Whisk the dry blend thoroughly. Pockets of concentrated baking powder leave bitter spots and an uneven rise, so mix only what you need and the leavening stays fresh.

Buying and Storing

Self-rising flour sits beside the all-purpose on most grocery shelves and is inexpensive. Bake biscuits or scones often and a bag earns its place; need it once and the homemade blend above is the smarter buy.

Store it like any flour, in an airtight container somewhere cool and dark. The catch is the baking powder. Its rising power fades over months, so self-rising flour has a shorter useful life than plain flour, roughly six months to a year once opened.

Buy it in amounts you will actually use, and write the open date on the bag. If a batch comes out flat despite fresh technique, suspect tired leavening first. A quick test: stir a teaspoon into hot water, and fresh flour fizzes right away.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is usually found in the baking supplies section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Flour, self-rising is a member of the Cereal Grains and Pasta US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

面粉，自上升

British (UK) term

Flour, self-rising

en français

la farine, l'auto-augmentation

en español

harina, con levadura

How much does self-rising flour weigh?

Related

Cereal Grains and Pasta

Recipes using self-rising flour

There are 175 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Reduced-Fat Apple Muffins

This apple muffins are rich in fibire and low-fat, they are fit for all!

Breakfast Ricotta Pancakes

Ricotta pancakes whisk creamy ricotta into a simple self-rising flour batter for tender, moist, custardy pancakes. A quick breakfast stack that's lovely with fresh berries, syrup, or a spoon of cream.

Yummy Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut butter brownies made in one saucepan, no mixer needed. Brown sugar keeps them chewy, peanut butter makes them rich, and pockets of melted chocolate run throughout. Quick to stir together.

Strawberry Yoghurt Muffins

Moist strawberry muffins made with fresh berries, yogurt, and a hint of lemon. These tender breakfast treats work with fresh or frozen strawberries.

Best Orange Banana Quickbread

Orange banana quickbread sweetened entirely with bananas and orange juice concentrate, no added sugar. Spiced with pumpkin pie spice for a fragrant, naturally sweet snack loaf.

Yummy Honey Pancakes

Honey pancakes cook thick, fluffy pancakes inside crumpet rings, drizzled with warmed honey and topped with fresh fruit. British-style tea-time pancake ready in 30 minutes.

Bakestone Pancakes

Welsh bakestone pancakes (also called Welsh cakes' simpler cousin): four ingredients, no leavening trickery, cooked on a hot griddle until bubbles form. Serve warm with butter, honey or jam.

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

Chocolate raspberry muffins with a homemade raspberry jam swirl, melty chocolate chips, and a tender buttermilk crumb. Bakery-style breakfast muffins from a few pantry staples.

Yummy Boxty Pancakes

Boxty is the traditional Irish potato pancake that blends fluffy mashed potato with raw grated potato into a tender, golden cake. Pan-fried crisp and served with bacon, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream.

Bread for Toast

Tasty, easily manipulated bread for making french toast, or just for having with your meal.

Mom's Choco-Mint Brownies

Chocolate mint brownies made with cocoa powder, mint extract, and chopped nuts in a one-bowl batter. A fudgy 8x8 pan that yields 16 squares with the classic Andes-mint-meets-brownie combo.

Boozy date & Coffee Cake

Boozy date and Coffee Cake with Lime Buttercream Icing, Using Atholl Brose, a traditional Scottish Whisky liqeuer. Perfect with a cuppa' Joe :)

Cottage Pie!

So to start off with the first post, I decided to make a meal that screams of comfort food. Whilst it does take a bit of a while to get the meal done, once you take that first bite, heaven couldn’t seem closer if you were Adam trying to touch God’s finger in the “Creation of Adam” fresco created by Michaelangelo. The meal I speak of is Cottage Pie. There is much debate as to what exactly a cottage pie is and how it is different to a Shepherd’s pie...I don’t know. The dominant theory is that Sheperds pie uses lamb mince, whilst a cottage pie uses beef mince. I don’t know about you, but the term “Sheperds Pie” does not get my tastebuds going quite as well, so I prefer the term cottage pie. Besides, comparing the price of ground (mince) beef to ground lamb, a student would pick up the beef mince in a heartbeat without even so much as glancing at the lamb in the meat section. This cottage pie that I made is full of flavour, and just makes you want to cuddle up next to a fire and watch TCM movies all day either by yourself, or with a significant other. Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Pumpkin spice pancakes made with real pumpkin puree, melted butter, and pumpkin pie spice. Fluffy, warmly spiced, and on the table in 10 minutes.

Light Waffles

These waffles were super light just like the name. I made my own self-rising flour with whole wheat flour, and the waffles still came out light and fluffy. We had them with a homemade raspberry sauce and maple candied almonds. An excellent choice of breakfast.

Mama's Easy Sourdough Biscuits

Sourdough-style buttermilk biscuits with a make-ahead refrigerator dough that bakes up tall, golden, and tender. Mix once, stash the dough in the fridge, and bake fresh biscuits all week long.

Feather Biscuits

Feather biscuits (also called angel biscuits) use both yeast and baking powder for an unbelievably light, fluffy texture. The buttermilk dough can chill up to 3 days for make-ahead Sunday breakfasts.

Creole Christmas Cake

This very rich cake from the West Indies is ideal for those who prefer not to ice their Christmas cakes.

Brandy Christmas Fruit Cake

Get the jump on your Christmas baking by making this classic fruit cake now. Wrap it well and it will be perfect to serve, or give as a gift, on Christmas Day!

Sheila's Mandarin Orange Cake

Sheila made this Mandarin Cake this morning to take to our Paella lunch with Spanish friends. They go crazy for it.

Southern Biscuits

Love these biscuits! The texture was just wonderful, so flakey. So much better than those store-bought ones. This will be my go-to recipe for making biscuits.

Easy Cheesy Biscuits

Easy cheesy biscuits with self-rising flour, shortening, and shredded cheddar. Just 4 ingredients and 22 minutes for fluffy cheese-loaded biscuits.

Favourite Coca Cola Cake

Coca Cola cake, a moist, fudgy chocolate cake with cola whisked into both the batter and the glossy poured frosting. The fizz keeps the crumb tender while a warm cocoa icing sinks right in.

Bob's Sour Cream Biscuits

Bob's sour cream biscuits use only self-rising flour, sour cream, oil and baking soda for tender, tangy 4-ingredient biscuits with a tall rise and golden tops.

Mini Lemon Curd Sponge Puddings

Lemony and buttery puddings is definitely a win in any occasion.

Beer Bread 3

Not a good picture but any pic.is better than none. My beer bread comes out light and very tasty not dark like this.

Whole-Wheat Banana Scones

Whole wheat banana scones with mashed ripe banana, honey, and nutty wheat flour. A healthier tea-time scone that comes together in under 30 minutes with overripe fruit hiding on the counter.

Banana Carrot Pecan Bread

Microwave banana carrot pecan bread, a moist quick bread loaded with ripe bananas, shredded carrots, and toasted pecans. Cooks in 8 minutes, no oven needed.

Moist Dried Fruit Banana Bread

Moist British-style banana bread loaded with mixed dried fruit, soft ripe bananas, butter, and sunflower oil. A food-processor quickbread that uses a full pound of bananas.

10 Minute Enchilada Sauce

A quick and easy enchilada sauce that you can make in about 10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kisses

Classic peanut butter blossom cookies with a chocolate kiss pressed into the center of each warm cookie. The holiday cookie tray essential.

Tollhouse Pie

Tollhouse pie bakes chocolate chip cookie dough right into a buttery pie shell. Gooey chocolate morsels, crunchy walnuts, and brown sugar custard in every warm forkful. Top with vanilla ice cream and prepare for requests for seconds.

Mom's Applesauce Raisin Spice Cake

Applesauce raisin spice cake: a moist Bundt cake built on plumped raisins, unsweetened applesauce, and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon. No butter, just oil for a tender crumb that stays moist for days.

Lentil Chili Topped with Cornbread

It's a delicious meal that's also packed with good-for-you ingredients. A very flavourful lentil chili is topped with cornbread. Enjoy.

Ann's Angel Biscuits

Touched by Angels, light as a feather melt in your mouth biscuits.

Five Cup Bread

Five cup bread mixes one cup each of self-rising flour, dried fruit, granola, water, and sugar into a no-fuss loaf. Five ingredients, one bowl, dump-and-bake breakfast bread.

Lemonade Scones (Australian)

Lemonade scones are a 3-ingredient Australian classic: self-raising flour, cream and fizzy lemonade make impossibly light, fluffy scones with no butter to rub in. Ready in under 20 minutes.

Irish Potato Cakes

I added a few cloves freshly minced garlic plus dried garlic powder and onion powder, and also put some orange cheddar in the mix with some dried parsley flakes and a few dashes of hot sauce. I ate almost half of the cakes when they were out of the oven, and I loved it. A very creative way to use leftover potatoes.

Banana Loaf Cake

Banana loaf cake comes together from just five ingredients, including ripe mashed bananas and self-rising flour, for a moist, tender everyday loaf. A simple bake that's lovely with a cup of tea.

Weight Watcher Peanut Butter Muffins

Weight Watchers peanut butter muffins with skim milk and self-rising flour. Small-batch portion-controlled snack with chunky peanut butter. Bakes in 4 cups.

Beer Bread without yeast

Delicious, super easy and fast to make! Literally the easiest bread recipe in the world! And everyone will just love it.

Quick Blueberry Ice-cream Muffins

Brighten up your mornings with blueberry muffins that can be made using this quick and easy recipe.

Grandma's Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

Self-rising flour, shortening and buttermilk, easy as biscuit pie.

Easy Pumpkin Scones

I like to add pumpkin spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice & ginger. I also add a handful each of dried cranberries and walnuts. I cut into equal triangles from a round. When completely cooled, I drizzle with a simple vanilla glaze.

Easy Biscuits

Flaky, buttery biscuits made with just three ingredients and ready in under 30 minutes, with crispy edges or pillowy-soft sides depending on how you space them.

Cheddar Dill Bread

This quick cheddar and dill bread is packed with flavor. It's cheesy and moist. A delicious loaf just by itself or serve it as a side with any main course.

Riberry & Blue Cheese Damper

Damper, an Australian-style of bread, made with Blue Cheese and Australian Riberry.

Spotted Dick

Traditional British steamed pudding studded with sweet sultanas and wrapped in greaseproof paper. This classic Spotted Dick is proper old-school comfort food, best served with hot custard poured over the top.

Steak & Sausage Pudding

A traditional British steamed pudding filled with beef shin, sausage meat balls, and onion rings in a Marmite-enriched gravy, all wrapped in a suet pastry crust. Proper comfort food, steamed low and slow.

Orange, Passionfruit & Yogurt Cupcakes

Deliciously moist cupcakes packed with tempting flavors. These go splendidly with a cream cheese frosting!

All 175 self-rising flour recipes