Monday, February 11, 2013

No Self-Rising Flour or Cornmeal? Use This!

Have you ever started a bread recipe or cornbread recipe only to discover that it calls for self-rising flour or self-rising cornmeal, and you don't have any?

This happens to me regularly because I never buy self-rising flour or cornmeal. I always have all-purpose flour and regular cornmeal in my pantry, however, along with other basic baking staples like baking powder.

Instead of spending money on self-rising flour or self-rising cornmeal, here's how you can make it at home using ordinary flour or cornmeal:

1 cup of self-rising flour = 1 cup of all-purpose flour  + 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of self-rising cornmeal = 1 cup of regular cornmeal + 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Note: If your recipe also lists baking powder and/or salt as ingredients in addition to the self-rising flour or self-rising cornmeal, most cooks* say that you should omit them up to the quantities in the substitution. In other words, if your recipe calls for 1/2 tsp baking powder, omit all of it because you're already adding more than that amount of baking powder in the substitution (do NOT reduce the amount in the substitution, or the recipe won't rise enough). If your recipe calls for 2 tsp baking powder, reduce that to 1/2 tsp because you're already including the rest in the substitution.   

*I said "most cooks" above because it's been my experience specifically when making cornbread that I get better results if I do NOT reduce the additional baking powder or salt by the amounts in the substitution.  That's just my personal experience - if you agree or disagree, please leave a comment because I'm curious to learn what other cooks have experienced.

This is my go-to substitution strategy when making a recipe that lists self-rising cornmeal or flour as an ingredient. It saves room in my pantry because I don't need space for an extra container or two, and it saves money at the grocery store because it's something less to buy.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria
Carolina Sauce Company




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