0

I have a recipe that uses self-rising flour which is not available where I live, so I make my own by sifting all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt together. This has always worked fine.

In a few days I will be needing a few cups, so I decided to make it today and store it in a closed plastic bag.

Could it be a problem that I have made the flour a few days in advance? Will it still work as expected?

I have always used the homemade self-rising flour immediately and never tried to store it.

Of course the self-rising flour you buy in stores are the same three ingredients, but I don't know if the manufacture also uses some additives that makes it store well.

|improve this question
  • 1
    On a side note: Why are you adding salt? I would say that conflicts with all-purpose... – Jan Doggen Mar 12 at 8:22
  • 2
    @JanDoggen I don't understand your comment. The OP is combining AP flour, salt, and baking powder to make self-rising flour. – Cindy Mar 12 at 11:13
  • @Cindy Ah, misread the position of 'all purpose'. Still the question remains. You now have flour with salt to start with. Can't take it out... Well, googling for the ingredients it seems like everyone puts salt in. I wouldn't. – Jan Doggen Mar 12 at 11:16
  • 1
    @JanDoggen Recipies that uses self-rising flour, expects regular flour with baking powder and salt, so the taste would be wrong if I removed any of those ingredients. – cae3uax Mar 12 at 18:49
4

The shelf life is not a problem. This is one of the rare cases where mixing ingredients doesn't change their shelf life. All of them are shelf stable because of lack of moisture, and nothing is introducing moisture, so the mixture is shelf stable.

You could, however, run into problems if you try to make a large batch and scoop out of it for every baking session. The reason is that this kind of mixture rarely stays homogenous. Every shake encourages it to separate, with the larger grains (salt, baking powder) gathering on top of the smaller grains (flour). If you store it somewhere undisturbed, the effect won't be too strong the first few times you use it, but you will be on the safe side if you pre-mix the quantity for exactly one batch only.

As a side note, this seems like a strange way to go about it. If you either don't premix and just pour all ingredients into the bowl on baking day, or premix all dry ingredients at once (making your own baking mix, so to speak) you will be more efficient than just mixing a self rising flour separately.

|improve this answer
  • Wouldn't separation of the ingredients also be a problem with store-bought self-rising flour? Regarding my strange way of going about it: The self-rising flour is mixed in a specific ratio and sifted. By doing this in advance I save a considerable amount of time. There are no dry ingredients other than self-rising flour, I just need to combine it with wet on baking day. But I can't tell exactly how much flour I will need, that depends on the dough. – cae3uax Mar 12 at 19:07
  • 1
    @cae3uax I suspect that commercial producers have some tricks to reduce that, for example better mixing processes and/or smaller crystals for salt and baking powder. But they cannot solve it completely either - for example, I had very bad experience partially using a package of "gelling sugar" (sugar mixed with pectin for making jams). Also, for best results, you should sift every flour on the day of baking, regardless of whether you have sifted it before. – rumtscho♦ Mar 13 at 8:57

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.