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. 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. Thanks for the question, Alison! Happy baking!
NOTE: Self-rising flour is only to be used in instances where self-rising flour is called for in a recipe. It is not appropriate for use as a replacement for just “flour” (because it has baking powder and salt).
Self-Rising Flour, Gluten-Free
1 cup Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour mix (or mix of your choice)
1 1/2 teaspoons of 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.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Jeanne Sauvage
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
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.
Dr. Peter Osborne is a Gluten Specialist and has explained that all grains have gluten including corn. He has recommended to eliminate all grain products so I have removed them from the home.
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: The gluten that Dr. Osborne is talking about in grains like corn not the type of gluten that is in wheat, rye, and barley. Therefore, it’s not the type of gluten that gluten-intolerant people react to. It’s important to be clear about what he’s saying.
Also, adding cream of tartar to baking soda just creates single acting baking powder–because there is only one acid for the baking soda to work on. In my Baking Powder post, I discuss this fact. A double-acting baking powder needs two acids for the leavener to work on–one that works when liquid is added and another that works when heat (baking) is applied. Cream of tartar only acts when liquid is applied. There is no way, currently, to create a homemade double-acting baking powder.
I did finally find a Double Acting Baking Powder that is Gluten Free, Starch Free and Aluminum Free. I am so excited about it.
As far as what Dr. Osborne teaches. He teaches it is all the same type of Gluten Prolamine Protein. I don’t know if you have seen this http://www.glutenfreesociety.org/videotutorials/what-is-gluten-sensitivity-an-easy-explanation-to-avoid-all-the-confusion/ video, but I have been to a few of his lectures. He is very clear on his opinion about ALL GRAINS causing problems for those who are GI and have the potential for being problematic to those who are Celiac. That being Celiac is a result of being Gluten Intolerant. I know those who are Celiac have been taught differently their whole life but the information is starting to come out quickly that Wheat, Rye, Barley and Oats are not the only thing Celiac’s should be concerned about. Also that those who are GS should stay away from all of them as well.
He was asked point blank what his opinion was about Grains and being Celiac. His answer was, I personally would eliminate all of them from my diet if I were Celiac or GS and recommend my patients do the same thing. He also said he has eliminated them from his families diet.
I expect in the not too soon future more and more will find this to be true too.
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:
http://www.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.
Alice: I understand your enthusiasm for finding ways to better health. That said, all prolamines are not alike. While many folks who are gluten sensitive can also have a higher sensitivity to other prolamines found in other grains (particularly avenin in oats), this doesn’t mean that all gluten-sensitive people (not just celiacs) are sensitive to all prolamines. That said, the topic of how grains behave in our bodies is a complex one–and one that we can’t solve here. It is generally thought that we should eat fewer grains than we currently do because the modern American diet has skewed towards processed foods–which contain processed grains. I realize that Dr. Osborne is enthusiastic about his theories on prolamines, it’s important to be aware that people’s experiences doesn’t bear out the concept that all people react badly to all grains. That is too simplistic. It’s like saying that all people should eat a vegan diet or all people should eat a raw diet. I do agree, however, that reducing the over amount of grains that Americans tend to include in their daily diet is a good idea. I personally think we should all increase our vegetable intake and reduce our grain intake as a whole.
Also, please realize that Dr. Osborne is not the only alternative scientist who is looking at the grain picture. Also, he is not a medical doctor–he is a chiropractor and a nutritionist. These are good things, but it’s good to know his training.
I do know who he is and you are right. It can not be solved here, but he has also been doing his studies for the past 15 years working as a specialist with Celiacs and the past 10 has moved into treating not only Celiacs but GI/GS. I am open to interpretation but I also know what works. He has a very compelling argument about how grains in the gut lead to the secondary diseases. I can only go by what works for my family and only cutting out the WRB&O was not enough. If I consume corn I get ill, my daughter gets sick on rice and corn, sorghum makes us very sick. So when someone tries to tell me I don’t know what I am talking about, I get a bit defensive. I know Celaics who never really felt well unil they started cutting out the other grains.
I don’t really understand the negativity honestly. If it has the possibility of helping you to feel better than why knock it?
Even this week there are more studies talking about how the WRB&O might not be enough for Celiacs, that don’t come from Dr. Osborne. It seems daily I read that what he has been saying all along is right, more and more.
Anyway, I think I have exhausted the subject for tonight. I am heading off to bed.
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.
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