# Quick cooking question about flour **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-cooking-question-about-flour/463414 "2008-09-13T07:24:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-cooking-question-about-flour/463414/1 "2008-09-13T07:24:44Z")
If the recipe calls for plain flour + baking powder (this is for cookies/biscuits) but I only have self-raising flour, can I just use that instead and omit the baking powder? ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-cooking-question-about-flour/463414/2 "2008-09-13T07:36:56Z")
For most bikkies it shouldn’t make a difference. Better bakers than I should be along shortly, but I can say your plan of SR flour and no BP has worked well for me when needed - but I’ll still follow the recipe exactly if I’ve got the plain flour. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-cooking-question-about-flour/463414/3 "2008-09-13T07:38:41Z")
> [@istara](#): > > If the recipe calls for plain flour + baking powder (this is for cookies/biscuits) but I only have self-raising flour, can I just use that instead and omit the baking powder? Yes, I do believe so, generally self-rising flour implies a Baking Powder leavening added to the flour that is suitable for cakes and biscuits and the like. However, in the back of my brain, I want to think there was also a type of yeasted,“self rising flour” that was also available, at some point in time in culinary history that would be entirely different and require a rise. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-cooking-question-about-flour/463414/4 "2008-09-13T09:37:16Z")
The proportion of flour to baking powder is important, too. For example, [this site](http://www.cdkitchen.com/features/tip/528/Self-Rising-Flour-Substitute) suggests 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt per cup of flour. So if your recipe only calls for a little bit of baking powder, you might have a hard time getting the balance right, but it does work generally. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-cooking-question-about-flour/463414/5 "2008-09-13T23:31:38Z")
Not flour related, but baking substitutes - I was making peanut butter biscuits, and ran out of two ingredients. There were only three to begin with! 1 Cup peanut butter - damn, half and half with Nutella will have to do. 1 Cup sugar - what the…! Caster sugar, that’ll work. 1 Egg - phew. They worked, they tasted good, the toddler scoffed the lot over a few days. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-cooking-question-about-flour/463414/6 "2008-09-14T01:30:41Z")
Sorry to post twice, but I’ve just found this in my _Edmonds Cookery Book_ (New Zealand’s kitchen bible); “If a recipe stipulates the use of Self Raising flour, substitute one and a half teaspoons of baking powder and one cup of plain flour for each cup of SR flour given in recipe.” So - self raising flour is 1 cup plain + 1.5tsp baking powder. It should be easy enough to check the proportions given in any recipe and decide if it will work (or be flatter/puffier/not worth the effort)