Self-Rising Flour Substitute

Self-rising flour is just all-purpose flour with leavening and salt already mixed in, so you can make your own in seconds. For every 1 cup of self-rising flour a recipe calls for, whisk together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Whisking well distributes the leavening evenly, which helps biscuits, pancakes, and quick breads rise consistently.

Make only what you need and use it right away for the best lift, and if your recipe already includes baking powder, baking soda, or salt, you may want to ease back on those to avoid doubling up. This swap works smoothly in most recipes built around self-rising flour, like Southern biscuits and simple cakes. Enter how many cups your recipe needs above and the tool will scale the flour, baking powder, and salt for you.

Baking soda vs baking powder

They’re not interchangeable one-for-one. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate and needs an acid (buttermilk, yogurt, lemon, brown sugar) to create lift. Baking powder already contains both the base and a powdered acid, so it works on its own. That’s why substituting takes a little math, which the calculator above handles.

Substitutes for baking soda

• Baking powder: use about 3× as much (1 tsp soda → 3 tsp powder). Best when the recipe has little added acid.
• Self-rising flour: already contains leavening, swap it for the plain flour and reduce or skip the soda.
• Potassium bicarbonate: 1:1 for soda (add a pinch of salt; it’s sodium-free).

Substitutes for baking powder

• Baking soda + cream of tartar: for each 1 tsp baking powder, use ¼ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar.
• Baking soda + acid: ¼ tsp soda plus ½ cup buttermilk or yogurt (reduce other liquid by ½ cup).
• Self-rising flour: swap it in for the plain flour and omit the baking powder.

Self-rising flour substitute

Make your own self-rising flour: 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1½ tsp baking powder + ¼ tsp salt. Whisk together and use cup-for-cup.