Here’s where things get interesting. If you’re making a cookie, a shortcrust pastry, or a flatbread, self-raising flour can be a wild card. Imagine trying to make a crunchy, flat cookie—only to watch it balloon into a soft, cakey blob. That’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not what the recipe intended.
For pastry, the added raising agent can make the dough puffy and fragile, like a bubble that hates being rolled thin. You want your pie crust to be buttery and crisp, not a mini soufflé. So, for anything that relies on structure over fluff—pasta, dumplings, pastry—stick with plain flour. Or, if you’re feeling rebellious, accept the fluffiness as a happy accident.
Plain vs Self-Raising Flour: The Difference & Magic Ratio
The nerdy, fun part: how to fake it
If you’re out of plain flour but have self-raising, you can still make almost anything—if you adjust the recipe. For every cup of self-raising flour, simply reduce the baking powder and salt called for in the recipe. Usually, 1 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of plain flour is standard. So, if your recipe says “1 cup plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder,” you can use 1 cup self-raising and skip the added baking powder. Easy, right?
But be careful: self-raising flour already has salt mixed in (about ¼ teaspoon per cup). So if your recipe calls for added salt, cut it back—or your bread might taste like a salt lick. It’s a balancing act, like adding hot sauce to a dish that’s already spicy.
