You probably think I’m crazy for even suggesting this, but I promise you there’s method to my madness. For years now I’ve been making my own self raising flour. It’s just plain (all purpose) flour mixed with baking powder. Nice and simple. I like knowing it’s fresh when I make it, rather than sitting in the cupboard for ages and it also means I can store less in the pantry because I only have one kind of flour.

The only problem with making my own, is that baked goods often have a bit of a metallic aftertaste. After some research, I discovered this is because many store bought baking powders have aluminium in them. This lead me to making my own baking powder…see, we got there in the end! Baking powder is actually very simple to make and uses things you probably already have in the pantry. Since I’ve started using home made, the metallic taste is gone and my cakes rise more than using store bought. Double win!

The baking powder is made from bi-carbonate soda (baking soda), cream of tartar and cornflour. The bi-carb and cream of tartar are the raising agents which react with liquid when you make your baked goodies. The cornflour is there to keep the moisture out of your mix. I have listed some substitutions for the cornflour at the bottom. As long as this is stored in a dry environment, it has an indefinite shelf life.

Baking Powder

2 tbsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp bi-carbonate soda (baking soda)
1 tbsp cornflour (corn starch) *See alternatives below

Sift all ingredients together and then stir well to make sure it is evenly mixed. Store in an airtight container. 1 tsp of this baking powder is equal to 1 tsp of store bought baking powder. If you use a lot, you can of course mix up a larger batch, keeping the ratios the same.

To make self raising flour: For every half cup of flour, use 1/2 cup plain (all purpose) flour and 1 tsp baking powder. Sift and stir together well.

*If you have an intolerance to cornflour, you can substitute with potato starch, rice flour or arrowroot.