Self-raising flour

Self Raising Flour. This product is a soft wheat flour with a chemical raising agent, also known as leavening agent, added. It can always be substituted by a mixture of plain flour and baking powder. 

An important property in self raising flour is that the moisture content should be kept below 13.5% lest the aerating reaction occur in the flour. 

While any type of flour can be made in a wholemeal form some products probably can not be made from wholemeal flour. The problems are that although all the wheat protein is present the quality of the protein is lower towards the outside of the wheat berry. This effect would render the making of products requiring very high extensibility, e.g. filo pastry, very difficult. The other problem is that the bran particles tend to burst gas bubbles, reducing the amount of lift. Despite the above, wholemeal bread flour is common and wholemeal self raising flour can be made. 

As this is a product where gluten development is not desirable, the flour usually used is a non-bread making flour such as an English soft wheat flour. The other typical ingredients are water, fat and possibly salt. Some pastry is made with self raising flour or by adding baking powder. 

Besides flour properly so-called, there are on the market prepared flours for special cooking purposes, for feeding infants, and for medicinal use, such as self-raising flour, oatmeal, gluten flour, milk flour, etc. In examining these products use is made of microscopic observation to ascertain the nature of the flour, and of the detection and determination of the sugars, saccharin, aromatic or colouring matters. Oat. meal, barley-meal, and the A.C, n. 49 4... 

Acid phosphates are used in baking powders, self-raising flours and for improving flours. The acid is also an ingredient of some non-alcoholic beverages. 

Monocalcium phosphate is used in at least of one formulation of self-raising flour, in mineral enrichment of foods, as a stabiliser for milk products and as a feedstuff additive. The produetion process, therefore, requires a particularly pure slaked lime (Table 31.2). 

Sodium, calcium and aluminium phosphates find application as leavening agents for bread and are essential constitnents of baking powders, cake mixes and self-raising flour. The use of phosphates in baking powder was first patented by Horford (USA) in 1864 [59],... 

Sodium aluminium phosphate is commonly used in combination with monocalcium phosphate for cake mixes. Self-raising flour [63] usually contains about 3% of a baking powder based on these two components. 

Improvements in self-raising flour, biscuits and cake mixes by the addition of about 2% lactalbumin phosphate are claimed in patent literature. Instant cold water-soluble forms of gelatine can be obtained by reaction with lactalbumin phosphate [90,91]. 

Uses Aerating agent, acldulant for prep, of baking powders, self-raising flours, chemically leavened baked flour confections Features Used In conjunction with sodium bicarbonate... 

It may be seen from Table F-14 that the milling procedures used to make white flour result in a product containing much less calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin than whole wheat flour. However, enrichment of white flour restores the iron, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin to levels equaling or slightly exceeding those in whole wheat flour. The use of calcium monophosphate in self-rising flour constitutes calcium fortification because it raises the level of this mineral so that it greatly exceeds the calcium content of whole wheat flour. 

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