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Test for self rising flour

post #1 of 5
4/13/09 at 5:32am
Thread Starter 
I have a good friend who doesnt bake alot and she asked me a question that I didnt have a good answer for.

She asks, " How do you tell if self rising flour is no longer good?"


I use up my supplies quickly and have never had this for an issue. Is there any good advise out there for my friend.

note: She keep it in an airtight container.

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to provide.
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post #2 of 5
4/13/09 at 6:07am
Sorry, I haven't a clue!
I buy in just enough quantities to ensure that I don't keep flour for very long. I lived abroad a lot and the weevil-thingies I found in some flour in Asia gave me the total heeby-jeebies!
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post #3 of 5
4/13/09 at 7:40am
The leavening agents in self rising flour are heat activated. Should be able to make a small ball of dough with flour and water and drop it into hot water and see if it "puffs up" a bit. Off the top of my head I can't recall the temperature needed but I think its around 150F. Someone else may be able to correct that temperature.
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post #4 of 5
4/13/09 at 10:12am
The general rule is 1 year. There's no good reason to keep flour for more than a year anyway. Times are tight, but flour isn't that expensive. Not even bisquick.

Air tight isn't as important as moisture proof. The leavening agent in most self risers is double acting baking powder. There are two actors, one moisture activated (a dry acid), the other heat activated (pyro acid). The moisture activated almost always dies first.

Clumping is a sure sign that the moisture tolerance has been exceeded.

Hope this helps,
BDL
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post #5 of 5
4/13/09 at 3:55pm
Thread Starter 
great tips...i will pass them all along...thanks
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