Cooking dilemmas: Plain / All purpose / Self-raising flour

Anyone who bakes fairly regularly has probably come across a situation where your recipe calls for ‘self-raising flour’ and all you have is plain.  (Plain flour is ‘all purpose flour’ in the United States).  Self-raising flour is simply flour to which raising agents have been added during the packaging process.  So…to make your plain (or all purpose) flour into self raising flour:

UK VERSION:

Add 1-1/4 level teaspoons of baking powder to every 8 oz of flour (and a pinch of salt if your recipe doesn’t already include that).  Sieve well to mix before adding to your recipe.

US Version:

Add 1-1/4 level teaspoons of baking powder to every cup of all purpose flour (and a pinch of salt if your recipe doesn’t already include that).  Sieve well to mix before adding to your recipe.

To reverse the situation, i.e. you have self-raising flour when what you need is plain flour, use self-raising but reduce the baking powder and salt that it states in the recipe.

Cooking dilemmas: Too salty / too sweet

Getting the right balance of flavours in food can sometimes be tricky.  If you’re reducing any liquid on the hob, bear in mind that flavours will be intensified so be careful about how much salt you add to begin with.  To state the obvious : It’s easier to add more after reduction than it is to take away! 

GRAVY: 

Be careful particularly when making gravy  The juices left at the bottom of your roasting pan often have intense flavour, including saltiness, so extra seasoning is rarely necessary.  You may be tempted to reach for the wine (for the pan – not you!) in order to balance things out.  Don’t.  Wine tends to further emphasise saltiness. In the case of over-salted gravy, add more stock or water and some parsley to absorb the salt.  If you find your gravy then lacks flavour add one of the following: a little redcurrant jelly, butter, a tablespoon of medium or sweet sherry or even a small piece of stock cube (because commercially made stock cubes are, in themselves, salty)!

OTHER FOODS:

All may not be lost and depending on what you’re preparing, you have a few options: 

For soups and stews add a raw potato and continue to cook for about 15 minutes.  As the potato cooks it will absorb some of the salt and you can remove it at the end.  

White bread-crumbs, cream and parsley will all help mask too much salt.

For French dressing or any sauce that you think could take a hint of sweetness, adding a little sugar will balance out the flavours.

Conversely, if you have made a food too sweet and you think it can take it, add a pinch of salt or a dash of vinegar.

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