Baking Basics – Flours and substitutes

Some of the common flour and substitutes used in baking, will add more to the list soon. Also Tell me if you are looking for a specific one and I will add it, sometimes it just difficult to remember it off hand that what all might be needed

Cake Flour – 7/8 cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tbsp cornstarch (sift it 3-4 times) = 1 cup cake flour

Self Raising Flour – 1 cup maida + 1tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt sifted together twice – 1 cup self raising flour

Butter Milk – 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup milk, let stand 5 minutes

Strong Bread Flour – 1 cup flour + 1 tbsp edible gluten = 1 cup strong bread flour

Sour Cream – 1 cup yoghurt + 1tsp baking soda – 1 cup sour cream

Half and Half Cream – 3/4 cup whole milk plus +1/4 cup heavy cream+ 1 tsp butter = 1 cup half and half cream

Evaporated Milk 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder + 3/4 cup lukewarm water = 1 cup evaporated milk

14 comments on “Baking Basics – Flours and substitutes”

My Era
August 29, 2012

Thank you for sharing these 🙂
Bookmarked!

Reply
- monikamanchanda
  September 1, 2012
  
  you are welcome 🙂
  
  Reply
Neha Seth
August 29, 2012

Hi Monika,

substitute of eggs? I use curd.

Also for 1 cup Buttermilk- I use 3/4 curd + 1/4 milk.

Love & Grace,
Neha Seth

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Ritu Biba Koppula
August 30, 2012

Thanks so much for sharing these substitutions! Too good.

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Radhika
August 30, 2012

Hi for the bread flour, you have mentioned edible gluten, do we get that in India.

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Anita Menon
August 30, 2012

This is so useful. I am taking a print out right away

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Tadka Pasta
August 31, 2012

Moved recently back to India, missing bread and cake flour and this conversion chart is just what I need..thank you, Monica!

For the evaporated milk sub..I guess it works well in baking recipes. I used to love using evap milk for its ‘kadha-hua’ taste..great shortcut to add to kheer, kulfi etc. without all that bother of reducing milk 🙂 They really should introduce it here.

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Soujanya
September 17, 2012

Thanks for the baking substitute list which is very helpful.One more help where can we get bread flour in Indai ? Is there any specific brand or flour named here ?

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Rads
September 20, 2012

What can we use to substitute cream cheese for cheesecakes? Will freshly made paneer run in the mixie with some curd work?

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Ashima
September 25, 2012

Hey Monica!

Came across your blog via a friend’s facebook page. Thanks for these conversions.. I always have to search on Internet for baking substitutes before starting on any cake as most recipes call for self-raising flour. I once tried the Blue bird self raising flour which I got from Spencer but it didn’t work at all so from then I stick to maida 🙂
I will reblog your post and will also note these down for reference whenever required! 🙂

Cheers!
Ashima

Reply
Ashima
September 25, 2012

Reblogged this on My weekend kitchen and commented:
I am based in a small town called Vadodara in Gujarat, India. We get a lot of stuff here in terms of food preparation but we also do not get a lot of stuff. I love baking and a lot of recipes on international sites call for self raising flour; half-n-half; cream of tartar; sour cream etc etc. Almost always I have to convert these ingredients to locally available ingredients. For example for self raising flour I use 1 cup maida with 2 tsp baking powder; for sour cream I simply use the same amount of yoghurt.
When I came across this post by Monica of Sin-A-Mom, I thought this is exactly what I wanted. A conversion chart for ‘vdesi’ ingredients with ‘desi’ ingredients 🙂

Reply
Ashima
September 25, 2012

What can we substitute cream of tartar with? I had to ask my sister-in-law when she was visiting from US to get it for me.. But would really want to find a good substitute with locally available ingredients!

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