Self-raising flour - any bakers out there that can help?

[MaggieMuggins]

I'm snowed in and was thinking of making biscuits with DD. I only have self-raising flour (and that has use by Aug 2010 on it! ) - can I use that instead of plain? I was just going to do something basic with butter, flour and sugar - sort of a shortbread. She's only 2 so it's more about the activity of making them than what they taste like!

Oh, and what difference, if any, would it make if I use it for making a cheese sauce?

Cheese sauce - no difference at all
Biscuits - they will rise a bit, but still taste the same.

I don't know but my guess is that sr flour needs some sort of catalyst to activate the raising agent. So in the absense of that it should work like normal flour.

That's a guess and am waiting for someone who really knows to explain.

I think you'll find that the catalyst is the liquid you use - which obviously would include the water in butter/margarine.
You won't end up with frothing cheese sauce!

Make fairy cakes instead.

yes little cakes are perfect for sr flour

altho if the use by is Aug then the raising agents may be dead by now anyway

I am sure biscuits/shortbread will be fine, maybe not win any prizes, but for toddler baking purposes, all good.

Cheers all! I'll give them a bash then - or do fairy cakes if I can find any paper cases at the back of the cupboard :)

if you dont have any paper cases but do have a muffin tin or fairy cake tin , just butter well and cover butter with flour , this should help them to unstick themselves once cooked.

Which did you make , fairy cakes or shortbread ?

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