Flour nightmare

[Mustang sally]

Can anyone tell me where I can buy selfraising flour. My husband & I have been searching for it since we moved here a month ago. Although the shelves seem full of all different types we are not sure which is selfraising. HELP WE NEED TO BAKE.

[Montybird]

Hi Sally,

I use 'gâteaux' flour, it states on the pack ' Farine de blé et poudre levante incorporée'.

Hope this helps!

[BJSLIV]

I think the French often use plain flour and then add "levure chimique" ie baking powder.

[Val_2]

You need the orange "Francine" farine pour gateaux" on the same shelves as the other flours. HOWEVER, this does not work anywhere near as well as british SR flour so best to double up quantities for a decent cake. Otherwise use recipes that call for ordinary farine and baking powder - see my recipe on a previous thread a couple of weeks back.

[Viv]

Yes, I can vouch for that!

French Flour just does not do it ! but Val's cake recipe works well with French flour.

I now buy ready made pastry.

[Chocolate]

I too have found French flour 'different' to British SR and have had several disappointments when baking. I used the Francine Gateaux flour mentioned above also but the resulting cakes were flatter and looked all wrong.

If I were to go the old fashioned route with plain flour and baking powder can anyone tell me exactly what baking powder is called in France? There are several varieties of little packets of powder on the shelves with the flour in the supermarket, but which name and variety is the same as British Baking Powder? I can recognise Bicarbonate of Soda in the list of ingredients, but that is in ALL of them!

Also which (name of/variety of) flour do I use please? I really would like to make fruit cakes and Maderia cakes again not to mention Victoria Sponges. How sad am I; but Winter is coming and thoughts of fruit cake by the woodburner are heaving into my head.

And..................... a moan. What stingy little packets of sultanas and currants are available in supermarkets! Where is the mixed peel?

I really am losing it now. Should have left all this behind in England but it is only a little thought of home. End of whinge. Sorry. 

[Val_2]

I made a fruit cake last week using ordinary plain flour here and it worked excellent as there was a lot of fruit in it which held it together. If you want the recipe I can put it on here but as mentioned before either double up on the quantities or half as much again to give you a better result.

[Patf]

I've made a plain sponge - without fat or oil just flour eggs and sugar - many times successfully using Francine farine fluide on it's own. I have 2 boxes of baking powder from UK which I use with the same flour for other cakes. Baking powder is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. I think it's called levure chimique in France but not sure. By the way the same farine fluide is excellent for thickening sauces, gravy etc - never goes lumpy. Pat.

[okalani<P>Sarha<P><P>Okalani chambres et tables dhotes<]

Yes, baking powder is levure chemique - you can buy it anywhere.  Also, if you have a Metro (professional use only) you can actually by Baking Powder in a large tub.

And for the currants etc, if you go the local markets and buy them off the dried fruit stall, it is cheaper and you can buy as much as you want.

Happy baking.

[Chocolate]

Thank you. Have now found Levure Chemique in the supermarket. Also L.C. Alsacienne, (spelling?). Is this for something special?

Also thanks for the tip about dried fruit at the market. Never thought of there.

[Teamedup]

Alsacienne is just the same as any other as far as I can tell. I prefer to get my baking powder from the UK but do buy those little sachets from time to time.