A while back I got a question from a neighbor, who was trying to find out why their pie crust had turned out salty and bitter tasting.
The reason that they were encountering that, was the fact that they were using self rising flour, instead of all purpose.
Why was this causing a salty and bitter pie crust?
Well let me share with you the difference between self rising flour, and all purpose flour, and then you'll understand...
WHAT IS SELF RISING FLOUR?
Self rising flour is basically all purpose flour that has baking powder, and added salt. It is commonly used in a variety of baked goods like biscuits, since it helps in the rising factor of some recipes, because of the leavening agent in it, hence its name.
This added baking powder is already sodium in itself, and not to mention they also add salt to the flour. What the problem was with the pie crust, is the fact that she was using a flour that already had a bunch of sodium, then adding that to a recipe that already had salt in it, plus salt from the butter.
WHAT IS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR?
All purpose flour is basically flour that doesn't have an added leavening agent, and no added salt.
THE CONCLUSION…
Try to stick to all purpose flour if you don't have a need for self rising often. Plus, If you end up needing it, you can simply just make it yourself whenever you need it, and with as little as 3 ingredients! Here’s a recipe that I've used - https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/how-to-make-self-rising-flour-recipe.
