# Plain and self-raising flour



## saraht

Help! I need to go to a supermarket here in Italy and need to get some plain flour.  Anyone know how to say it in Italian?  While I'm here, I thought I might as well find out what self-raising flour is too...
Thanks!!


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## Saoul

I am not a cook (and not really able to cook anything, actually) but I think it is: FARINA!

if by plain you mean, no maize, wholemeal flour, but just plain flour, you should say, "Farina normale" or "farina semplice"!

Wait for some Pizza experts! They will be able to help you a little more!


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## ElaineG

To tell you the truth, I don't recall ever seeing self-raising/rising flour in Italy. I think I looked for it once. But I lived in a small town so that would not be indicative.

Per i nostri amici italiani, "self-raising flour" è farina col lievito e sale già mescolati dentro.

Farina "00" (doppio zero) is a very soft fine Italian flour that is ideal for a lot of baking projects. I'd search it out while you're there as it can be difficult to locate outside of Italy if you don't live in a big city (ask Combie).


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## saraht

OK, so I can't get self-raising flour.  I'm still not sure what plain flour is in Italian.  I don't recall seeing 'farina normale' or 'semplice' on the supermarket shelves, but thanks for your help anyway!


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## ElaineG

saraht said:
			
		

> OK, so I can't get self-raising flour. I'm still not sure what plain flour is in Italian. I don't recall seeing 'farina normale' or 'semplice' on the supermarket shelves, but thanks for your help anyway!


 
Well, what do you mean by plain flour?  If you mean white flour made from wheat suitable for most purposes, I'd get "farina tipo 0" or "farina tipo 00."
Italian flour is graded, and I'm not aware of a product called "farina semplice."


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## Saoul

You are right Elaine! There is no such product! 
But in any shop, if you ask for "farina semplice" you can be sure you will not be given any maize, or wholemeal!

I think that apart from some packages of "make your own pizza" you cannot find any self raising flour!


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## carrickp

Self-rising flour is mainly for "biscuits" (kind of like scones) in the U.S. "Farina" should get you what you want in Italy. If it has the word "integrale" on it, it probably will be whole wheat.


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## emma1968

ElaineG said:
			
		

> To tell you the truth, I don't recall ever seeing self-raising/rising flour in Italy. I think I looked for it once. But I lived in a small town so that would not be indicative.
> 
> Per i nostri amici italiani, "self-raising flour" è farina col lievito e sale già mescolati dentro.
> 
> Farina "00" (doppio zero) is a very soft fine Italian flour that is ideal for a lot of baking projects. I'd search it out while you're there as it can be difficult to locate outside of Italy if you don't live in a big city (ask Combie).



Se come dice Elaine "self-raising flour" significa " farina col lievito e sale già incorporati" la nostra amica ha due possibilità :
1) comprare il prodotto per la preparazione istantanea della pizza. Questo viene venduto dalle più note marche alimentari e si trova in commercio in scatole contenenti anche il pomodoro.
2) andare in una pizzeria e comprare direttamente la pasta già lievitata


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## moodywop

Isn't "plain flour" used in AE? "Plain flour" is simply flour with no added baking powder - the opposite of "self-raising".

As Elaine suggested, "farina 00" is the equivalent of "plain flour". It is sometimes labelled as "farina per dolci" as opposed to "farina 0" which is used to make yeast-based dough for bread, "brioche" etc

"Self-raising" flour is indeed available in all supermarkets even in small towns(like mine). It's called "farina autolievitante". 

I guess this post won't do much for my macho image

EDIT The Cambridge Dict does indeed label "plain flour" as BE, giving "all-purpose flour" as the AE equivalent


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## You little ripper!

Searching the Internet I've discovered that any Italian recipe requiring plain flour had (or farina 00) next to it as Elaine suggested. 
Emma's ideas about self raising flour are an easy option. They don't they sell yeasted dough in pizzerias here in Australia. I presume you can get it in a supermarket. You can always add baking powder to the plain flour to create it anyway. On the Internet there are many sites explaining how to do that.

Edit: Carlo, that seems a lot more straightforward.


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## emma1968

> I guess this post won't do much for my macho image


What against the good cooker combined with the macho man ?
Emma


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## You little ripper!

> The Cambridge Dict does indeed label "plain flour" as BE, giving "all-purpose flour" as the AE equivalent


We also call it _plain flour_ in Australia. Cas29, what is it called in CE? (newly coined by Cas)


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## emma1968

> Cas29 what is it called in CE? (newly coined by Cas)



Ma cosa stai farneticando qui ?


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## You little ripper!

emma1968 said:
			
		

> Ma cosa stai farneticando qui ?


Sorry Emma, I was just about to edit my post to explain what CE is. 
Cas29 decided in another thread that Canadians needed something to distinguish their language which is a little different to AE/BE/AusE. She decided that CE will do nicely.


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## moodywop

emma1968 said:
			
		

> What against the good cooker and macho man too?


 
That's me! I was just playing around with the stereotype 

Ok. Since I've come out of the closet as a macho master baker I will add that Italians often use "farina 00" for yeast-based dough although I can assure you that "farina 0" is better and "farina 00" is more suited to cakes. There is also a high-quality flour for dough, marketed as "farina americana" or "farina manitoba":

La farina tipo Manitoba si ottiene dalla macinazione e dalla successiva lavorazione di varietà di frumenti teneri coltivati nel Nord America, originari della regione canadese di Manitoba. Questi tipi di farine, una volta impastate con acqua, hanno la caratteristica peculiare di formare una elevata quantità di glutine, durante la lievitazione e la cottura del pane


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## emma1968

Charles Costante said:
			
		

> Sorry Emma, I was just about to edit my post to explain what CE is.
> Cas29 decided in another thread that Canadians needed something to distinguish their language which is a little different to AE/BE/AusE. She decided that CE will do nicely.


Caspita!  ci ho messo 2 mesi per capire cosa significassero AE BE AusE...


Ahhhhhhhh  Cas 29  is a forero


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## emma1968

moodywop said:
			
		

> That's me! I was just playing around with the stereotype
> 
> Ok. Since I've come out of the closet as a macho master baker I will add that Italians often use "farina 00" for yeast-based dough although I can assure you that "farina 0" is better and "farina 00" is more suited to cakes. There is also a high-quality flour for dough, marketed as "farina americana" or "farina manitoba":
> 
> La farina tipo Manitoba si ottiene dalla macinazione e dalla successiva lavorazione di varietà di frumenti teneri coltivati nel Nord America, originari della regione canadese di Manitoba. Questi tipi di farine, una volta impastate con acqua, hanno la caratteristica peculiare di formare una elevata quantità di glutine, durante la lievitazione e la cottura del pane


I'm still laughing ,  but  like mad,     believe me 
Emma

Edit: when I re-read  " macho master baker "  I laugh again


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## emma1968

> Ok. Since I've come out of the closet as a macho master baker I will add that Italians often use "farina 00" for yeast-based dough although I can assure you that "farina 0" is better and "farina 00" is more suited to cakes.


I usually use the "farina 00" to make cakes and pizza and the "farina 0" to make pasta  

Edit : Oh you should  taste my excellent "tortelli di patate"
Emma


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## raffavita

Sì sì.

La "plain flour" è la farina 00.

Si chiama anche 
"all purpose flour".

Infatti l'ho trovata anche io per l'impasto dei dolci.

Qui c'è una spiegazione utile.

E ho trovato numerosi forum in cui è confermato.
Tipo questo.


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## Senno

I suppose, the word you are looking for is "FARINA TIPO 00",.


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## raffavita

Yep.
Even if I'm now wondering : would we use Farina 0 or 00 for savoury tarts??

Grazieeeeeeeeee!


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## raffica

Secondo me.


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## raffavita

Ehm.... secondo te what??

00  ?


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## london calling

Ma non vi insegnano niente a scuola, davvero!

Più o meno: _plain flour_ è farina 00 e si usa di più per dolci, pasta (pastry) ecc.; _strong plain flour_ (pane, pizza, pasta ecc.) è farina 0; _self-raising flour_ è invece una farina lievitante, cioè con già aggiunto un agente (polvere) lievitante che ti evita di doverlo aggiungere all'impasto. In commercio l'ho visto come una delle cosiddette "farine magiche" che vendono.


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## raffica

raffavita said:


> Ehm.... secondo te what??
> 
> 00  ?


Esatto! Per i dolci sempre farina doppio zero. E' la più raffinata. il pane invece a me viene bene con farina 0 e un quinto di farina integrale.


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## london calling

raffica said:


> Esatto! Per i dolci sempre farina doppio zero. Sì, ma non è _self-raising flour_, ossia farina lievitante...! Qui è una cosa recente, prima non si vedeva in commercio. Da noi è in GB è normalissiama!E' la più raffinata. il pane invece a me viene bene con farina 0 e un quinto di farina integrale.


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## raffica

Assolutamente no: sconsiglio a tutti la farina autolievitante. Se si leggono gli ingredienti sono piene di pasticci.
(forse siamo un po' fuori mission. Sorry)
Ciao, raffaella


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## london calling

raffica said:


> Assolutamente no: sconsiglio a tutti la farina autolievitante. Se si leggono gli ingredienti sono piene di pasticci.
> (forse siamo un po' fuori mission. Sorry)
> Ciao, raffaella


Però, se serve per una traduzione, bisogna dire _farina lievitante_, perchè se no, devi aggiungere alla ricetta una bustina di lievito (la solita che tutti noi conosciamo!).


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## You little ripper!

The flour for savoury tarts is *plain flour* (farina 00).

Here the ingredients for the pastry of *Caramellized Onion Tartlets with Goat's Cheese and Thyme.*
6 oz (175 g) plain flour 
3 oz (75 g) butter, at room temperature, cut into smallish lumps, plus a little extra for greasing 
1½ oz (40 g) Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), finely grated 
½ level teaspoon mustard powder 
cayenne pepper 
1 large egg, beaten

and for* Red Onion Tart Tatin*

*For the pastry: *
3 oz (75 g) plain white flour
2 oz (50 g) plain wholemeal flour
2 oz (50 g) soft butter 
1 oz (25 g) Cheddar cheese, grated 
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

There are many examples of the same. Just type "savoury tarts" in the search box.


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## raffavita

Ciao ragazzi,


Ehm, il problema era un altro. 

Questo libro si ricette comprende sia torte dolci che salate, ma la farina indicata è sempre la plain flour, quindi ho l'impressione che si faccia riferimento a un termine più generico come farina bianca (che comprende sia la 0 che la 00).

EDIT: nella ricetta per preparare la APPLE PIE c'è scritto di usare la self-rising flour. Quindi il lievito c'è.
Si usano due tipi:

la plain flour (250 g)

e

3 cucchiai di self rising flour.

Io per "self-rising flour" ho trovato "farina con aggiunta di lievito" in 3 vocabolari.


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## You little ripper!

raffavita said:


> Ciao ragazzi,
> 
> 
> Ehm, il problema era un altro.
> 
> Questo libro si ricette comprende sia torte dolci che salate, ma la farina indicata è sempre la plain flour, quindi ho l'impressione che si faccia riferimento a un termine più generico come farina bianca (che comprende sia la 0 che la 00).
> 
> EDIT: nella ricetta per preparare la APPLE PIE c'è scritto di usare la self-rising flour. Quindi il lievito c'è.
> Si usano due tipi:
> 
> la plain flour (250 g)
> 
> e
> 
> 3 cucchiai di self rising flour.
> 
> Io per "self-rising flour" ho trovato "farina con aggiunta di lievito" in 3 vocabolari.


 Raf, you asked what is used for savoury tarts and the answer is plain flour, as a general rule. If the recipes you have to translate also require self-raising flour, then what is the problem? You just translate that also with the Italian equivalent.


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## Senno

Grazie per tutte queste notizie. Penso che cucinerò qualcosa.


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## raffavita

Charles Costante said:


> Raf, you asked what is used for savoury tarts and the answer is plain flour, as a general rule. If the recipes you have to translate also require self-raising flour, then what is the problem? You just translate that also with the Italian equivalent.





Yes, you are right. But then I realized that it was also used in sweet tarts.

And I'm pretty sure we use two different kinds of flour for cakes and savoury tarts.  
So I was wondering... if I translate plain flour with  "farina 0", I'll have to turn it into farina 00 for cakes, since all the recipes only mention "plain flour", never mind if it's a savoury tart or a sweet pie.

Then I asked myself: maybe "palin flour" translates both our farina 0 and farina 00.

Sorry for the confusion.

I must have eaten too much.


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## london calling

raffavita said:


> Then I asked myself: maybe "plain flour" translates both our farina 0 and farina 00. Yes, quite so! It depends on what you make. Generally speaking, pastry (pasta frolla/shortcrust pastry; brisée/plain pastry; sfoglia/puff pastry ecc) is made with Farina 00 (plain flour); pasta is made with Farina 0 (strong plain flour) or with other special kinds of flour; cakes are made with self-raising flour (farina lievitante) or farina 00 + una bustina di lievito in polvere.
> 
> In Italia la farina livitante si usa poco: si preferisce aggiungere una bustina di lievito in polvere alla farina, anzichè comprare la farina che già contiene il lievito (baking powder/raising agent).


There are many kinds of flour which are used in different recipes. The kinds of flour above are the basic ones. If you tell us exactly what kind of recipe you're talking about, we'll tell you which flour to use!


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## raffavita

Hi London,


Actually, the book is divided into 2 sections:
1) savoury pies

2) sweet pies

They are more than 200, and the flour used is "plain flour" all the time.


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## settabella

Ciao tutti...I am new to this forum but need a bit of clarification please! I am trying to recreate the wonderful Bronte Pistacchio Torta. They call for 'una bustina di lievito'. From the posts above, I can't quite work out what EXACTLY that is here in America(.  Baking Powder? Yeast? I suspect that I should use baking powder but then how much is a bustina? Thank you so much in advance for any help!!!! Grazie mille in anticipo!


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## raffica

Una bustina generalmente sono 25 grammi di lievito (yeast) per dolci.
, raffaella
EDIT!!! Scusa settabella, una bustina di lievito secco è di 7 grammi e corrisponde a 25 grammi di lievito fresco!!


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## settabella

Grazie mille!! Perfetto....


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## ignominia3

saraht said:


> Help! I need to go to a supermarket here in Italy and need to get some plain flour.  Anyone know how to say it in Italian?  While I'm here, I thought I might as well find out what self-raising flour is too...
> Thanks!!


Farina bianca (di grano tenero) is plain white flour; farina integrale is whole meal. Doppio zero is 00 which is the finer flour used mostly for cakes. Then you have tipo zero or 0 which is not as fine as 00 and it is used for pasta or fine crumb bread and schiacciata. Tipo 1 is equivalent to strong flour used for bread. The integrale can be whole in various grain types now fashionable, Senatore Cappelli and Bologna the most popular. Farina di grano duro or Semola di grano duro is durum wheat, used for pasta or pizza in a mix with white 0 or 00 flour made with grano tenero or soft wheat. Then you can find rice, chickpea, maize flour and finally polenta flour the latter ground fine or coarse (Bramata).


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