To convert pounds of self-rising flour into cups, multiply by 3.628739: one pound comes to 3.628739 cups. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
Water is the yardstick: 1 mL of it weighs 1 g. Self-rising flour comes in at 0.52834 g per mL, or 52.83% of water, which is why a cup of it is 125 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
A cup of self-rising flour is 125 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 112.5 g and 150 g covers the range from lightly spooned to firmly packed. That 20% spread is larger than most of the adjustments recipes fuss over, and it disappears entirely the moment the ingredient is weighed instead.
Pounds are how self-rising flour is bought rather than cooked, so this is the bag-size arithmetic: one pound is 3.629 cups, a 2 lb pack is 7.257 cups and a 5 lb sack is 18.14. That last figure is the one worth knowing before a large bake — it tells you whether one bag covers the recipe.
How the figure is arrived at: The same weight per cup as all-purpose, because that is what it is — with baking powder and salt already blended through it.
The formula
pounds- The amount of self-rising flour you are converting, in pounds
3.62873896- Cups per pound for self-rising flour, from its density of 0.52834 g/mL
cups- The equivalent quantity in cups
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in pounds.
- It is multiplied by 3.62873896, the cups-per-pound figure for self-rising flour.
- The result appears in cups, with a second reading in tbsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
3/4 lb of self-rising flour in cups
3/4 lb of self-rising flour weighs out at 2.72155 cups. Divide 2.72155 by 3.628739 and you get back to 3/4 lb, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
1 1/2 lb of self-rising flour in cups
A recipe calling for 1 1/2 lb of self-rising flour needs 5.44311 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 1.5 × 3.628739 = 5.4431084, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 2.72155 cups.
3 lb of self-rising flour in cups
Take 3 lb of self-rising flour: 3 × 3.628739 gives 10.8862 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 21.7724 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 lb of self-rising flour?
One pound of self-rising flour is 3.628739 cups. Half that quantity is 1.81437 cups and double it is 7.25748 cups, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of self-rising flour not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Self-rising flour has a density of 0.52834 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 125 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 111.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of self-rising flour by roughly 20% — about 12.5 g either side of 125 g — because the same weight per cup as all-purpose, because that is what it is — with baking powder and salt already blended through it. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of self-rising flour the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of self-rising flour weighs 0.5512 oz, so the two readings differ by 44.9%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of self-rising flour would weigh 132.09 g instead of 125 g — 7.09 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 20% for self-rising flour — roughly 25 g on a 125 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How much does 2 cup of self-rising flour weigh?
2 cup of self-rising flour comes to 250 g, or 0.55116 pounds. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-pounds page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Self-rising flour in pounds and cups
| Pounds | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 lb | 0.907185 cup | 0.90718474 |
| 1/2 lb | 1.81437 cup | 1.81436948 |
| 3/4 lb | 2.72155 cup | 2.72155422 |
| 1 lb | 3.62874 cup | 3.62873896 |
| 1 1/2 lb | 5.44311 cup | 5.44310844 |
| 2 lb | 7.25748 cup | 7.25747792 |
| 3 lb | 10.8862 cup | 10.88621688 |
| 5 lb | 18.1437 cup | 18.1436948 |
Based on 125 g per cup of self-rising flour. One pound of self-rising flour is 3.628739 cups.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 125 g | 4.41 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 93.75 g | 3.31 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 83.33 g | 2.94 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 62.5 g | 2.2 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 41.67 g | 1.47 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 31.25 g | 1.1 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 7.812 g | 0.276 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 2.604 g | 0.0919 oz | 4.929 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tapioca starch | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 4.409 oz | 0.5283 |
| Self-rising flour (this page) | 125 g | 4.409 oz | 0.5283 |
| Bread flour | 127 g | 4.48 oz | 0.5368 |
| Cornstarch | 128 g | 4.515 oz | 0.541 |
| Cornmeal | 138 g | 4.868 oz | 0.5833 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.