Tablespoons of self-rising flour to grams runs on one number, 7.8125 grams per tablespoon. It is a measured property of this ingredient rather than a defined conversion, which is why a generic volume-to-weight tool cannot give you it.
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 level tablespoon of self-rising flour is 7.812 g, which puts a teaspoon at 2.604 g and a tablespoon and a half — the quantity recipes are fondest of — at 11.72 g. Levelling twice is where the error comes from, so the scale is the faster instrument once the quantity passes a couple of spoons.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.8% of a cup of self-rising flour, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 4 cups, and a 1 kg pack 8.
The condition this weight assumes: 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
tablespoons- The amount of self-rising flour you are converting, in tablespoons
7.8125- Grams per tablespoon for self-rising flour, from its density of 0.52834 g/mL
grams- The equivalent quantity in grams
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in tablespoons.
- It is multiplied by 7.8125, the grams-per-tablespoon figure for self-rising flour.
- The result appears in grams, with a second reading in oz beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
2 tbsp of self-rising flour in grams
2 tbsp of self-rising flour weighs out at 15.625 grams. Divide 15.625 by 7.8125 and you get back to 2 tbsp, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
4 tbsp of self-rising flour in grams
A recipe calling for 4 tbsp of self-rising flour needs 31.25 grams on the scale. The arithmetic is 4 × 7.8125 = 31.25, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 15.625 grams.
12 tbsp of self-rising flour in grams
A recipe calling for 12 tbsp of self-rising flour needs 93.75 grams on the scale. The arithmetic is 12 × 7.8125 = 93.75, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 46.875 grams.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in 1 tbsp of self-rising flour?
One tablespoon of self-rising flour is 7.8125 grams. Half that quantity is 3.90625 grams and double it is 15.625 grams, 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?
At this size the spoon wins. One tablespoon of self-rising flour is 7.812 g, and a scale reading to the nearest gram is working at 12.8% resolution on that — a measuring spoon is the more accurate instrument below about 5 g, which is why spice quantities are still written in spoons.
How many tablespoons of self-rising flour is 500 g?
500 g of self-rising flour is 64 tablespoons — 0.128 tablespoons to one gram, so 500 × 0.128 = 64. Going that way is a division by 7.8125, or a multiplication by 0.128 if you prefer.
Self-rising flour in tablespoons and grams
| Tablespoons | Grams | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 tbsp | 3.90625 g | 3.90625 |
| 1 tbsp | 7.8125 g | 7.8125 |
| 2 tbsp | 15.625 g | 15.625 |
| 3 tbsp | 23.4375 g | 23.4375 |
| 4 tbsp | 31.25 g | 31.25 |
| 6 tbsp | 46.875 g | 46.875 |
| 8 tbsp | 62.5 g | 62.5 |
| 12 tbsp | 93.75 g | 93.75 |
| 16 tbsp | 125 g | 125 |
Based on 125 g per cup of self-rising flour. One tablespoon of self-rising flour is 7.8125 grams.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 125 g | 4.41 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 7.812 g | 0.276 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 5.208 g | 0.184 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 2.604 g | 0.0919 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 1.953 g | 0.0689 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 1.302 g | 0.0459 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 0.651 g | 0.023 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.3255 g | 0.0115 oz | 0.6161 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.