Homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick)

Impossibly Easy Pies, Vegetable Fritters, & Fried Green Tomatoes

Sometimes convenience makes all the difference in the world. I always like having a ready-to-use baking mix in the pantry, especially during the summer. It’s a major ingredient in my favorite zucchini pancake recipe. And although “Impossible” pies don’t really make a crust, they’re a good vehicle for summer vegetables. But most grocery store baking mixes are too high in sodium to actually use.

I thought back to my early years of marriage and motherhood and remembered that I used to make a whole wheat baking mix with oil. So I figured I should try it once again. But this time using sodium free baking powder and not adding any salt. I used a couple of recipes I found at different sites but finally settled on one from King Arthur Flour. I’ve made it several times now and am quite happy with it.

Usually, I halve the recipe, just because I don’t use it that quickly. I also use half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. Actually part white whole wheat and part whole wheat pastry flour. Some recipes call for oil and other use butter. I’ve done both but now use Spectrum Organic Non-Hydrogenated Shortening.

So what do I use it for? Well, zucchini or summer squash patties. My absolute favorite way to eat summer squash. Zucchini Impossibly Easy Pie and Spinach Impossibly Easy Pie. Corn fritters. Dredging fried foods. Quick and easy Banana Bread. I even made peanut butter cookies. Basically, I just look up Bisquick recipes and substitute my homemade baking mix.

King Arthur Flour: All-Purpose Baking Mix
(Printable Recipe)

9 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
5 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening

Here’s the halved recipe that I use:

4 1/2 Cups flour:
(2 Cups AP; 1 cup white whole wheat; and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry)
3 tbsp. Featherweight Sodium Free Baking Powder 
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (Spectrum Organic Shortening)
(For a low sodium baking mix, use no more than 1/2 teaspoon salt or omit altogether)

Directions:
In a large bowl, blend together the dry ingredients. Then, with a pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut or rub in the vegetable shortening until it is evenly distributed and the resulting mixture looks like cracker crumbs.

Place the mix in a large, airtight container. If you use any whole grain flour, store the mix in the refrigerator or freezer.

Because I’m making only half a recipe, I mix it all up in my food processor. Some use electric mixers - hand or stand. And because of the whole wheat, I store the mixture in my refrigerator.

I’m really glad I started making this again. I have convenience but without the sodium content. And it’s 50% whole wheat flour too.

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2016 Update:
This particular recipe is not longer available on the King Arthur Flour website. Instead, there is a recipe called Quick Mix. It's very close to the recipe I posted above. The biggest difference is that it incorporates dried milk and/or dried buttermilk into the mix.