What all-purpose flour you use should be determined by what you want to make with it and how much protein/gluten you need. Southern All-Purpose Flour (White Lily, Martha White, Gladiola, Red Band) - 9 g. protein - milled from soft wheat varieties - work best for baked goods where you don't want a lot of gluten development, such as pie crusts, biscuits, quick breads, muffins National Brand All-Purpose Flour (Gold Medal, Pillsbury) - 11 g. protein - milled from a blend of hard and soft wheat. A little too much protein for best pie crusts, quick breads, muffins, or pancakes; too little protein to make outstanding yeast breads. As the name indicates - all purposes - but it's not the optimal flour for most things we make with it. Northern All-Purpose flour (Robin Hood, Hecker's) - 11-12 g. protein. Use for yeast breads, cream puffs, puff pastry. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour - 13 g. protein. Use for yeast breads, cream puffs, puff pastry, pasta, pizza. We are fortunate enough to have some good flour mills here in Kansas and I would suggest Hudson Cream (milled in Stafford Co., KS) and W-R Flour milled in McPherson, KS, which have excellent flour products (similar to National Brands), if you happen to have those available to you. -Grainlady

You could weigh what six cups of flour weighs to find out how many cups in a 5 pound bag and then adjust this recipe accordingly. (ie, if 6 cups weighed 1 pound then according to the following recipe you would add 15 Tablespoons of baking powder and 5 Tablespoons of salt to a 5 pound bag of flour.) Ann. How to Make Self-Rising Flour From your Desserts/Baking Guide Why buy self-rising flour when you can make your own? Difficulty Level: Easy Time Required: 15 minutes Here's How: In a large mixing bowl, measure 6 cups of flour. Add 3 tablespoons baking powder. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Either sift together or mix with a wire whisk until well combined. Can be stored in airtight container for months. Tips: Measure self-rising flour like regular flour. Keep all dry goods in airtight containers to avoid moisture and infestation. Related Information:

The original recipe on the ny times website has the flour listed in weight. No need to convert. The website you used appears to have removed the weights. I love this recipe and usually have a batch in the freezer. Chocolate chip recipe Published: July 9, 2008 Adapted from Jacques Torres Related Perfection? Hint: It’s Warm and Has a Secret (July 9, 2008) Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note) Sea salt. 1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside. 2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

Plain flour and self raising flour are not interchangeable in most recipes. Plain flour has no leavening (rising), whereas self-raising does. Of course, if the SR flour is a bit old, you might find that the leavening has 'died off', and you might be able to get away with using it. Mind you, I've used the wrong flour my mistake more than once. If you're making biscuits (cookies) which call for plain flour, and you use SR, they might rise more than you want and be softer in texture instead of crisp - but maybe you won't mind that! SR flour is great for things like cakes, scones, muffins, pancakes. It is far more commonly used here in Australia than in America, so I've learned.