Self-Rising: The Magic Rise Behind Biscuit and Cornbread Culture reveals how a combination of simple ingredients sparked a quiet culinary and cultural revolution. Self-rising flour and corn meal—premixed blends of flour or meal, baking powder, and salt—freed home cooks from the guesswork of from-scratch baking and transformed everyday cooking. Throughout the twentieth century, in times of poverty, segregation, and sweeping changes such as electrification, few innovations gave women more control over their time and table.
Part historical narrative and part cookbook, this flavorful account starts in Tennessee, the "self-rising capital of the world," and travels across the Southern US. The first half of the book explores how self-rising products not only helped reshape the domestic sphere but further influenced society, culture, and industry. Vitamin boosts and flour-sack fashion made self-rising products a Southern staple. Radio jingles, blues tunes, and Grand Ole Opry broadcasts spread the word. The second half of the book offers a rich collection of timeless, foolproof recipes built for modern kitchens, including chicken and dumplings, fried pickle chips, chewy brownies, apple crisp, and more. Entertaining and insightful, Self-Rising offers a story about the spirit of Southern cooks—a story of nourishment, invention, and resilience.