If you bake biscuits, pancakes, waffles, or quick breads on repeat, this pantry mix saves time without asking you to buy a pricey box with a fancier label. Quick Mix #2 stirs together flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, powdered milk, sugar, salt, and shortening into a ready-to-use homemade baking mix you can scoop as needed.
Because this mix includes shortening and dry milk, storage matters. Keep it in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dry spot and use it within about 6 months for best quality. That lines up well with cooperative extension guidance for homemade mixes that contain fat and dry dairy, including this homemade mix storage guidance from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension.
Ingredients
This batch makes a large pantry mix, roughly 14 cups total, depending on how firmly the flour and shortening settle. That gives you about 28 servings at 1/2 cup each, which is a practical scoop size for biscuits, pancakes, and quick bread recipes that call for baking mix.
- 10 cups flour
- 3/8 cup baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 1/4 cups powdered milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 pound shortening
If you like keeping a few mixes on hand, this one sits right in the same lane as Copycat Bisquick Recipe, Wheat Bisquick Mix, and Banana Nut Bread Mix.
Instructions
- Measure the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, powdered milk, salt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk or stir the dry ingredients thoroughly so the leavening and milk powder are evenly distributed.
- Add the shortening.
- Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender, two knives, or clean fingertips until the mixture looks evenly crumbly, like coarse meal.
- Transfer the finished mix to a clean airtight container.
- Store the mix in a cool, dry place and use it anywhere you would normally use Bisquick or a similar baking mix.
Helpful Tips
Mix thoroughly before adding the shortening. That keeps the baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt from clumping in one corner of the bowl, which is a fine way to end up with one sad biscuit and one overly salty one.
Cut the shortening in evenly. You want the mix to feel uniform, not greasy or pasty. Small, well-distributed bits of fat help the mix behave more like a reliable boxed baking mix.
Use a container with headroom. A large canister or food-safe bucket makes it easier to shake or stir the mix before each use, especially if it settles during storage.
Variations and Uses
This is a basic all-purpose quick mix, so use it the same way you would use a commercial baking mix in biscuits, dumplings, pancakes, waffles, coffee cake, or quick bread. Because it already contains salt, sugar, dry milk, leavening, and fat, read your recipe before piling in extra ingredients you may not need.
If you want to test a new recipe with it, start by swapping it cup for cup for biscuit mix in recipes designed for Bisquick-style blends. For sweeter bakes, add sugar in the recipe itself rather than changing the whole base mix. That keeps the batch flexible instead of locking you into one job.
Storage
Store the dry mix in an airtight container in a cool, dry pantry away from heat and humidity. For best quality, use it within 6 months. That estimate is conservative because the mix contains both shortening and powdered milk, which lose quality sooner than plain flour or sugar.
If your kitchen runs warm, you can refrigerate the container to help the fat stay fresher longer. Let the mix sit at room temperature briefly before measuring if it feels compacted from the cold.
Watch for signs it is past its prime, such as a stale or soapy smell, yellowing fat, or weak rise in baked goods. When the leavening gets tired, the mix won’t do you any favors.
Serving Ideas
Use this mix as your shortcut base for weekday biscuits, pancake batter, waffle batter, topping for cobblers, or quick dumplings for soup and stew. It also works well as a pantry starter for muffins and simple loaf breads when you need something baked without dragging half the cupboard onto the counter.
Pair the finished bakes with jam, sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, soups, chili, or fruit preserves. For sweeter uses, think butter and honey, cinnamon sugar, or a spoonful of applesauce.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Quick Mix #2 Homemade Baking Mix
Ingredient |
Walmart Item |
Pkg Price |
Amount Used |
Cost Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Flour |
$2.96 |
10 C. |
$1.57 |
|
Baking powder |
$1.24 |
3/8 C. |
$0.39 |
|
Cream of tartar |
$2.68 |
1 t. |
$0.19 |
|
Powdered milk |
$9.28 |
1 1/4 C. |
$1.09 |
|
Salt |
$0.62 |
1 1/2 T. |
$0.02 |
|
Sugar |
$2.98 |
1/4 C. |
$0.08 |
|
Shortening |
$3.98 |
1 pound |
$1.33 |
💸 |
Cost |
|---|---|
🧾 Total Batch Cost |
$4.67 |
👨👩👧👦 Cost Per Serving |
$0.17 |
📅 Walmart prices last verified August 26, 2026. Prices may vary by location and are subject to change. Learn how to calculate the cost of a recipe on your own!
🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- All-Purpose Flour, 5 lb
- Baking Powder, 8.1 oz
- Cream of Tartar, 1.5 oz
- Instant Nonfat Dry Milk, 25.6 oz
- Table Salt, 26 oz
- Granulated Sugar, 4 lb
- Vegetable Shortening, 48 oz
Not sure exactly what this batch costs you per serving? Here’s how to break down the real cost of any recipe so you know before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions about Quick Mix #2 Homemade Baking Mix
Usually, yes. Start with a 1:1 swap in recipes written for Bisquick-style baking mix, then check whether that recipe also adds salt, fat, or dry milk so you do not double up on ingredients already built into this mix.
It helps support the leavening balance and keeps the mix acting more like an old-school quick baking blend. The amount is tiny at 1 teaspoon in the full batch, but that little bit still helps the overall rise stay more consistent.
A pastry blender is the easiest tool, but two knives or clean fingertips work just fine. Stop when the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with no large lumps of shortening, because big chunks can leave greasy pockets and uneven texture later.
Yes, you can. Pack it in a tightly sealed freezer-safe container or bag, press out excess air, and freeze it for longer quality retention, then let the amount you need warm just enough to measure without hard clumps.
Trust your nose first. If it smells stale, sour, painty, or a little soapy, the fat has likely started turning and the mix is done, even if it still looks innocent sitting in the jar.
Absolutely. Halve every ingredient for a more manageable batch if you do not bake often, and mix just as thoroughly so the baking powder and salt stay evenly distributed from top to bottom.
Not for pantry storage. Butter contains water and needs refrigeration, so it changes both shelf life and how the dry mix behaves. If you want butter flavor, add butter in the final recipe instead of changing the base mix.
Use it for biscuits, pancakes, waffles, dumplings, shortcake, and quick breads. It is best in recipes that need a fast all-in-one base, not yeast breads or anything that depends on long rising time.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The dry milk in the mix adds dairy solids, but many finished recipes still need liquid such as water or milk to form batter or dough, so follow the liquid amount in the recipe you are making.
Old leavening is the usual culprit, followed closely by overmixing. If your baking powder has been open too long or the stored mix is well past its best-quality window, you lose lift before the dough even hits the oven.
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Did you make this recipe? Tell us how you used your batch in the comments. Biscuits, waffles, quick bread, or something wonderfully chaotic, we want to hear it.
🖨️ Print-Friendly Quick Mix #2 Homemade Baking Mix
Quick Mix #2 Homemade Baking Mix
Ingredients
- 10 cups flour
- ⅜ cup baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 ¼ cups powdered milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 pound shortening
Equipment
Instructions
- Measure the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, powdered milk, salt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk or stir the dry ingredients thoroughly until evenly combined.
- Add the shortening.
- Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Transfer the mix to an airtight container.
- Store in a cool, dry place and use as you would Bisquick.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
Notes
Prep time is an estimate based on measuring, mixing, and cutting in the shortening.
For best quality, store airtight in a cool, dry pantry and use within 6 months.
If your kitchen is warm, refrigeration can help preserve freshness longer.
i do like this recipe but wonder if anyone has ever made it with whole wheat flour. i dont want to do half white and half whole wheat as it has taken years to wean mdh off of the white flour and :preggers:it’s too much waste if it doesn’t work.