Save time & money with a master mix!!
Before commercialized store bought Duncan Hines cake & muffin mixes, there was the “master mix.” A master mix is a basic dry mix for everything. All you needed to do was conveniently add wet ingredients.
The mix will make Biscuits, Pancakes, Waffles, Muffins, Gingerbread, Cookies, Cakes.
This basic dry mix was first introduced and made popular in 1950’s high school economic courses.
These mixes were popular because they saved you time and money; money. The mix was convenient for emergencies. You never know when the homemaker needed to whip up a coffee cake for the unexpected Bridge game, woman’s club meeting or unexpected drop in guest after bowling.
The following recipe uses shortening. Shortening gives the mix an extended shelf life which does not require refrigeration. I have made the mix with butter and it was successful. You can store it in the fridge or freezer.
Enjoy and happy baking.
This recipe was found in A home economics textbook, “Teen Guide To Home-Making”. by Marion S. Barclay and Frances Champion, 1961
The Master Mix
9 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/3 cup baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup dry non fat milk powder
2 cups shortening that doesn’t require refrigeration
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar, sugar and dry non fat milk powder times.
Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter or two knives until mixture looks like coarse corn meal.
Store in covered containers at room temperature.
Notes: To measure the Master Mix, pile it lightly into cup and level off with spatula. I have used butter in replace of shortening but it must be stored in the refrigerator.
The following is a link to a 1952 pamphlet. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/faculty_archives/cameron/homemade_mixes.pdf
