What is baking powder, how can it be replaced and how to cook at home? Baking powder is an indispensable assistant.

A leavening agent is a substance used to make a food product loose and fluffy. Mainly used for loosening dough.
The composition of the dough baking powder includes soda and ammonium carbonate as essential components.
Baking powders are used to obtain a finished product without the taste of soda. Dough leavening agents are also called baking powder.

If you bake with sourdough, the sourdough is the baking powder. But sometimes other baking is needed (for pies, cookies, cakes, etc.). There is no sourdough there. You need a baking powder.

Most often we use soda slaked with vinegar. But there are subtleties.

Baking soda is used in the preparation of cakes, pastries, cookies and other baked goods, giving them volume. Soda itself is not a baking powder, for this it is necessary to extinguish it with vinegar, while the soda is completely decomposed, and the taste of the product improves.

When soda is extinguished with vinegar, carbon dioxide is released, due to which baking becomes airy and porous. Quick soda does not add volume. But if you put too much soda, a specific unpleasant taste and smell appears. Even if you put not a lot, but as much as you need, everything tastes the same, and you don’t like it.

Experienced cooks never extinguish soda outdoors: carbon dioxide escapes (most of it) without bringing any benefit to the dough. You need to mix soda with flour, and add vinegar or acid to the liquid ingredient included in the dough - kefir, sour cream, eggs.

The most important thing when using soda is to bake the dough immediately, since the reaction passes very quickly, and loosening will not work.

You can also extinguish soda with sour-milk products (without vinegar) - if they are part of the dough, then it is not necessary to add vinegar (sour cream, kefir, whey, yogurt ...).

Cooking recipes now often include baking powder in their ingredient lists. It consists of a mixture of citric acid, soda and flour or starch, which prevent premature quenching. The baking powder does not need to be dissolved, it is mixed with flour and injected into the dough. The reaction in this case begins only during baking, which means that the dough can be left to lie down for a while.

When buying baking powder, remember that the bag in which it is located must not be paper, otherwise the reaction may begin right in the package.

Baking powder can be made at home, it's very easy. This is a great replacement for store-bought baking powder - it works exactly the same.

So,
Recipe for homemade baking powder:

It is better not to do very much, as the baking powder can cake! If you plan to make more baking powder, put a sugar cube in the jar to eliminate moisture.

The composition of the dough baking powder:
Flour 12 parts (flour is added for the convenience of dispensing baking powder, manufacturers sometimes use potato starch instead, the shelf life then increases, but at home this is not necessary at all). I take homemade wholemeal flour, you can use wheat, you can take rye.
Soda 5 parts
Citric acid 3 parts. So far, I have prepared baking powder on citric acid, but the thought came that it would be completely replaced by ground dry black or red currants, or cranberries - it is also VERY sour, and at the same time completely natural. I think that then the ground powder of berries should be taken not three parts to 5 parts of soda, but more - at least equally, and maybe even powder of berries more than soda.

Need COMPLETELY DRY!!! a jar with a tight lid, and mix the ingredients with a COMPLETELY DRY spoon - otherwise the reaction will start immediately.

Pour 12 tablespoons of flour into a dry jar, then 5 tablespoons of soda, and at the end add 3 tablespoons of citric acid (or approximately 5-7 tablespoons of dry ground currant or cranberry powder). Then tightly close the jar and shake it well so that all the components are evenly mixed! That's all! This homemade baking powder completely replaces the store-bought one, it rises the dough just as well!

You can add it to any pastry, to pancakes and pancakes (although I generally just bake pancakes with pancakes, without baking powder, but if you need lush pancakes, then it’s better to add them).

Store TIGHTLY CLOSED to keep moisture out.

Baking soda

Baking soda acts as a leavening agent in itself, at a temperature of 60 ° C (sodium bicarbonate) begins to decompose into sodium carbonate, carbon dioxide and water.

Baking soda and soda are salts of a very weak and unstable carbonic acid, so they react with stronger acids to release carbon dioxide. The dough usually has a slight acidity (caused by dairy products), but to enhance the effect, flour is often pre-mixed with citric acid (dry), or by adding tartaric acid (poor acetic acid) to the liquid.

A mixture of soda, citric acid and flour is sometimes sold under the name of baking powder.

It is widely believed that baking soda and vinegar should be mixed before adding to the dough. This is completely useless, since the reaction takes place outside the dough, carbon dioxide escapes before cooking begins. The gas formation reaction starts immediately when kneading, it is important to put it immediately in the oven when the dough heats up - the reaction speeds up, the bubbles expand and the dough repeatedly rises.

ammonium carbonate

Unlike baking soda, ammonium carbonate completely decomposes into gaseous components, leaving no mineral salts and adding nothing to the taste of baked goods.

It can be used in a non-strict dosage, since in any case the whole will fall apart. In addition, it releases more gases. The only drawback is the instability in air during long-term storage. It is the main component of baking powders.

***
In dough baking powder, there may be one or several different acids. Russian manufacturers, as a rule, use traditional citric acid in such powders, imported baking powders may contain several different acids, this is done so that at any temperature of the liquid that is necessary for preparing the dough, the baking powder in any case fulfills its functions. Since different acids react with baking soda at different temperatures. In the role of a filler, in most cases, manufacturers use baking flour, less often, in some cases, starch.

Occasionally there are such culinary recipes, which may include both baking powder and baking soda. This is done to ensure that the reaction goes exactly without a trace. The fact is that if the selected recipe includes rather acidic foods, then you simply cannot do without adding ordinary soda. A product with high acidity can include: any fruit puree or juice, citric acid in crystals, sugar syrup, eggs, vinegar, chocolate, honey, cocoa, as well as almost all fermented milk products: yogurt, yogurt, sour cream, whey, kefir etc.

It would be wrong not to say that the replacement of soda with baking powder is far from always justified. For example, if honey is present in the recipe, then soda is simply necessary in it.

Based on articles.

Light, airy dough, it will rise well. And when baked, it will be incredibly magnificent. Cakes from such a dough are evenly and deeply soaked. And in combination with the cream, they give rise to an incredible miracle, generously endowing everyone with vivid emotions and almost childish delight. To prepare such a dessert is the ultimate dream. But who is the "culprit" of the fact that such a dough is obtained? Baking powder! It is this seemingly insignificant component, like the magic wand of the godmother Cinderella, that turns whipped dough into a culinary work filled with air.

How does baking powder work?

Depending on what kind of baking powder you use, it will depend on what happens to the dough, what kind of baking process operates in it. This is either fermentation or the release of carbon dioxide during a chemical reaction. When the baking powder is combined with moisture, the rest of the ingredients, or under the influence of heat, a reaction starts in the dough: carbon dioxide is released, it becomes porous.
The main condition of the baking powder is its full, without residue, involvement. Exact proportions are important here, otherwise, either the reaction will be too weak, or part of the baking powder will remain unused. As a result: the dough has not risen enough or there will be an unpleasant aftertaste.

Soda. How to use it correctly to achieve the desired effect

It would seem that the simplest and most famous baking powder is soda. There are 3 ways to use it in dough as a baking powder:

• Without any oxidants is added to the dough. Usually this method is relevant if the dough is dense, for example, such as on Easter cakes, gingerbread or muffins. Then soda is used together with baking powder.
• If the dough contains fermented milk products, lemon juice, honey.
• Soda is quenched with vinegar. The reaction comes instantly. And this is a huge minus, almost all of the gas immediately evaporates. And even if you start baking the cakes very quickly, this “baking powder” is not enough to get loose and fluffy cakes.

The conclusion suggests itself: it is better to use baking powder than soda (except in some cases when soda is indicated in the recipe). And today we will learn how to make baking powder on our own.

I “peeped” this recipe on the back of the powder packaging. Only there all indicators are in grams. To make it more convenient, I converted it into a simpler and more comfortable unit for many, namely, into teaspoons.

So, what happened, and what we need:

• Flour (starch) - 12 tsp;
• Soda - 5 tsp;
• Citric acid (not granules, but powder, ground in a coffee grinder) - 3.75 tsp.

Remember we talked about accuracy? Otherwise, either a violent reaction awaits us, or an insufficient one if we strongly deviate from the recipe. Moreover, this cooking method, tested by me, has been tested more than once. I have been making baking powder myself for a long time, and I know that no unpleasant surprises await me with it.

If you want, I will also announce the factory indicators:

• Flour - 12.2 g;
• Citric acid - 3 g;
• Soda - 4.8 g.

You may find it convenient to use this measure.
How to cook? There are 2 main points here:

1. All components are measured with maximum accuracy.
2. We mix.

The main requirement for dishes:

The dishes where we will mix, the spoon and the jar where we pour the powder must be dry. It is important! It is also important that the jar should be tightly closed with a lid. By the way, I heard, but did not try as unnecessary, that if you do it in reserve, and you need to keep the dryness in the jar as much as possible, then you can put a piece of refined sugar on the bottom.

A little about the ingredients:

• If you want this powder to last longer, use starch instead of flour.
• In the composition, I indicated that the powder needed citric acid not in granules. Therefore, we grind the acid in a coffee grinder, in a mortar or wrap it in a clean paper / linen towel and go through the top with a rolling pin (glass).
• And about soda, too, there is a small remark. There is a better quality soda specifically designed for foodstuffs. Usually it is signed "For baking", and is sold in small bags. That's what we need! See the photo of such baking soda at the beginning of the article)

A nice bonus is that every time we need this dough powder, we don't have to make it. You can prepare baking powder for future use. And I have already said that replacing flour with starch contributes to a longer shelf life. I also add baking powder to

Experienced housewives, who often practice making homemade pastries, are well aware that almost no sweet pastry will turn out lush and beautiful if baking powder is not added to the dough from which it is prepared (otherwise known as baking powder). You can, of course, as an alternative to baking powder, use ordinary and familiar baking soda, which also (if quenched with vinegar) plays the role of baking powder. But still, baking powder is more convenient to use than soda. In addition, it does not give baked goods an unpleasant aftertaste, which is felt when using soda. It does not need to be extinguished with vinegar or lemon juice, but only needs to be mixed with flour and mixed into the dough.

When buying industrial baking powder, you should carefully look at the packaging and study the information about its composition. Often, manufacturers do not comply with the percentage of ingredients, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of the product. A simple paper packaging should also alert the buyer. If certain rules for the transportation and storage of such products are not observed, the components of its constituents may react prematurely. Accordingly, it is completely pointless to use such a product.

The same hostesses who value personal time, as well as the results of their own efforts, can, if desired, prepare the dough baking powder on their own without any effort and in just a couple of minutes. It is only required to observe one single simple rule: the container (a jar, preferably glass), an auxiliary device (a spoon, preferably wooden) and all ingredients used must be absolutely dry. It is not recommended to make a large amount of baking powder at once, because over time it can cake. In addition, there is a possibility of moisture getting into the container with it, which will lead to a reaction even before it gets into the dough. To prevent such a nuisance, it will not be superfluous to put a piece of sugar (refined sugar) in a jar of ready-made baking powder.

So, to prepare homemade dough baking powder, you need 3 ingredients in a certain quantitative ratio.

And since to measure the mentioned components in grams, you will need special electronic scales, which, unfortunately, are not available in every kitchen, we will take the measure in teaspoons as a basis:

3 spoons of citric acid
5 spoons of baking soda
12 tablespoons flour

Flour can be safely replaced with potato starch - this will guarantee an even longer shelf life of the finished baking powder. And you can use mixed flour and starch, 6 tablespoons of each. Citric acid, which, as a rule, is in the form of grains, it is advisable to grind with a coffee grinder so that all the ingredients are in powder form.

So, remembering the main rule about perfectly dry dishes and components, let's start preparing the dough baking powder:

Pour flour into a dry jar, then soda, and lastly citric acid. Close the jar tightly and shake vigorously to evenly mix the ingredients. And as a result, we got 20 g of ready-made baking powder.

How to make baking powder at home

Now the main task of a good housewife is the correct use (take the right amount of powder only with a dry spoon) and storage (keep the container with the powder in a dry and dark room, and always with a tightly closed lid). If the above conditions are properly observed, homemade baking powder can be stored for more than a year. In addition, in contrast to industrial baking powder, baking powder, prepared by hand from common and reliable ingredients, eliminates the presence of any chemical additives that are used in production. And the cost of a homemade product is an order of magnitude less than a purchased one. On the face, though modest, but still saving the family budget.

Let your pastries delight you and your loved ones with splendor, beauty and excellent taste!

Few people know, but it is quite possible to make baking powder at home. To do this, you do not need a large number of ingredients, as well as a lot of free time.

Product General Information

Baking powder at home is made only if it is over, and there is no time to go to the store or just laziness. By the way, experienced chefs often prepare such a product for the future and store it in glass jars.

Before telling you about how to make baking powder at home, you should tell why such an ingredient is needed at all.

Baking powder is a substance that is used to give any food product splendor and friability. As a rule, it is added to the dough intended for baking. Thanks to this product, buns, pies, pies, cakes and other products become very fluffy and soft.

If you accidentally added a little more soda to the baking powder, then there is nothing wrong with that. However, in this case, we recommend that the dough contains either a fermented milk product or fruit acid (for example, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, sour cream, whey, buttermilk, fruit puree, etc.). Such ingredients will react with excess baking soda and the taste will not be felt in the baked goods.

Cooking method

How to make baking powder at home? First you need to prepare the container. As a container, it is better to use a dry and clean bowl. 12 g (or dessert spoons) of snow-white flour are poured into it. Such a product is added to the baking powder for the purpose of its convenient dosing. By the way, manufacturers often replace it with potato starch. This helps to increase the shelf life of the baking powder.

After the flour or starch is in the bowl, add the required amount of table soda and citric acid to them. After mixing all the components, a homogeneous free-flowing mixture of white color is obtained.

If you used a dessert spoon for laying out products, then homemade baking powder will last you a long time. It must be put in a dry glass jar, and then put away in a dark place.

If you are afraid that the baking powder will become raw due to the presence of flour, then you can put either a piece of sugar or a gauze bag filled with rice in a container with powder. This will contribute to the long storage of the product and the production of lush baking.

Now you know how to make baking powder at home. After obtaining a homogeneous powder, you no longer have to run to the store to get it. As soon as it is over, you can make it again, observing all the above proportions.

How to replace baking powder at home?

The method for preparing baking powder from baking soda, citric acid and ordinary flour has been presented above. The resulting mixture can be added to any baking dough. Such a powder perfectly replaces store-bought baking powder, and in some cases it far surpasses it. Moreover, it is much cheaper than the product sold in supermarkets.

But what if you do not have time to prepare such a mixture? How to replace baking powder at home? It's no secret that baking soda has the same qualities. But just adding it to the dough is not recommended. Otherwise, the finished baking will have a pronounced taste of soda. Therefore, before laying out the basis, it should be repaid. You can do this in different ways. Which ones, we will tell right now.

Ways to extinguish table soda

The most popular way to extinguish baking soda is to add 6% vinegar. This is done in the following way. The powder is placed in a large spoon (in the amount that the recipe provides), and then 5-6 drops of vinegar are added to it. After thoroughly mixing the components, they are laid out in the dough. In this case, a rather violent reaction should occur in the spoon.

Another popular way to quench soda is to use lemon juice. It is also added to food powder and mixed well.

In addition to vinegar and lemon juice, baking soda can be quenched with any other acidic products. For example, some cooks use kefir, sour cream, curdled milk, whey and other components for this purpose.

As for the baking powder, including home-made, it should not be extinguished. The powder is only spread in the dough and mixed well. Citric acid, which was added to such a mixture, combines with the liquid in the dough, thereby helping to extinguish the soda.

It should also be noted that baking powder, cooked at home or bought in a store, makes pastries not only fluffy and soft, but also quite loose. Therefore, this product is used more often than soda.

How much to use?

Now you know what replaces baking powder at home. Despite the fact that these products perform almost the same role, they are used in different quantities.

As a rule, about ½ dessert spoon of baking soda is added to one serving of standard baking dough. If you use more powder, then after heat treatment the base will become dark in color and will not have a very pleasant aftertaste.

As for the baking powder, due to the presence of such additional components as wheat flour and citric acid, it is added two or even three times more (about 1-1.5 dessert spoons). It is quite difficult to overdo it with this product, since it contains a lot of starch and a minimum of soda. Good luck!

The previous recipe lay with me for six months, because it needed baking powder, which I forgot to buy for a long time and stubbornly. Just put out the soda with vinegar, as you know, in this case I could not. The other day, baking powder was needed again, but it was not in the nearest stores. So I had to find a baking powder recipe. Although is it possible to use the term recipe in this case? It does not matter, the main thing is that it turned out to be easy to make.

Components
Baking soda - 4.8 g
Citric acid - 3.0g
Flour - 12.2g
These weight ratios are chosen so that the soda fully reacts with the acid and an unpleasant soapy aftertaste does not appear in the baking. Of course, it’s hard to measure everything down to a milligram at home, so I’ll allow myself to round the values ​​\u200b\u200band use a measuring spoon instead of a scale. It will turn out a little more soda, but this does not upset me, since my baking almost always contains products containing either lactic or fruit acids (kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, whey, buttermilk, honey, fruit and vegetable purees). These acids will react with the "excess soda", and it will not be felt.

Cooking
Pour 12 teaspoons of flour into a clean and completely dry jar. (I have a measuring spoon from a bread machine). Flour is added for the convenience of dispensing baking powder. Manufacturers sometimes use potato starch instead, thereby increasing the shelf life of the product. I emphasize once again that the jar must be dry, otherwise the subsequent components will react immediately, without getting into the dough.



Measure out 5 teaspoons of baking soda.

Add 3 teaspoons of citric acid.


Such a jar will last me about two weeks, so the baking powder will not have time to cake. If you plan to use it longer, put a piece of sugar in the jar to eliminate moisture. It is better to sign the jar.

How to use baking powder
Baking powder and soda are interchangeable
1 - 1.5 tsp baking powder \u003d 0.5 tsp soda.

Usually baking powder is mixed with flour. If flour is added several times, the baking powder is mixed with the last portion.

There are also recipes that indicate both soda and baking powder. It's not a mistake. Here, soda does not loosen, but alkalizes acidic foods (cottage cheese, honey).

In addition, there are recipes where it is proposed to use ammonium carbonate (sodium salt of ammonic acid). It can be replaced with soda. By the way, this salt is also used for the preparation of baking powder in an industrial way. Apparently it can be bought separately.

Since I am writing on such a topic, I will write about ways to extinguish soda.
First way (classic)
Soda is collected on the tip of a tablespoon. A couple of drops of acetic acid and a few milliliters of water are dripped. The reaction of the interaction of the salt of a weak acid with a strong acid begins, sodium acetate, water and carbon dioxide are released (which loosens). As soon as the evolution of gas has ended, add the contents of the spoon to the dough, stir quickly and bake or fry. You need to stir well, otherwise the product will rise unevenly. The question arises: why does the dough loosen if the reaction ended in a spoon? The fact is that this reaction is endothermic, that is, it goes with the consumption of heat. At some point, the mixture cools and the reaction stops. During heat treatment, the reaction resumes and goes to the end, loosening our dough.
Second way
Acid is added to the liquid, soda to the last portion of flour. All this is mixed, and in the oven. The reaction starts immediately in the test. The method is good in that soda and vinegar can be mixed well with the baking components in advance, and the product will rise evenly. Some point out that soda with acid is spent less to achieve the result. I wonder how much soda a person eats in a lifetime and is it worth saving on it?

In the end, I will still write this magic formula that lifts our pastries and mood (since I dug up the organics textbook with such difficulty).
NaHCO3 + CH3COOH = CH3COONа + H2O +CO2 - Q

And for the most patient, a photo of an investigative experiment conducted in my kitchen