Thursday, August 20, 2009
make your own baking powder
To make your own baking powder – some say with fewer metallic undertones than the commercial stuff – mix one part baking soda to one part cornstarch and two parts cream of tartar.
For example: 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar + 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch = 1 teaspoon homemade baking powder.
[Updated 9/2/10 with this equation for clarity]
A recipe I need to remember the next time I forget to buy some when we’re out.
What is the role of the corn starch here? I’ve always just done one part baking soda to two parts cream of tartar (I never buy baking powder). I might try it with corn starch next time–I hadn’t ever heard this.
Wow, thanks for the tip! So easy. No reason to buy the pre-fab stuff. I just learned about the aluminum in baking powder recently.
@Elizabeth
The addition of starch is to help keep the mixture dry, and therefore prevent the chemical reaction from taking place prematurely (Only really matters if you are making a larger batch to store for later use). It also adds some extra bulk to the mixture making it easier to get the correct quantities.
Oh, now THERE’s a great tip.
Thanks so much, Deb!!
Is there a USE BY recommendation for homemade baking powder? (6 months?) Is there a way to test if the baking powder you have is still functioning?
I’ve heard that it is important to use baking powder without aluminum for making your own crackers…I will have to give this a go, as unfortunately I had just bought a container of the usual baking powder, and alas, it has aluminum in it…
Worse than the presence of aluminum, all the aluminum-free baking powder I have ever purchased has a really off taste. This does not. Thanks for a new substitute!
oh this is wonderful to know! I live in France and get my family to send a jar of baking powder once in a while, but it would be nice to be able to make my own. Now to find some cream of tartar…
Hi There
Great overall site! Can you tell me how to eliminate spam on mine?
[...] Once again, it is not you but your baking powder sabotaging your awesome kitchen prowess. That slightly bitter, kinda “tinny” flavor you often experience when biting into a muffin, biscuit or scone is the result of using a baking powder in high quantities — as is needed for these quick-rise treats — with aluminum in it. Fortunately, aluminum-free brands such as Rumford or Bob’s Red Mill are easy to find, and are no more expensive. Or, you can just go rogue and make your own. [...]
[...] Once again, it is not you but your baking powder sabotaging your awesome kitchen prowess. That slightly bitter, kinda “tinny” flavor you often experience when biting into a muffin, biscuit or scone is the result of using a baking powder in high quantities — as is needed for these quick-rise treats — with aluminum in it. Fortunately, aluminum-free brands such as Rumford or Bob’s Red Mill are easy to find, and are no more expensive. Or, you can just go rogue and make your own. [...]
I have to make cupcakes and I don’t have any cream of tartar. It didn’t help much.
Thank you, Deb, SO much for sharing these “Make Your Own” recipes. Nice to know that commonly purchased ‘I know I need this but I don’t know why’ mixtures are made from proportions of simple kitchen shelf ingredients. Going rogue…like the sound of that!