Baking powder is an essential component of many bakes. Using baking powder with a poor mix of ingredients, or a powder that has gone stale, can drastically hinder your bakes no matter the quality of your other ingredients or your recipe.
Many people may go about baking without a second thought as to what baking powder contains, and this is understandable given that it is a readymade product that is simply added to a recipe like sugar and flour. However, it pays to know what baking powder actually is and why you need it.
What is baking powder?
Baking powder is a kind of ingredient known as a leavening agent. Though we call it an ingredient, it is technically a combination of ingredients more than a single ingredient.
Baking powder is added to mixtures like those of cakes and biscuits, and it requires no preparation to utilise. You can open a newly bought packet of baking powder and add it straight away.
Baking powder needs to be used sparingly as too much can ruin a bake just as easily as adding too little.
What does baking powder contain?
Baking powders typically contain three simple ingredients:
- A weak acid such as cream of tartar
- An alkali in the form of bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda)
- A filler like cornflour or rice flour to hold the reactive ingredients
These three ingredients provide everything that baking powder needs. Due to the presence of moisture being the trigger for the reaction between acid and alkali, it is important that baking powder is stored out of humidity and kept dry.
What can baking powder be used for?
Baking powder is used in baked goods mixtures. It is known as a leavening agent because its role in a recipe is to provide the air bubbles needed to ‘lighten’ a mixture as it bakes.
As the ingredients of the baking powder react, they create carbon dioxide gas, which gently adds bubbles to the mixture and gives it the pockets of air that make the texture of cakes fluffier and makes many bakes lighter.
Not using baking powder in recipes that call for it will leave bakes like cakes flat and lacking texture. A bakery analysing these products to make the best goods it can, would find that these products do not have adequate cells to make them appealing to eat.
Why is it important to test the quality of baking powder?
Baking powder that has lost its reactive capabilities is useless, as it will not create gas when added to a mixture and your bakes will be flat. This wastes both time and ingredients.
Baking powder can be tested by using a minute amount with water to see if it fizzes and bubbles. If the reaction can clearly be seen, then your baking powder is good to use.
To find out more about analysing baking quality and the importance of good ingredients, contact us today.