Make Your Own Baking Powder

So, you’ve had a craving for something sweet and want to whip up a tasty treat at home. Only problem is you’ve just discovered that you’ve run out of Baking Powder!


While you might be tempted to skip it out of your recipe altogether, this humble ingredient actually plays an essential part in many bakes. Not only does baking powder help a bake rise properly, but it’s also sometimes crucial for flavour, texture and to achieve the perfect golden-brown finish. You’ll find baking powder is featured in almost every kind of recipe – whether that’s a traditional sponge cake or some quick and easy bread rolls – and that it works by creating carbon dioxide bubbles which leaven the dough/batter.

Reckon you can just swap out baking powder for its close cousin bicarbonate of soda? While both are labelled as rising agents, baking powder differs from bicarbonate of soda as it is typically double acting. This means it doesn’t require an additional acidic ingredient (whether that’s buttermilk or lemon juice) in order for it to react and make your mix rise.

If you’ve disappointingly found an empty packet at the back of your cupboard, you might be wondering if it’s possible to make your own Baking Powder The answer to that is yes! Baking powder is typically created out of three ingredients which most keen bakers tend to have hanging around their kitchens. These are:

·       Bicarbonate of Soda
·       Cream of Tartar 
·       Cornflour

While the Bicarbonate of Soda (an alkaline) and Cream of Tartar (an acid) will react with each other when baked in a batter, the cornflour is simply there to stop them from reacting when the powder is being stored. If you’re going to use your homemade Baking Powder straight away though, you can skip adding the cornflour.

If you’re keen to learn how to make your own baking powder you can use immediately, we’ve got the perfect recipe which contains just two ingredients! Use it to help leaven bread without the need of yeast or to achieve the perfect fluffy consistency in all your cakes, cookies and muffins.
 
The formula for our homemade baking powder recipe couldn’t be easier to follow. For every teaspoon of Baking Powder your chosen baking recipe requires, simply combine ¼ of a teaspoon of  Bicarbonate of Soda with ½ a teaspoon of Cream of Tartar. 

If you want to make a big batch of homemade baking powder which you can use time and time again, mix one part bicarbonate of soda and one part cornflour with two parts cream of tartar. You can then store this in a box in your cupboard and use it whenever you have a craving for your favourite baked goods!

For more tips and tricks, check out our handy guides such as How to Make Self-Raising Flour and How to Use Food Colouring in Baking. A little knowledge makes a big difference!