What? What?! Baking Powder Contains…?!

Like many of you, I am always surprised where gluten, potatoes, and other ingredients are secreted in foods. Just like I scoff when mayonaise says it is low carb (of course it is, it is mostly eggs and oil!), I goggle at their inclusion in some foods, and the most recent unexpected ingredient that snuck up on me is in baking powder, which may contain wheat, corn, or potato starch. 

First, a disclaimer – Not All Baking Powder Contains Wheat or Potato. But, some does. 

So, let’s begin with a little chemistry. Baking Powder is a chemical leavener used for quick breads such as pancakes, scones, and coffee cakes. (We are so into coffee cakes right now.) Chemical leaveners, like baking powder, baking soda, baker’s ammonia, etc, are fairly recent replacements for yeast, eggs, and sourdough as leaveners.

In days of yore, if you wanted some lift, you had to plan ahead. Maybe you took your bowl of bread dough and placed it under an apple tree to try to capture wild yeast (yes, this was a thing), maybe you had a sourdough starter that you fed daily, or maybe you just beat some egg whites for air, but however you got it, it was not quick. Remember, there are no electric beaters in this scenario!

Oops! A little more chemistry here. Most of us know what acids are and where we might find them. They are in vinegar, buttermilk, and in citrus, for example. But, their opposite number is less famous – bases. Bases cancel out acids through a chemical reaction that releases a gas. (No gas jokes here, gas is not funny! Ever.) After all, vinegar by itself will just sit there until you add baking soda and set it off. Baking soda (a base) is inert until it meets an acid. Then, like a Disney princess meeting her One True Love, the fireworks begin. 

Baking Powder was discovered in 1843 by British chemist and husband Alfred Bird. His wife was allergic to eggs and yeast, and he wanted an option to allow her to be able to have bread again. (Sounds like our kind of guy! Thanks, Alfred!) This lead to a patent and a cascade of other chemists combining baking powders, culminating in the varieties we use today. There are a variety of possible ingredients to baking powder, but they are often “double acting.” This means that they have two components – bases (like good ol’ baking soda) that react to acidic ingredients (like buttermilk), and an acid.

Cream of Potato Soup – note the allergy list at the bottom.

Double acting? Let me ‘splain. So, when you add baking powder to your buttermilk pancakes, the baking soda will immediately get hitched to the buttermilk and bring forth gas babies. (Remember those baking soda and vinegar volcanoes? Same reaction.) Ever notice that your pancake batter rises a little before you put it on the griddle? But, wait! The baking powder’s work is not done yet; the second class of ingredients are activated by heat, which is why you see your pancakes rise up again as they cook. Hence, double acting – once by contact with an acidic ingredient in the bowl and again from contact with heat. 

So far, no gluten and no potato, right? Well, yes, but there is another ingredient in baking powder that needs to be considered – starch. Manufacturers add a dry starch to absorb moisture and add bulk to make it easier to measure. This starch is where you need to pay attention, because it can be derived from wheat, corn, or potato.

Now, manufacturers know that many people want to know if their product is gluten-free, and they kindly label it so. And, the top eight allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy) have to be listed on the label, courtesy of the FDA. But, potatoes are not listed, alas. 

No Potato, no Wheat. Safe and Sound!

This means that research was required to determine what baking powders are Boulangerie Friendly and which are not. When I learned this, I reached for my can of baking powder and was delighted to find it was labeled gluten-free and that the starch was corn. I wasn’t too surprised, it is put out by Clabber Girl, makers of corn starch. 

I want to emphasize that I have only researched these two baking powders, Clabber Girl Double Acting and Rumford Aluminum-Free, and there are many others. I am not saying these are the only two safe products to use, simply that I have researched them and I have found them satisfactory for both ingredients and quality. 

Two Boulangerie Friendly Baking Powders

If, for some reason, you cannot find a safe commercial baking powder, do not despair! It is easy to make your own, and you may well already have the ingredients in your pantry. Simply mix 2 parts Cream of Tartar with 1 part Baking Soda and use in place of baking powder. It may give you slightly different results than baking powders you have used in the past (cream of tartar will act immediately and so must you), but it will do the job, regardless! 

Happy Baking!

Marianne