Baking Powders
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the cream of tartar, baking soda, and cornstarch together.
Sift the mixture several times through a moderately fine sieve.
Store the baking powder in a well-corked bottle.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Cream of tartar
- Provides the acid that reacts with baking soda to release carbon dioxide for rising.
- Baking soda
- Supplies the alkali that reacts with the acid to produce gas, which leavens baked goods.
- Cornstarch
- Absorbs moisture and keeps the acid and alkali apart so the powder stays dry and stable in storage.
The step that matters
Sift the mixture several times. Thorough sifting spreads the acid and alkali evenly through the cornstarch, so every batch of dough rises uniformly instead of in uneven patches.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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