Baking Powders I
Ingredients
Directions
Sift each ingredient separately to remove coarse pieces.
Mix sodium bicarbonate with starch, then add tartaric acid to the mixture.
For large quantities, use a machine to mix; for small amounts, use a mortar and sieve.
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
- Tartaric acid
- Reacts with sodium bicarbonate in the presence of moisture to release carbon dioxide gas for leavening.
- Sodium bicarbonate
- Supplies the alkaline base that reacts with the acid to produce carbon dioxide for rising.
- Starch
- Keeps the acid and base separated so they do not react prematurely in storage.
The step that matters
Mixing the acid with the base. Tartaric acid and sodium bicarbonate must be evenly distributed, since uneven mixing leaves pockets of unreacted acid or base that cause patchy rising and off flavors in baked goods.
“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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