How it works: baking soda is a base. When it meets an acid, like buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice or vinegar, it fizzes and makes carbon dioxide bubbles that make dough rise.
Home Prep · Home Prep: grow and make course
Make baking powder (and know baking soda)
Baking soda and baking powder both make bread and pancakes rise by making tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. If you rungame trail A narrow path worn through grass or brush by animals using it over and over. A trap goes on a trail an animal already uses. out of baking powder, you can make it from baking soda and cream of tartarcream of tartar A white, sour-tasting powder left over from winemaking. It is the acid in most baking powder., two things that keep for years in a pantry.
Why this matters
Baking powder is one of the first things to run out in a pantry, and it loses strength with age. Knowing how to make it means you can still bake bread, biscuits and pancakes.
Understanding how soda and acid work also helps you fix recipes and use what you have.
What you need
- Baking soda and cream of tartar, measuring spoons.
One minute.
Step by step
The bubbles from baking powder make biscuits rise Baking powder is baking soda with the acid already mixed in (usually cream of tartar) plus a little cornstarch to keep it dry. It only needs water to work.
To make 1 teaspoon of baking powder: mix 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda with 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar. That is 1 part soda to 2 parts cream of tartar.
Mix it right before you use it. Homemade baking powder has no cornstarch to keep it dry, so it starts reacting with moisture in the air.
Store-bought baking powder is "double actingdouble acting Baking powder that bubbles twice: once when it gets wet, and again in the oven's heat.": it bubbles once when wet and again in the oven heat. Homemade only bubbles once, so get the dough into the oven quickly.
Do not just add more baking soda for more rise. Too much soda without enough acid tastes bitter and metallic.
Test old baking powder: stir a teaspoon into hot water. If it fizzes hard, it is still good. Test baking soda with a splash of vinegar.
For a prepper pantry, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, yeast, flour and oil keep for a long time in airtight containers and let you bake almost anything.
Tips from survival instructors
- Write the date on baking powder when you open it, and test it every few months.
- Buttermilk, yogurt or a spoon of vinegar in milk gives baking soda the acid it needs.
Common mistakes
- Making a big batch ahead. The fix: mix only what you need, right before using.
- Adding extra soda for more rise. The fix: too much tastes bitter; follow the ratio.
- Waiting to bake after mixing. The fix: get it in the oven quickly.
Practice it safely
Make a small batch of pancakes with store baking powder and another with homemade. Compare how high they rise.
Quick check
Baking soda needs what to make bubbles?
- An acid like buttermilk or lemon juice
- Salt
- Cold water only
Show the answer
An acid like buttermilk or lemon juice
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Sources
Photo credits
Photo: larryjh1234, CC BY 2.0, source