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Did you know that you can make your own baking powder?! This is one of those baking ingredients that you just assume must be impossible to make yourself but it really is quite simple to make your own!
This is good news if you are wanting to make your beloved buttery drop biscuits only to realize you are out of this keep ingredient!
Of course, there are other reasons that you would want to make instead of buy baking powder…
Reasons to Make Baking Powder
You Ran Out
We’ve all been there! You were making waffles and mid-mixing you realized you are out of this much needed ingredient!
Allergen Free
Store bought includes cornstarch which will be an issue for those with corn allergies.
GMO Free
Assuming you use arrowroot or gmo free cornstarch, your homemade baking powder will be free of GMO’s!
Tin Free Taste
I’m not sure if that tin taste is from the aluminum or the metal container that store bought baking powder comes in but it doesn’t exist in homemade!
Aluminum Free
Yes, unlike my baking soda post, I can say that there IS aluminum in baking POWDER.
Hiding under the ingredient name: sodium aluminum sulfate; aluminum is in many baking powders.
Here we are trying to avoid aluminum cookware and yet we toss in aluminum with every muffin we bake.
In case you’ve never heard that aluminum is bad…. aluminum is a toxin.
It is generally considered not as toxic as some other substances like mercury however, Aluminum is more persistent, that is it accumulates over time.
Not to mention, who cares how toxic it is? I mean if it’s toxic then that’s enough of a reason to avoid it, who cares where it is on the toxic scale?
Aluminum is a toxin concern for bones because it competes with calcium for absorption and thus can lead to growth problems, which is of particular concern for infants and children.
Aluminum can also cause neurotoxicity and can alter the function of the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is what keeps bacteria and toxins from getting to the brain.
Lots of great reasons to make instead of buy baking powder! So scroll down to get the recipe!
If you do not want to whip up your own baking powder but would still like to avoid the aluminum, you can buy aluminum free baking powder.
Rumford and Bob’s Red Mill both make aluminum free baking powders.
Both of these baking powders do contain cornstarch but Rumford is GMO free.
Homemade Baking Powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. arrowroot /cornstarch (optional)
Makes 1 tbs. Use the same ratios to make larger batches
Directions:
Mix together and use.
You do not need to use the arrowroot/cornstarch if you will be using it immediately.
Arrowroot/cornstarch is only needed if it will be stored.
Note: Homemade baking powder is single-acting. This means you get a lift when you mix it into your batter but that’s the only time.
Most baking powders are now double-acting meaning you get that first lift and then another once it bakes.
This doesn’t mean the homemade baking powder doesn’t produce good results it just means that you can’t let your batter sit around before baking. Single-acting means bake immediately.
Great baking recipes:
Buttery Drop Biscuits
Coconut Oil Drop Biscuits
Cheddar Drop Biscuits
(yes, I have a thing for biscuits!)
Wow I had never even considered this , I know what brand I won't be buying next time. I'm not sure I even knew we were avoiding aluminum how did I miss that one?
I have been using Al free baking powder for as long as I can remember. Eating metal has just never appealed to me 🙂 I think its great you are making more people aware of this though, because it is not something you would normally think about. The only reason I knew is because I have OCD and so I read EVERYTHING on EVERY label before purchasing it. I noticed AlNa(SO4)2·12H2O on the label one day when I was shopping and so I started digging around and found a nicely labeled Aluminum Free baking powder by Rumford, which is what I have used ever since!
I just happened to read the ingredients of my baking powder today. Never expected people to put aluminium in such a simple, basic product…oh my god, I've been feeding my family aluminium! Thank you for the post and the recipe for making your own powder mix..the post also gave me the reassurance that I'm not overly paranoid..aluminium is a real worry and I wish more people are made aware of it.
Hi Brittany,
So why do they even add aluminum to baking powder in the first place?
the aluminum (in Sodium aluminum sulphate or sodium aluminum phosphate) is what makes baking powder double acting (rising once upon mixing and rising again upon baking) so aluminum free baking powder is single acting. You can buy double acting aluminum free baking powder which uses Monocalcium phosphate or Calcium acid phosphate to achieve the double rise.
Do you think I would be able to store this in my fridge or freezer without adding the cornstarch/ arrowroot?
You could I think… but why would you need to store baking powder in your fridge/freezer? Normally, it’s baking soda.
Thank you for explaining the difference between single acting and double acting baking powder and for clarifying that either arrowroot powder or cornstarch is only necessary when making baking powder ahead to store. This is new information for me and I really appreciate it.