Written by Natalie of Gluten A Go Go.

Making beautiful and flavorful food is the goal of every baker and cook. For baked goods that involves creating carbon dioxide, which is odorless and also colorless. In your kitchen you’ll find carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages, candy, beer or wine and in your breads or cookies. Carbon dioxide is what makes the pockets that give our baked goods their light and airy texture.

To get carbon dioxide into your baked goods you need to use a leavening agent. These agents can be chemical or natural in nature. The common chemical agents are cream of tartar, baking powder and baking soda.

The more uncommon ones are baker’s ammonia (ammonium bicarbonate) and potassium bicarbonate or potash.* These chemical leaveners react to acids to create carbon dioxide, while baker’s yeast creates does it by fermenting the sugars found within the dough.

For the gluten free baker, some tweaking is needed for baking most recipes. For not only will you need to change the flours and some way to hold the food together, but you’ll need to add a little extra leavening to get your baked goods to rise the way they should.

Your kitchen is a laboratory of wonderful sights, aromas and flavor. These common chemical leavenings and yeasts are your aids in the creation and pursuit of delicious food.

The Chemicals

Baking Powder – (Sodium bicarbonate, a combination of low and high temperature acid salts [i.e. potassium hydrogen tartrate] and starch) It is typically used to create carbon dioxide in muffins, cakes, biscuits and scones. Baking powder can be found in single acting or double acting versions. The single acting version begins reacting as soon as it comes into contact with moisture, so you will need to get your baked goods into the oven quickly. The double acting baking powders have both a fast reacting acid and a slower reacting acid, which provides a second rise when the baked goods are in the oven.

Shelf Life:

Once open, baking powder has a shelf life of 3 to 6 months, although there should be an expiration date stamped on the package. If you aren’t sure if your baking powder is still active, add 1 tsp/5 ml to 1/3 cup/80 ml of hot water. If it foams, your baking powder is still active.

Gluten Free Tips:

Increase the amount of baking powder called for by ¼ to ½. Be cautious the first time you increase the amount of baking powder called for in a recipe, as too much baking powder can cause the baked goods to become bitter. Reduce the amount of batter in a pan or muffin cup to allow for the increased production of carbon dioxide.

Substitutions:

- Baking Powder rather than Baking Soda: 2 – 3 tsp/10 – 15 ml baking powder to 1 tsp/5 ml baking soda

- Cream of Tartar & Baking Soda – For 1 tsp/5 ml baking powder substitute ½ tsp cream of tartar and ¼ tsp baking soda.

- Make Your Own Baking Powder: 2 tsp/10 ml cream of tartar & 1 tsp/5 ml baking soda & 1 tsp/5 ml corn starch/corn flour or another starch. The starch is there to absorb any excess moisture. This will make the equivalent of a single acting baking powder. There isn’t an easily created substitute for double acting baking powder.

Baking Soda (Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate) - It has a slightly salty and alkaline flavor. It begins to rise as soon as it comes into contact with an acidic ingredient, such as buttermilk, honey, chocolate, cream of tartar, etc. Bake your recipes with baking soda as quickly as possible since the reaction time of baking soda with an acid is so quick.

Shelf Life:

There really isn’t a shelf life on baking soda. However, if you want to see if it’s still good and have a little fun, place 1 teaspoon/5 ml of baking soda in a tall glass and add white vinegar. You will have loads of foam and lots of fun. Make sure to do this in a location that you don’t mind getting messy.

Gluten Free Tips:

Increase the amount of baking soda used in your recipe, by ¼ to ½ the amount. Be cautious the first time you do this, as too much baking soda can cause your baked goods to taste soapy.

Substitutions:

There isn’t really a substitute for baking soda, which is 4 times stronger than baking powder. If you attempt to use baking powder instead, be aware that the large amount will affect the flavor of your baked goods. Plus, you need to consider what possible acidic ingredients you have in the recipe and add or subtract ingredients to neutralize the new flavor added by the large amount of baking powder. For example, replace the acidic liquids like buttermilk with milk.

Cream of Tartar (potassium hydrogen tartrate) – It is a crystalline byproduct of winemaking. Primarily used to stabilize egg whites in a recipe, it can be used along with baking soda as a replacement for baking powder.

Shelf Life:

Indeterminate length of time.

Gluten Free Tips:

Increase the amount of baking soda used in your recipe, by ¼ to ½ the amount. Be cautious the first time you do this, as too much baking soda can cause your baked goods to taste soapy.

Substitutions:

Lemon juice or White Vinegar – Same amount or up to twice as much. Using more than the same amount can cause other problems with your recipe, i.e. coarser grain, shrinkage.

The Acids

Buttermilk (chaas, chaach)- Is the liquid left behind after making butter, but it can also refer to fermented milk drinks. These beverages are higher in acidity and will create carbon dioxide when added to recipe with baking soda, such as pancakes, breads and cakes.

Other Acids – Honey, Yogurt, Chocolate and more, will also create carbon dioxide.

Gluten Free Tips:

Add an additional 1/8/2 ml to ¼ tsp/5 ml of the leavening to your recipe.

Substitutions:

Sour Milk or Non Dairy Milk – 1 cup/137 ml of milk or non dairy milk + 1 Tb/15 ml vinegar or lemon juice (any nondairy milk can be used, i.e. coconut, almond, cashew, sesame, etc.)

And the Yeast

Baker's yeast (typically Saccharomyces cerevisiae) – Strains of yeast that are used as leavening in bread and other baked goods. It creates carbon dioxide and ethanol from the sugars in the dough. In a recipe, using potatoes, eggs and sugar feeds the yeast and help it to grow, while salt and fats can slow down the growth of the yeast. For the home cook, you will typically find the rapid rise yeast or bread machine yeast, instant dry yeast, and active dry yeast. Another form found in some areas is cake yeast.

Active dry yeast – This is the most common form of yeast. The yeast will keep indefinitely in the freezer and a few months at room temperature or in the refrigerator. This yeast needs to be rehydrated or proofed before using in a bread recipe. Proof the yeast in ¼ cup of warm water (110 – 115 deg F/48 - 54 deg C).

Instant yeast – It is a rapidly rising yeast that can be added directly to dry ingredients and doesn’t need to be proofed, although you can if it works better for the recipe. This yeast works best when the liquids in the recipe are heated to 120 – 130 degree F/48 - 54 deg C).

Rapid-rise yeast – This yeast works quickly and is a variety of instant yeast. This is the same as packages of bread machine yeast. This yeast works best when the liquids are heated to 120 – 130 deg F/48 - 54 deg C). You can also proof this yeast if it works out better for your recipe.

Shelf Life:

Each yeast package will have an expiration date printed on it. To find out if your yeast is still active, place it in a container with 1/3 cup/370 ml of warm water and 1 tsp/5 ml of sugar. Allow it to stand for 2 to 3 minutes. If it begins to bubble then the yeast is still alive.

Gluten Free Tips:

- For most bread recipes use half as much to double the amount of yeast
- Add the salt after there is at least half of the dry ingredients mixed into the wet ingredients.
- If you are using instant dry yeast, proof the yeast before adding into the other ingredients.
- Add a 1 tsp/5 ml sugar to the container when you proof the yeast
- Try different varieties of yeast, if you are having trouble with your bread rising
- Once you mix your bread, shape it and allow it to rise and then bake.

Substitutions:

- You can use a sourdough bread recipe to get a different strain of yeast
- Make a quick bread that uses a chemical leavening agent.

Sourdough – It is a fermented mixture that develops from the wild yeasts found when you mix flour and water together. To help your cultures flourish, use unbleached and unbromated flours, plus whole meal flours that still have their bran. The mixture will need to be fed on a regular basis, by removing some of the starter and replacing it.

Shelf Life:
When you aren’t using the sourdough starter, store it in your refrigerator. If you are feeding it regularly there is no end to the length of time that your starter can live. If you aren’t going to be using your starter for a long time, then you can dry it and then place it in the freezer. Then you can revive it so you can start using it again. See how to dry your starter and then how to revive it at Breadtopia.

For More Reading:

• A Comparison of Leavening Agents by David Manthey; © 2002.
http://www.orbitals.com/self/leaven/leaven.pdf
• The History of Bread Yeast, BBC, 2 August 2004
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2791820
• Buttermilk, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttermilk
• Cream of Tartar, OChef
http://www.ochef.com/933.htm
• Baking Soda, Joy of Baking
http://www.joyofbaking.com/bakingsoda.html
• Chemical Leaveners, Lallemand Baking Update, Vol 1, No.l 12
http://www.lallemand.com/BakerYeastNA/eng/PDFs/LBU%20PDF%20FILES/1_12CHE...
• Sourdough, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough
• Troubleshooting, Baking911
http://www.baking911.com/