Baking Powder - Make Your Own

Yes, I know it is a very common ingredient, and is certainly not very expensive, so why make your own?

One reason, all of the ingredients that go into it have myriad other uses, so why buy four things when you can buy three?

Another reason is that you only have to make as much as you need, and if you just want to do that, you then only need two ingredients.

The thing to know is what the differences are between baking powder and baking soda.  Baking soda reacts to moisture and acidity and produces carbon dioxide, which makes it an effective leavening agent.  Baking powder is baking soda with an acidic element added already.  The choice of which one to use in your recipe is dependent entirely upon the acidity of your ingredients, and most breads are not acidic at all.

A very basic baking powder formula is:  1 teaspoon baking soda + 2 teaspoons cream of tartar = 1 tablespoon of baking powder.   You will need to use this pretty quickly, as moisture in the air will cause the two ingredients to begin reacting almost immediately, albeit rather slowly.

If you want to make some to store for a bit, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the mix, which will act as a desiccant powerful enough to keep the reaction quiet, so long as you store the mixture in a relatively airtight container.

So making stuff for long term storage, think of how much you want to make.  Take that number and divide it by four.  For example, lets say you want to make 1 cup of baking powder.   In that case, the recipe is:

1/2 cup cream of tartar
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup cornstarch

I would run them through a sift to mix them well.

Put them in a jar and shelve :)