Baking powder plays a significant role in establishing the structure and texture of manybaked goods—often working in tandem withbaking soda, it conducts a feat of alchemy to yield light, fluffy cakes and tender pastries. Simply, without these leaveners,many cookies would fall flat andcake layers would be dense and stodgy. But baking powder and soda are not interchangeable, and if you’re out of one, the other won’t act as a direct substitute (though it can be part of the solution—more on that below).
If you find yourself at the bottom of the jar of baking powder (or the can on your shelf iswell past itsexpiration date), we’ve got a fewbaking powder substitutes to reach for in times of cookie crisis. But first, let’s get the science out of the way:
What’s the difference between baking powder andbaking soda?
Baking powder andbaking soda are bothchemical leavening agents. Much likeyeast helps bread rise byfermentation, these leaveners give cakes, cookies, and otherbaked goods lift and airiness. Unlike yeast, they don’t contribute any flavor to the final product.
When added to dough or batter,chemical leaveners trigger the release ofcarbon dioxide gas, creating hundreds of littleair bubbles that yield light and fluffybaked goods. “Bothbaking soda and baking powder producecarbon dioxide through an acid-base reaction,” writes Epi contributor Mari Uyehara in herdeep dive onbaking soda. But that’s where the similarities end.
Baking soda is a base, with an alkaline pH of 8.5. To producecarbon dioxide, it needs to react with an acid. That acid can come from any number of places. “In early days, that often meantsour milk,” Uyehara notes; today, bakers often rely onacidic ingredients likebuttermilk, yogurt,white vinegar, brown sugar, and chocolate to link up withbaking soda and create a chemical reaction. Once combined with an acid,baking soda works quickly to producecarbon dioxide and give your batter a boost.
Baking powder, on the other hand, is a complete leavening system, composed of a base (baking soda), an acidic agent (likecream of tartar), and a stabilizer (likecornstarch), which prevents the two from reacting until the desired moment. Most brands of baking powder you’ll spot ongrocery store shelves have another feature,for better or for worse: they’re double-acting, meaning that the chemical reaction happens twice. The first reaction happens when thedry ingredients meet thewet ingredients. The seconds happens thanks to the heat of the oven. This prolonged process makes baking powder a consistent, reliable leavener for any number of baking projects, like cakes, cookies, andquick breads.
An equal volume of baking powder has about a quarter of the strength ofbaking soda, making its reactions much slower and easier to control. So you can’t interchange baking powder forbaking soda or vice versa. But if you’re out of baking powder, a few smart trades will help you achievenicely-domed cupcakes orethereally fluffy scones—andbaking sodais part of the formula to substitution success.
TheBest Baking Powder Substitutes
Homemade Baking Powder
Since we already know the chemical makeup of baking powder (acid + base + stabilizer), you can use ingredients in the pantry to make your own blend.Cream of tartar is the secret agent that helps baking powder work; you’ve probably seen it in recipes forangel food cake,snickerdoodles, andmeringue.Cream of tartar, a.k.a. potassium bitartrate, is a powdered acid. You can pair it withbaking soda (a base) andcornstarch (a stabilizer) to yield a similar reaction as baking powder.
