Use of baking powder

[Corzhens]

Pardon me for my ignorance but let me ask you, what exactly is baking powder for? When we make bread, can we not make bread without the baking powder? I sometimes wonder how those people in the past could bake using the earthen oven when there was no baking powder and no yeast either. Is that why the unleavened bread was mentioned in the Bible because of the absence of baking powder and yeast. I am curious of this baking powder because I am preparing myself in my experimental baking project soon.

 

[Roxanne G.]

Hi! Two , well, three things... Baking Soda and Baking Powder in baking have to do with acid. Baking Soda reacts with an acid in a recipe (acids like: applesauce, buttermilk,brown sugar, molasses,citrus or vinegar, cocoa powder) really fast as soon as it gets wet and baked good rise quickly. Pancakes... Baking Powder has two acids that react to getting wet and hot. So they are good for slower rising baked goods. The third thing - there are naturally occurring yeasts in the air. Used correctly, they can be used to make a starter for bread. That kind of yeast has been used for thousands of years. Using the correct amounts of all three leavening agents is really important.

I don't know any recipes for bread that don't use leavening of some kind. Even sprouted grain breads. But I do know that you don't need it to make cookies - just the right ratio of flour to fat to liquid.

 

[Winterybella]

Well I am very grateful for the education that you have provided @Roxanne G. I still don't know I understand it completely but what the recipe calls for I use. The other day I wanted to make a bread and the recently bought yeast did not pass the foaming test so I ended up throwing it out. The baking powder, baking and yeast are quite perplexing if you ask me.