The Magic Baking Powder

Yeasts (baking powder) are chemical substances that allow release of carbon dioxide and fluffiness to give a mass like traditional yeast fermentation processes.

It is called yeast, although sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is also used, because it allows up or weigh the mass -of Latin Levere which means levar or make ligero-.

In the late eighteenth century began to look for new ways to "weigh" the bread through faster than classical fermentation processes from baker's yeast.

Amelia Simmons, in 1796, published the book "American Cookery" in which she describes the use of potassium carbonate. As a basic or alkaline substance reacts with the acidic components of the masses generating carbon dioxide in a similar way to that occurring with yeasts process. It was the forerunner of chemical yeasts that appeared in the first half of the nineteenth century.

One of the first inventors of baking powder in 1847 was the English chemist Alfred Bird who founded the company Bird & Sons Ltd.

German pharmacologist August Oetker (He sounds to you, don´t you?) sold baking powder in Germany in 1891, but he did not patent the formula until 1903.

In 1869 the yeast as we use today were marketed. In 1889 the chemicals Wright and Rew developed "dual-action" in the baking powder. I'll explain later.

These "baking powder", yeast or chemical yeast, generate millions of CO2 gas bubbles that make cakes rise. Gas bubbles are released from the wet dough, heat the oven doled out and fleshes out the mass that traps them wherever they are.

BAKING SODA: simple substance NaHCO3. Call Baking soda in Anglo-Saxon countries.

bicarbonate + acid => CO2 + salt

The required acid may be any agent such as cream, sour cream, lemon, orange... we incorporated in the pie or cake.




YEAST CHEMICAL is the composite substance or mixture:


Bicarbonate + incorporated acid salts (calcium phosphate monohydrate, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate or sodium aluminum phosphate) = baking powder or ROYAL.

Baking powder is baking soda mixed with a dry acid. It is used when a recipe does not contain other acidic ingredients.

As soon as the powder is wetted, the two substances begin to dissolve into the liquid and react element including to produce carbon dioxide gas.

To prevent yeast react prematurely should be absolutely protected from atmospheric moisture and in doing so, kept in a tightly closed container.

You can test whether a yeast works dunking a small amount. If no bubbles appear is that has lost its power and does not serve to make the dough rise. Best throw it away and buy a new one !!

In many cases we want the yeast releases its gas into the furnace (oven), not when we mix the dough.

You should always first mix the wet ingredients, such as eggs, butter fat, cream or yogurt, lemon or orange ... and then add the sifted flour mixed with baking powder. So you get better results in your cakes or pies.

They also help the new yeast, called "dual action" but not on the package indicated. They work by releasing a portion of its gas when wet, but frees the rest to reach a high temperature in the oven (near 180 ° C).

In many recipes we use both types of powders: baking powder and baking (baking powder). Why is this done?

The biscuit or cake rises by the effect of yeast containing the appropiate acid and bicarbonate that can react with each other and release the gas proportions. The problem is if there is excess acidic ingredients, such as cream, which can disrupt the balance.

It is solved by adding a little baking soda to neutralize the excess acid.

If you want lots of recipes for cakes I recommend entering my page Martuka cooking recipes: Las recetas de Martuka.  These few:

• Mary shortbread cookies
• Orange cake with poppy seeds
• Yogurt cake (cake Oscar)
• Condensed Milk Sponge Cake
• Carrot cake and cinnamon
• Walnut sponge cake with icing
• Chocolate cake Coca-Cola (Black Lady)
• Molten chocolate cake
• Nesquik cake and Nutella
• Pumpkin cake, orange and cinnamon
• Pear and lime cake
• Butter cake and apple