Ready to use

Fine white powder measured into a small bowl, ready to be added to a recipe.

Shows the exact form a cook encounters — a fine, loose, bright-white powder — making it immediately identifiable at the point of use.

Baking

Baking Powder

All-in-one leavener for fluffy cakes, pancakes, and biscuits

A complete leavening agent that lifts cakes, pancakes, and biscuits without any added acid. Keep it bone-dry and airtight, and replace it once it loses its fizz.

Baking powder is a complete chemical leavener — a premixed blend of an alkali (baking soda), one or more acids, and a starch buffer — that produces carbon-dioxide bubbles to make batters rise. Because the acid is built in, it needs only moisture and heat, not an added acidic ingredient. Most modern powders are 'double-acting': they release some gas when wet and more in the oven's heat, giving reliable lift to cakes, muffins, and quick breads.

Measured in: g
Storage: Airtight

Find it in

Baking Aisle

Types & varieties

Double-acting baking powder

The standard; reacts in two stages for reliable lift.

Single-acting baking powder

Reacts only when wet; bake immediately (less common).

Aluminum-free baking powder

Avoids the faint metallic note some detect.

Cream of Tartar

Acidic powder that stabilizes whipped egg whites and stops sugar crystallizing; pair with baking soda to improvise baking powder.

How to use

Whisk it into dry ingredients so it distributes evenly. Use roughly 1–1.25 tsp per cup of flour. Too much tastes bitter and can cause batter to rise then collapse. Unlike baking soda, it doesn't need an acidic ingredient in the recipe.

Cakes, cupcakes, and muffins
Pancakes and waffles
Biscuits and scones
Quick breads (banana, cornbread)

How to store

Keep it tightly sealed and away from moisture — humidity activates and spends it. Test potency by stirring a teaspoon into hot water; it should fizz vigorously.

Common uses

Cakes and cupcakesMuffins and quick breadsPancakes and wafflesBiscuits and sconesCornbreadBattered and fried coatingsCookies (for cakier texture)

Tips & pitfalls

Test freshness: a teaspoon in hot water should bubble briskly.
Use about 1 tsp per cup of flour — more turns batter bitter.
Make a substitute with 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar per teaspoon.
Whisk into dry ingredients first so it spreads evenly.