Make Your Own Baking Powder
I was researching shelf life and storage methods for some baking ingredients and came across this. You may think…why do I need to store baking ingredients? Well…you may not. But if you plan to make biscuits (one of the first things to come to mind for a food that can be made quickly and that is filling) or pancakes or anything, you do need a leavening agent. Breads, cornbread, anything like that.
Baking Powder
I didn’t actually know you could make your own baking powder! Cream of tartar and baking soda are both cheap and have a basically unlimited shelf life if stored properly. Baking powder itself only stays good for about a year *in ideal conditions*. Which means if it’s opened, if there is any moisture, extreme heat, anything like that, it’s not going to even last that long. What I was really searching for is if i should empty the cardboard boxes into Mylar like I did some other things. After reading this, I’m going to just increase baking soda stores and start getting more cream of tartar.
As a side note, cream of tartar is also potassium. I’ve used it a lot when trying to raise my potassium levels. It can be used to help replenish electrolytes (you want to try to balance it with calcium, magnesium and sodium) for someone experiencing low potassium or electrolyte imbalance due to illness or dehydration. It’s not the best potassium you can take (mostly because it can cause gastric upset) but it’s still a very good use for it, so it’s a really good thing to add to your preps.
PRO TIP:
Alternate Version: add lots of cream of tartar to your preps. It’s a form of potassium which can be used to replenish electrolytes and can also be used to make your own baking powder, which is necessary for biscuits and pancakes and stuff.
did I miss something here. like how to make baking powder
Interesting…what would the correct proportions be?
All the recipes I’m finding are 2 parts cream of tarter/potassium tartrate, 1 part baking soda/sodium bicarbonate, with another 1 part cornstarch or arrowroot powder (probably used to absorb a little moisture and keep it from caking) being optional.
@Spice, maybe you should have written this article.
It’s my fault it was included as a graphic but for some reason the graphic didn’t work. I’ll remake the graphic when I get a chance, Becca had the information included there was a technical issue. Sorry about that!
Sourdough is another way to leaven and may be better for us because the wheat is fermented. We are rediscovering the benefits of fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, these days.