Non-Aluminum Baking Powder – Why It’s Better

In order to give your cookies, cakes, muffins, quick breads, and biscuits volume and lightness, a key ingredient is baking powder.

This mixture is what’s called a leavening agent and it reacts with different elements, such as heat or liquid, to help lift your batters and doughs to new heights. 

There is much debate about what kind of baking powder is best: aluminum or non-aluminum baking powder? While aluminum baking powder gives you a bit more leeway in terms of preparing your batter or dough, it comes at the cost of the final flavor of your recipe. 

Since flavor is king in the baking world, you want to make sure that the ingredients you are using add to the final taste instead of taking away from it, or in some cases even ruining it. 

So, what is non-aluminum baking powder and why is it better than regular baking powder? This baking powder doesn’t contain acids made from aluminum, so it won’t leave a metallic aftertaste in your baked goods, though it is more time-sensitive since it starts to work as soon as you mix your dough. 

Read on to discover how baking powders work, the difference between non-aluminum baking powder and regular baking powder, why aluminum free baking powder is better, and how to substitute non-aluminum baking powder for regular baking powder. 

How Does Baking Powder Work? 

Before we get into the difference between non-aluminum baking powder and regular baking powder, we should probably understand how baking powders work in general.

You have likely seen labels for fast acting, slow acting, and double acting baking powder. But what does that mean?

Baking powder is a combination of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and a weak acid that is designed to react with different substances to produce a leavening, or rising action, in baked goods such as quick breads, cookies, cakes, biscuits, and cupcakes. 

Many baking powders combine this sodium bicarbonate with acidic compounds called sodium aluminum phosphate and sodium aluminum sulfate. These acidic compounds are made from aluminum and react with heat to create a rise in your baked goods. 

Since they don’t start working until they are heated, baking powders with aluminum aren’t quite as time-sensitive as those that don’t have any aluminum in them.

Other baking powders contain different types of weak acids that don’t come from aluminum. These baking powders react with liquids to start the rising process. That means that your dough or batter will start to bubble and rise as soon as you mix everything together. 

In order to prevent your baking from falling flat and ending up tough, you will want to get non-aluminum batters and doughs into the oven as quickly as possible after they are mixed together. 

Regular Baking Powder Vs Non-Aluminum Baking Powder

The main difference between non-aluminum baking powder and regular baking powder is that your typical baking powder has compounds called sodium aluminum phosphate and sodium aluminum sulfate, both of which can leave a metallic taste in your baking. 

The main difference you are likely to notice is in terms of flavor, especially if you are using baking powder in things like biscuits that don’t have a lot of other flavors to mask the aluminum taste.

However, there is another difference in terms of how these baking powders work. 

Non-aluminum baking powders tend to react to liquids. This reaction is what causes the rising action in your baking as the baking powder bubbles and lifts the batter. 

The main concern with this type of baking powder is that you want to go from mixing to oven ASAP since the bubbling process starts as soon as it touches the liquid.

If you wait too long to transfer your batter or dough to the oven, it can lose its rise and end up flat and tough. 

Baking powders that contain aluminum tend to react to heat, so there isn’t quite the same urgency to go from mixing the batter to getting it into the oven. Since it reacts to heat as opposed to liquid, regular baking powder with aluminum gives you a little more space and time to play with. 

That said, so long as you’re not planning on mixing your batter and letting it sit for hours, your best bet is going to be non-aluminum baking powder since it will give you a great rise, without the off-putting metallic taste that you can get from a regular baking powder. 

Why Is Non-Aluminum Baking Powder Better Than Regular Baking Powder? 

The main reason that non-aluminum baking powder is better than regular baking powder comes down to one thing: taste. And when we’re baking something delicious, taste is truly the only thing that really matters in the end. 

With aluminum baking powder, there is a risk that the metallic taste from the aluminum acids used to cause the leavening action will impact the final flavor of whatever it is that you’re baking. 

While you may not notice the metallic tang in rich dishes like chocolate cake, if you’re baking vanilla sponge, biscuits, or anything else that is more subtle in taste, you run the risk of overriding the delicate flavor with sharp metal. 

The main difference you’re going to run into when it comes to using non-aluminum baking powder is that you will have to get your batter or dough into the oven as soon as you possibly can. 

Since the leavening agent in non-aluminum baking powder starts working as soon as it is combined, you want to get whatever you are baking into the oven so that the rising action doesn’t start and end before you even begin the baking process. 

How To Substitute Non-Aluminum Baking Powder For Regular Baking Powder 

When it comes to substituting non-aluminum baking powder for regular baking powder, you don’t have to do anything differently in terms of measurements.

You can use aluminum free baking powder interchangeably with regular baking powder in a 1:1 ratio.

The major difference is that aluminum baking powder is heat-sensitive, while aluminum-free baking powder is liquid sensitive.

While regular baking powder won’t start the rising action until it is subjected to heat, aluminum-free baking powder starts rising once it is mixed into your dough. 

That means that if you are using non-aluminum baking powder you will want to get it into the oven as quickly as you can since the chemical reaction starts as soon as it is added to the dough or batter. 

If you wait too long between mixing your dough or batter and adding it to the oven, you may miss the rising period and end up with a flat and tough final product. 

How To Make Aluminum-Free Baking Powder

If you want to make your own non-aluminum baking powder right in the comfort of your own home, it’s quick and easy. You just need a few ingredients including baking soda, cream of tartar, and cornstarch. 

Since baking powder is just baking soda plus some sort of weak acid, you can use cream of tartar to get the same results as you would from a storebought non-aluminum baking powder. You want to make sure you include your cornstarch as a buffer. 

Ingredients

• 1 part baking soda
• 2 part cream of tartar
• 1 part cornstarch*

Directions

1. Combine all three ingredients together, making sure that you give them a good whisk. 
2. Store in an airtight container and use in a 1 to 1 ratio with baking powder in any recipe. 

* If you don’t have cornstarch you could also use rice starch, potato starch, arrowroot starch, or tapioca starch instead. 

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a way to improve the flavor of your home baking, then you will want to consider using aluminum-free baking powder.

Regular baking powders contain acidic compounds called sodium aluminum phosphate and sodium aluminum sulfate.

These compounds are designed to prevent the rising action of the baking powder from happening until the batter or dough reaches a hot temperature. However, this delayed rising action comes at a cost: a possibly metallic taste in your final product. 

Many bakers have shared their dismay at spending time pulling together the perfect buttery biscuit dough or subtle vanilla sponge cake only to have the final results spoiled by the metallic aftertaste of the aluminum in their baking powder.

If you want to preserve the flavor of your baked goods, try using non-aluminum baking powder. You’ll have to go from mixing your dough to the oven quickly since the rising action starts as soon as the baking powder hits liquid, but the final result is worth it. 

Have you ever made your own non-aluminum baking powder before? How did it go? Let us know how it worked for you in the comments.

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