What is Baking powder?
[[Image:Backpulver.jpg|thumb|300px|Baking powder]] '''Baking powder''' is a dry [[chemical]] [[leavening agent]] used to make [[baking|baked foods]] lighter and less [[wikt:dense|dense]]. Baking powder works by making a [[reaction]] between an [[acid]] and a [[Base (chemistry)|base]]. This produces [[carbon dioxide]] bubbles to make the mixture light. Baking powder was invented by the English chemist [[Alfred Bird]] (1811–1878) in 1843. It is used when the food should not [[taste]] of [[yeast]],<ref>{{cite book | last=Matz | first=Samuel A. | title=Bakery Technology and Engineering | edition=3 | year=1992 | page=54 | publisher=Springer | isbn=9780442308551 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rU1wQotD3jIC&pg=PA54 | access-date=2009-08-12}}</ref> or when the mixture is not [[elastic]] enough to hold bubbles for very long.<ref>{{cite book | last=McGee| first=Harold | title=On Food and Cooking | edition=revised | year=2004 | page=533 | publisher=Scribner-Simon & Schuster | isbn=9781416556374 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iX05JaZXRz0C&pg=PA533 | access-date=2009-08-12}}</ref> But sometimes, it has a metallic taste.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nast|first=Condé|date=2015-08-11|title=The Mysteries of Aluminum-Free Baking Powder|url=https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/why-aluminum-free-baking-powder-is-better-article|access-date=2021-08-07|website=Epicurious|language=en-US}}</ref> Because carbon dioxide is made faster by baking powder than yeast, breads made with it are called [[quick bread]]s. Most baking powders are made up of an [[alkaline]] (usually [[baking soda]]), one or two [[acid salt]]s, and a [[starch]] ([[cornstarch]] or sometimes [[potato]] starch). Baking soda is where the carbon dioxide comes from,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lallemand.com/BakerYeastNA/eng/PDFs/LBU%20PDF%20FILES/1_12CHEM.PDF |title=Chemical Leaveners, Lallemand Baking Update, Vol. 1 No. 12, 1996 |access-date=2009-03-05 |publisher=Lallemand Inc. |archive-date=2006-10-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014185015/