Out of Baking powder, one case
Can you substitute yeast for baking powder?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Baking soda + cream of tartar
Per 1 tsp of baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar
No, not in the same recipe. Yeast raises a kneaded dough slowly, over an hour or more, and a cake, muffin, cookie or pancake batter written for baking powder has neither the time nor the structure to hold that rise. If you are out of baking powder, use ¼ teaspoon baking soda plus ½ teaspoon cream of tartar per teaspoon of baking powder. Nutritional yeast does not raise anything.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Whisk both into the flour and get the batter into the oven as soon as it is mixed. This blend fizzes once, when it gets wet.
- Best for —
- cakes and cupcakes
One casethe full baking powder card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tsp baking powder | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baking soda + cream of tartarcakes and cupcakes | ¼ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp cream of tartarTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Baking soda + vinegar or lemon juicepancakes and waffles | ¼ tsp baking soda + 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juiceTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Self-rising flourbiscuits | 1 cup per cup of flourYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Whipped egg whitespancakes and waffles | 2 whitesYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Active dry or instant yeast | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
| Not a swap | Nutritional yeast | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Baking soda + cream of tartar
no change
This is baking powder made at home: the base and a dry acid. It goes in with the dry ingredients and changes nothing else in the recipe.
- Best for
- cakes and cupcakes, cookies and biscuits, any recipe, sweet or savory
- Prep
- Whisk both into the flour and get the batter into the oven as soon as it is mixed. This blend fizzes once, when it gets wet.
- Where it fails
- Batters that sit before baking, such as pancake batter mixed ahead: the lift is spent before it reaches the heat.
Baking soda + vinegar or lemon juice
no change with vinegar; a faint lemon note with lemon juice
The same reaction with a liquid acid from the cupboard. White vinegar leaves no flavor once baked.
- Best for
- pancakes and waffles, muffins and quick breads, cakes with other strong flavors
- Prep
- Mix the soda into the dry ingredients and the acid into the wet. Take 1 tbsp of another liquid out of the recipe for each tablespoon of acid, and bake at once.
- Where it fails
- Stiff cookie doughs with almost no liquid to remove.
Self-rising flour
no change
Flour with baking powder and salt already mixed in, about 1 ½ tsp of baking powder per cup. Swap it for the recipe's all-purpose flour.
- Best for
- biscuits, pancakes, simple cakes and quick breads
- Prep
- Replace the all-purpose flour cup for cup and leave out the baking powder and the salt.
- Where it fails
- Recipes that use much more or much less than 1 ½ tsp of baking powder per cup of flour: the rise will be off.
Whipped egg whites
no change; a lighter, more open crumb
Air beaten into egg whites lifts a batter with no chemical at all. It works only in thin batters you can fold.
- Best for
- pancakes and waffles, sponge-style cakes
- Prep
- Use the eggs the recipe already calls for where you can: separate them, whip the whites to soft peaks and fold them in at the very end.
- Where it fails
- Cookies, biscuits and thick batters, where folding knocks the air out.
Active dry or instant yeast
bready and slightly fermented
Yeast is alive. It feeds on the sugars in a dough and gives off gas slowly, and the dough has to be elastic enough to trap that gas. Baking powder is a chemical that makes its gas within minutes in a loose batter.
- Best for
- a different recipe written for yeast: rolls, pizza dough, yeasted waffles
- Where it fails
- Cakes, muffins, cookies, biscuits, quick breads and pancakes made from a baking powder recipe. The batter bakes before the yeast has worked, and the result is flat and dense with a raw yeast taste.
If you want to bake with the yeast you have, choose a yeast recipe. One packet, 2 ¼ tsp, raises about 4 cups of flour.
Nutritional yeast
savory and cheesy
Nutritional yeast is yeast that has been heated until it is dead. It is a seasoning with a savory, cheese-like taste and it produces no gas.
- Best for
- nothing here: it seasons, it does not leaven
- Where it fails
- Any amount gives no rise at all, and it flavors a sweet bake with something close to cheese.
Tips for substituting baking powder
4 tips- For each teaspoon of baking powder: ¼ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar. For a tablespoon of baking powder, that is ¾ tsp soda + 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar.
- No cream of tartar: ¼ tsp baking soda + 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice per teaspoon of baking powder, and take 1 tbsp of liquid out of the recipe.
- Bake homemade blends right away. They react once, when wet, and do not get the second lift in the oven that store-bought double-acting baking powder gives.
- If yeast is all you have, change the recipe, not the leavener: make yeast rolls in place of biscuits, or an overnight yeasted waffle batter in place of quick pancakes, and follow a recipe written for yeast.
Questions
5 questionsHow much yeast equals 1 teaspoon of baking powder?
There is no conversion. The two work in different ways and on different schedules, so no amount of yeast stands in for baking powder in a batter. Use ¼ teaspoon baking soda plus ½ teaspoon cream of tartar per teaspoon of baking powder.
Can I use nutritional yeast in place of baking powder?
No. Nutritional yeast is deactivated, which means it cannot ferment or produce gas. It is used for its savory flavor. It will not raise a batter in any amount.
Can yeast replace both baking powder and baking soda?
No. A recipe that lists both is a quick batter that bakes as soon as it is mixed, and yeast needs a kneaded dough and rising time. If you have baking soda but no baking powder, add an acid: ¼ teaspoon soda plus ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, or plus 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice, for each teaspoon of baking powder.
What happens if I put yeast in a cake or cookie recipe?
Very little rise and a noticeable yeast taste. The batter sets in the oven before the yeast has produced much gas, and a cake batter is too loose and too rich in sugar and fat to hold a yeast rise. The result is dense and heavy.
Can I make pancakes with yeast if I have no baking powder?
Yes, but from a yeasted pancake or waffle recipe, which rests for an hour or overnight before cooking. For pancakes right now, use baking soda with vinegar or lemon juice, or fold in whipped egg whites.