Out of Yeast, one case
Can you substitute baking powder for yeast?
3 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Baking powder
1 tsp for every cup of flour
Yes, but you get a quick bread, not a yeast bread. Leave out the yeast and whisk 1 teaspoon baking powder into each cup of flour, then skip the rising time and bake right away. The dough puffs in the oven, but it has a soft, biscuit-like crumb with no chew and no yeast flavor. It works for flatbread, pizza crust and a rustic quick loaf, and it does not work for sandwich bread, bagels or brioche.
- Verdict —
- You'll taste it
- The tweak —
- Whisk it into the flour, mix only until the dough comes together, do not knead or proof, and bake at once.
- Best for —
- flatbread and skillet breads
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full yeast card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of yeast | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baking powderflatbread and skillet breads | 1 tsp per cup of flourYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 2 | Self-rising flourtwo-ingredient flatbread and pizza dough with yogurt | 1 cup per cup of flourYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Baking soda + buttermilk (as soda bread)a round loaf on the table in under an hour | 1 tsp soda per 4 cups flourYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Beer or club soda | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Baking powder
neutral and slightly biscuity; the yeasty flavor is gone
Baking powder makes gas as soon as it is wet and again in the oven's heat. It lifts a dough in minutes, but it cannot develop the stretchy structure or the flavor that yeast builds over hours. The amount follows the flour, not the yeast.
- Best for
- flatbread and skillet breads, thin pizza crust, quick loaves, dumplings and biscuit-style rolls
- Prep
- Whisk it into the flour, mix only until the dough comes together, do not knead or proof, and bake at once.
- Where it fails
- Sandwich loaves, bagels, brioche, cinnamon rolls with pull-apart layers, and anything shaped and proofed. Bread machines, whose cycles are timed for yeast. Too much baking powder tastes metallic and bitter, so do not add extra for more lift.
For a recipe with 3 cups of flour, that is 1 tablespoon of baking powder in place of 1 packet of yeast.
Self-rising flour
soft and biscuit-like
Flour with the baking powder and salt already mixed in. It is the simplest route to a no-yeast flatbread or biscuit.
- Best for
- two-ingredient flatbread and pizza dough with yogurt, biscuits and drop rolls
- Prep
- Replace the recipe's all-purpose flour cup for cup and leave out the yeast and the salt entirely.
- Where it fails
- Any bread that should be chewy or airy. It is a soft, low-protein flour and gives a tender crumb only.
Baking soda + buttermilk (as soda bread)
tangy, dense and tender, best the day it is baked
The classic loaf made without yeast. It is a different bread with its own recipe, not a conversion: 4 cups (about 500 g) flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 ¾ cups buttermilk.
- Best for
- a round loaf on the table in under an hour, serving with soup or stew
- Prep
- Mix just until a shaggy dough forms, shape a round, cut a deep cross in the top and bake immediately.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Sliced sandwich bread: the crumb is close and crumbly, and it stales by the next day.
Beer or club soda
malty, in the case of beer
Both are often suggested because they are fizzy, and beer is made with yeast.
- Best for
- flavor in a beer bread that is leavened with baking powder
- Where it fails
- Neither will leaven a dough. The yeast in commercial beer is filtered out or inactive, and the dissolved gas is a tiny fraction of what a dough needs and escapes while you mix. Beer bread rises because of its baking powder or self-rising flour.
Tips for substituting yeast
5 tips- Measure by the flour: 1 teaspoon baking powder per cup. A dough with 2 cups of flour takes 2 teaspoons; one with 3 cups takes 1 tablespoon.
- Skip the proof. Baking powder starts working when it gets wet, so letting the dough sit for an hour loses lift. A 10-minute rest to relax the dough before rolling is fine.
- Mix gently and do not knead. Kneading builds gluten that baking powder cannot inflate, and the bread turns tough.
- Keep it thin or small. Flatbreads, pizza crusts and rolls work; a tall loaf baked in a pan comes out dense in the middle.
- Check that the baking powder is live: stir ½ teaspoon into ¼ cup hot water. It should bubble hard right away.
Questions
5 questionsHow much baking powder replaces one packet of yeast?
There is no packet-for-packet conversion, because the amount depends on the flour. Use 1 teaspoon baking powder per cup of flour: a recipe with 3 cups of flour and 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) of yeast takes 1 tablespoon of baking powder.
Can I use baking powder in place of yeast in pizza dough?
Yes. Use 1 teaspoon per cup of flour, mix the dough, rest it 10 minutes, roll it thin and bake it in a hot oven. The crust is tender and a little biscuit-like, without the chew or the bubbles of a yeast crust.
Do I still let the dough rise if I use baking powder?
No. Baking powder does its work in the first minutes after mixing and again in the oven. Shape the dough and bake it right away.
Can I use baking soda in place of yeast instead?
Only with an acid in the dough. Baking soda needs buttermilk, yogurt or lemon juice to make gas, which is how soda bread works: 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 ¾ cups buttermilk for 4 cups of flour. Without an acid it will not rise and tastes soapy.
Can I use baking powder in place of yeast in a bread machine?
Not on a yeast cycle. The long knead and rise are wasted on baking powder, and the loaf bakes up dense. Use the quick bread or cake setting with a recipe written for it.