Let’s face it.  Sometimes the homestead kitchen runs out of the basics.  What to do then?  When you have cornbread nearly mixed, and you just have the baking powder left to add….and low and behold, there is one teaspoon of baking powder left in the container when your really need four.  Well, a mama could just throw it all out to the chickens, or scrape it into the garbage, but wait!  There is another solution.  I have been caught with this very scenario more than once.  Call it disorganization, call it not getting into town often enough, call it what you will, but I have found what to do in a pinch.  MAKE YOUR OWN!

Now at some point in time, I was caught in the middle of dinner making with not enough, or even no baking powder to be had.  GASP!  If only I had remembered to pick that up at the store, I would berate myself, why can’t you be more organized…the mindless chatter has no end…..   Finally, I had enough wherewithal to pull myself together and look at the substitutions chart in the back of a cookbook I received for a wedding gift.  Ta-Dah! There it was, a substitute for baking powder.  A very nifty little recipe.  It happens to be everything that you may have in your kitchen anyway.  The original substitutions chart recipe was, baking soda, cream of tartar, and cornstarch.  Whew.  I can finish dinner.

I decided to spiff up the recipe a bit to make it a little more nutritious.  Instead of the cornstarch I use arrowroot powder, I generally do have this on hand in my kitchen, it is one of my staples.  Arrowroot is a gluten-free thickener that is full of vitamins and minerals.  It grows on tidal flats by the sea.  It is full of sea minerals and calcium and is a very healthy alternative to cornstarch.  Cornstarch is usually made from GMO corn, unless you buy the expensive GMO-free kind from the health food store.  I have found arrowroot to be a much more economical, healthy substitute and use it extensively in our homestead kitchen.  Arrowroot is also unrefined, as it is only the ground root of the plant.  No other processing is required of it.  Simple and nutritious.  It is a straight-forward, honest food.  I have had great results using my baking powder substitute.  It is aluminum-free, gluten-free, and corn-free, and is very economical to make, compared to the price of aluminum-free baking powder in our local stores.  It’s an all around winner.  If you have a recipe that calls for double-acting baking powder, just add one teaspoon of vinegar to the batter.  The vinegar will serve as your second acid, and give you extra rise.  This works for gluten-free baking as well.

Homemade Baking Powder

1/4 c. baking soda

1/2 c. cream of tartar

1/4 c. arrowroot powder

Combine ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Whisk together until well blended.  Pour into a jar with tight-fitting lid.  Use as you would store-bought baking powder.

Bake with abandon! 

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The Barn Hop

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