baking powder meaning: definition, quotations

baking powder

nounalso spelled baking-powder

A dry leavening agent used in baking; a mixture of baking soda, an acid (often cream of tartar) and starch to keep it dry; when wetted, carbon dioxide is released.

Related terms: self-raising flour

baking-powder

noun

Dated Dated form of baking powder.

The loaf is made in about a minute, by mixing a small quantity of baking-powder in the flour, and adding cold water.1847 November 18, “[Varieties.] A Philosophic Baker.”, in The Stirling Observer, volume XII, number 586, Stirling, page [3], column 2:
Always a little aloof, I pursued a solitary course of experimentation; first I tried Peroxide—old Mrs. Thompson next-door heard for the first time in thirty-five years—, then I tried a mixture of baking-powder and iodine—baking-powder is supposed to make biscuits rise, and mine was no exception.1946, Kenneth Patchen, Sleepers Awake (ND Paperbook 286), New York, N.Y.: New Directions Publishing Corporation, published 1969, →LCCN, pages 306–307:

1 more example

If you want to make your own spongecake, you’ll need two ounces each of flour, sugar, butter or margarine, ¼ teaspoonful of baking-powder (unless self-raising flour is used), one egg and a little milk to mix.1972 July 5, “Today’s Super Recipe”, in Evening Post, number 2112, Reading, Berkshire, page 17: