What are leavening agents?
With the Days of Unleavened Bread about a month away, I thought it would be good to include a listing of various leavening agents that are common. I hope this aids you in preparing for the days.
In 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, God uses leaven to symbolize sin. Just as leaven puffs up bread dough, making it rise, sin has the same effect in our lives. Sin causes us to be “puffed up” and to be prideful, arrogant, and filled with vanity resulting in a life lived in malice and wickedness. God, conversely, uses unleavened bread to symbolize a life lived apart from sin. Life lived in sincerity and truth.
We are instructed by God to remove leavening agents, as well as any already leavened products, from our homes by the First Day of Unleavened Bread and also keep it out for seven days. Not only are we to not eat leavened bread during these days, we are to eat unleavened bread for all seven days (Exodus 12:15-17; Exodus 13:6-7; and Leviticus 23:6-8). But, what is leaven?
According to CooksRecipes.com, leavening agent is defined as:
1. A substance used to leaven a dough or batter; may be natural (ex. air or steam), chemical (ex. baking powder or baking soda) or biological (ex. yeast).
2. A type of food additive used to produce or stimulate production of carbon dioxide in baked goods to impart a light texture.
Leavening can also refer to “sourdough” a naturally fermenting yeast batter. Foods that can contain the above leavening agents are bread, rolls, buns, cakes, some crackers, pancakes, waffles, doughnuts, certain cookies, cereals, etc.
The following is a list of leavening agents:
baker’s ammonia = ammonium carbonate = baking ammonia = *hartshorn
baker’s yeast
baking powder = baking soda = bicarbonate of soda = sodium bicarbonate
bicarbonate of soda
cream of tartar (not a leavening agent by itself, must be mixed with an acid)
double-acting baking powder = double-action baking powder
*hartshorn
single-acting baking powder = single-action baking powder
sodium bicarbonate
sourdough starter
yeast
NOTICE ALSO:
Brewer’s Yeast, Torula Yeast and Yeast Extract are not leavening agents.
Egg whites are also NOT leavening agents.
Autolyzed yeast and cornstarch are also not leavening agents. Autolyzed yeast is used as a flavor enhancer and cannot be used for making bread.
Cream of Tartar by itself is not a leavening agent.
* Hartshorn is a leavening agent, and a precursor to the baking soda and baking powder that everyone uses these days.
We are also told to eat unleavened bread each day of the Feast. Matzos can be found at a number of grocery stores. It is a good idea to check the ingredients, even on Matzos, just to be sure they contain no leavening agents.
I hope this has been helpful. Have a good week.
