.5 ml baking powder
Baking powder contributes negligible calories or macronutrients to finished baked goods due to the small quantities used per serving. It is a source of sodium in baked products, with content varying by brand and formulation.
About
Baking powder is a chemical leavening agent composed primarily of a base (typically sodium bicarbonate), one or more acids (such as cream of tartar or monocalcium phosphate), and a moisture absorber (usually cornstarch or potato starch). This dry mixture reacts when exposed to moisture and heat, releasing carbon dioxide gas that creates rise in batters and doughs. Double-acting baking powder, the most common commercial formulation, contains two acid components that release gas at different temperatures: one when mixed with liquid ingredients, and another during baking.
Single-acting and double-acting varieties differ in their acid composition and timing of gas release. The ingredient originated in the mid-19th century as an improvement over single-acting baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), which required immediate baking to capture the rising action.
Culinary Uses
Baking powder is essential in quick breads, cakes, cookies, pancakes, muffins, and biscuits where mechanical leavening is impractical or undesirable. It is used whenever a recipe requires uniform, fine crumb structure without the lengthy fermentation time required by yeast-based leavening. Double-acting baking powder is preferred in most home baking because it allows flexibility in timing—batter can be mixed and set aside briefly without losing leavening power. The standard conversion is approximately 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of baking powder per 1 cup (240 ml) of flour, though recipes vary depending on ingredient density and desired rise.