Hi all,

I was just hoping someone could tell me where i can find Aluminium Free Baking Powder in Australia, i recognise Rumford fits this profile, but can’t find it here!
Also when i use self raising flour to make scones, as opposed to plain flour and baking powder, the resulting scones are more tender, and i’m using the standard substitution of 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder + .25 teaspoons of salt per cup of all purpose flour. The reason i do this is because i know too much leavening can cause cakes to fall, and i also like to microwave my plain flour before using it to bake cakes, hence i don’t buy self-raising flour. The other thing that perplexes me is that my self raising flour and baking powder seem to contain the same raising agents [Sodium Bicarbonate (500), Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (450)] yet when i use the self raising there is no metallic aftertaste, but when i use the BP there is…

Thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You

Hi Lauren,

I preface this by saying I’m no expert just an Aussie gal who loves cooking,  but to my knowledge the main brand of baking powder (Wards by Ward McKenzie) we have here in our mainstream supermarkets is aluminium free. I’m not sure which brand you are currently using that contains aluminium?

I have my pot of Wards Baking Powder here which states as ingredients:
Rice Flour
Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (450)
Sodium Bicarbonate (500)

I just get this Wards Baking Powder at Coles or Woolworths it’s in the baking aisle near the flour and sugars.

Regarding why you get a metallic taste,, the only thing I can think of is that the Bicarb component of the BP is giving you the bitterness - bicarb in too much concentration has a nasty habit of imparting a bitter or even ‘soapy’ taste. Perhaps the percentage amount in the premixed SR flour is slightly less that that in the BP you add or perhaps adding the extra salt is doing this?

Perhaps you could try the old way of making your own BP by mixing two parts cream of tartar with one part bicarbonate of soda to see if that reduces the bitterness?

Also, if you haven’t already, check out Kate’s “Kate Flour” section on her blog ‘A Merrier World’.
There’s interesting discussions on Baking Powder differences on the postings on the main section and most recent and exciting about how her great results of microwaving SR flour to deactivate the baking powder see:

http://amerrierworld.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/colour-or-crumb/

Thank you so much, i thought the powder i was using was aluminium free but because i was still getting that awful aftertaste i remained skeptical! Now i know it’s the bicarb :p

Oh… one more thing I thought about last night, the standard Aussie measuring cup is 250ml, other countries have different cup measurements (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup_(unit) ) Maybe your proportions could be a little off because of this?

Try weighing your ingredients instead if you can (as others on here have said once you try it you’ll never go back!)
All Rose’s recipes have measurements in ounces and grams which is a wonderful help.