Larry, baker's ammonia?

[Jenise]

Saw this ingredient in a recipe for some Swedish crackers. New term for me. What does it do?

It's a predecessor of baking powder and is used in certain Scandinavian recipes as a leavening agent in thin products, like cookies and crackers. It's ammonium carbonate and acts like a heat-activated leavening agent, giving off carbon dioxide and ammonia. Not used in thick things, like cakes bc they'll taste like ammonia. Not easy to find. I was looking for some locally a while back.

It's said if you sub baking powder, the recipe won't taste the same. FWIW, King Arthur has a Scandinavian cookie recipe that uses baker's ammonium. They also have 5 other recipes that use it.

Ammonium carbonate is the leavening ingredient in youtiao (aka Chinese crullers), the long, deep-fried Chinese bread sticks. It's what makes them puff up when deep-fried. I love youtiao and always order them when eating dim sum at Chinese restaurants. I've tried making them myself with limited success.

Ammonium carbonate has a storage problem. Over time it breaks down into ammonia, carbon dioxide, and water. I once bought a bottle of it to make youtiao. After a year the bottle was empty, despite being tightly closed and kept in a cool, dark place. So I recommend buying only what you immediately need.

-Paul W.

Saw this ingredient in a recipe for some Swedish crackers. New term for me. What does it do?

It turns you into a Swedish grandmother of the 1740's. Use baking soda instead.

Check the recipe carefully, though. Ammonium carbonate reacts faster under high heat and releases more gas than baking soda does. This is significant when frying youtiao. It probably won't matter for the Swedish crackers. Bork, bork, bork!

-Paul W.

Saw this ingredient in a recipe for some Swedish crackers. New term for me. What does it do?

It turns you into a Swedish grandmother of the 1740's. Use baking soda instead.

Baking soda needs an acid. Baker's ammonia is a predecessor to baking powder. I understand the resulting texture is different from using baking powder.

Baker's ammonia only needs heat. It can leave behind a whiff of ammonia in the food if you're not careful. I'd use baking powder unless you need the specific properties of baker's ammonia.

-Paul W.