1,594 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 77 videos

This site uses only a few technical cookies that are necessary for its operation.
By continuing to browse, you agree to their use (learn more...).

Raising (or leavening) agents

When we want to make a dough or batter rise when baking, either in patisserie or bread-making, we need to use a raising agent or leavening agent, one of which is called leaven.

In the context of baking, a raising agent is simply what "makes something rise". It is a substance which, when added to the dough or batter makes it swell up by creating thousands of tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide within it.

As there are 2 kinds of yeast, 2 kinds of leaven and baking powder as well, this can be confusing, so here is a summary of the different types and how they act.

59 K 4.8/5 (18 reviews)

Keywords for this post:Yeast Sourdough Bread Bakery Pastry Baking powder

Last modified on: June 16^th 2021

For this post Comments Lasts posts Follow

For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend

Baker's Yeast

This is the yeast used by bakers to make bread, brioches, etc. It is basically the same kind that brewers use to make beer, so it is sometimes also known as brewer's yeast.

Yeast is a living organism, a microscopic fungus, called saccaromycès cerevisae, which reacts with the sugars in flour to form carbon dioxide. It is this fermentation process that makes the dough rise. Yeast is available in 2 forms:

Fresh yeast

baker's yeast

This is the classic baker's yeast which is normally sold as a small, beige-coloured block. It should be kept in the fridge and not for too long.

Dried yeast

dried yeast

This is exactly the same yeast, but completely dehydrated. It comes as a beige powder and keeps very well.

Baking powder

baking powder

This white powder is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. It reacts on contact with the water in the dough or batter to form the carbon dioxide which makes it rise. There is no fermentation.

Baking powder is used mostly for cakes, scones, etc.

Leaven

Leaven is a natural raising agent, like yeast. It is made from a mixture of water and flour that begins to ferment when exposed to the naturel yeasts present in the air.
It is a living substance and reacts with the sugars in flour to form carbon dioxide by fermentation, which makes the dough rise. Two different forms can be made:

Liquid leaven

liquid leaven

This is a leaven made with equal parts of water and flour. As the name suggests, it is liquid, rather like pancake batter.

Stiff leaven

stiff leaven

This is a leaven made with one part water to two parts flour. It has a consistency similar to bread dough.

Whether the leaven is liquid or stiff it makes little difference in its use, but a lot in the taste of the bread obtained.

It is worth noting in passing that when making leavened bread, it is usual to combine a large amount of leaven with a little yeast. This improves the bread's appearance especially the crust.

Summary

We can say that yeast and leaven work by fermentation, whereas baking powder uses a chemical reaction.

Lasts posts

With vinegar?

When you buy a jar of pickles labeled “in vinegar,” you’re looking for their tangy, crunchy flavor to go with cold cuts, sandwiches, or salads. You expect to find small gherkins preserved in vinegar, with salt and herbs, but is that really the case?
July 15^th 20261,4204.8

Congratulate the chef

You've just finished a meal that you really enjoyed. The server approaches with the usual question: “How was it?” And then, as a natural reflex, you simply reply, “Yes, it was very good.” However, when the meal was truly outstanding, this brief exchange deserves a little more. .
July 7^th 2026955 25

Cut twice as fast

When you need to cut something long into small pieces, for example chopped chives or the stem of a spring onion, there's a simple gesture that doubles your cutting speed. Let's see how.
May 21^th 20262,3165

The other use for bowl scraper

Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.
May 9^th 20262,0853

The strange foam of potatoes in milk

As you may have already noticed, when you cook potatoes in milk, especially in small pieces (slices or cubes) for a gratin for example, a surprisingly abundant white foam forms on the surface. Where does it come from?
April 26^th 20262,4285

See all posts Random post RSS feeds

The so-called "nervous" meats

You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...
April 16^th 202141 K4.5

The dissociation of a preparation

It may have already happened to you: You prepare a sauce, a cream, a ganache etc. and then suddenly or almost, the whole thing dissociates, and from a smooth mixture that you were preparing with love, you end up with a horrible thing with a more or less solid part and another liquid part. It's...
January 22^th 202214 K4.9

The bitterness of endives

As I write these lines, we are entering the endive season, and if you like it, it's time to enjoy it, if possible with your local producers. Endive is good, but the reproach that is often made of it, and children in particular, is: "It's bitter! And it is (somewhat) true of course, endives...
February 9^th 201916 K4.9

How to break eggs properly?

It is a very common gesture in pastry, bakery and of course cooking: breaking eggs to incorporate them into a recipe. You have eggs (which professionals call "shell eggs" to differentiate them from liquid eggs in cartons or cans), and you must break them to incorporate the contents into your...
June 26^th 202117 K4.8

The power of sayings and beliefs in the kitchen

One day, in the comments on the recipe for beaten egg whites, a young woman asked if you could beat egg whites stiff while having a period, as a friend had told her it wasn't possible. Sometime later another person commented that for mayonnaise it had been (get this!) scientifically proven that a...
February 6^th 201153 K4.4