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Leavening agent

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Leavening agent

In cooking, a leavening agent (/ˈlɛvənɪŋ/) or raising agent, also called a leaven (/ˈlɛvən/) or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An alternative or supplement to leavening agents is mechanical action by which air is incorporated (i.e. kneading). Leavening agents can be biological or synthetic chemical compounds. The gas produced is often carbon dioxide, or occasionally hydrogen.

When a dough or batter is mixed, the starch in the flour and the water in the dough form a matrix (often supported further by proteins like gluten or polysaccharides, such as pentosans or xanthan gum). The starch then gelatinizes and sets, leaving gas bubbles that remain.

In direct leavening purified yeast is added directly to the dough. Usually a baker's yeast is used which is a very fast fermenting strain.

Sourdough starters are made from mixtures of flour and water that is allowed to ferment at room temperature usually for a week or more using natural yeasts and acid forming bacteria found on the wheat and from the local environment. Once formed the starter is maintained by a process of periodically 'feeding' it with flour and water and a portion of it is added as needed to dough to raise the bread.

French sponge (also known as poolish) is a preferment that uses bakers yeast and flour which is fermented for 2-8 hours.

Italian sponge (also known as a biga) uses bakers yeast and is prefermented for 12 hours, this results in a more alcoholic smelling dough, and can result in larger holes in the final bread crumb.

In old dough, the dough is risen, and then a fraction of the dough is removed and stored for the next loaf. For short periods it is stored in a bowl, for longer periods it is refrigerated.

Chemical leavens are mixtures or compounds that release gases when they react with each other, with moisture, or with heat. Most are based on a combination of acid (usually a low molecular weight organic acid) and a salt of bicarbonate (HCO3). After they act, these compounds leave behind a chemical salt. Chemical leavens are used in quick breads and cakes, as well as cookies and numerous other applications where a long biological fermentation is impractical or undesirable.

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