Baking Powder

Baking powder is a dry leavening agent that helps doughs and batters rise as they bake. It usually combines baking soda with an acid and a starch, and it releases gas once it meets moisture and heat. Home cooks use it in cakes, muffins, pancakes, biscuits, sweet breads and many Lebanese and Middle Eastern sweets, measuring it by the teaspoon and mixing it evenly with the flour. It is best kept in a dry, tightly closed container. At Dekenet Al Nes, a package-free grocery store in Baaqline in the Chouf, baking powder is sold by weight, so you can take just the amount you need. Customers are encouraged to bring their own clean, dry containers to refill, helping cut down on plastic waste and single-use packaging.