Best Baker's Ammonia AI pick
Chosen by an AI model from its trained knowledge, with its reasoning.
AI pick (line): King Arthur Baking Baker's Ammonia
Food-grade ammonium bicarbonate in a small, easy-to-find container, sized for the occasional batch of traditional crisp cookies.
Not for: Anyone baking thick, moist or cakey items: the ammonia cannot escape and leaves an off taste.
AI picks by need
What the AI looks for in Baker's Ammonia
- Use only for thin, dry bakes
- Reserve for thin, crisp cookies and crackers such as springerle, pizzelle and speculaas that bake fully dry. In thin, dry bakes the ammonia gas fully escapes, leaving an exceptionally crisp crumb and no taste.
- Food grade
- Buy only ammonium bicarbonate labeled food grade or for baking. Technical-grade ammonium carbonate is not meant for food.
- Airtight storage
- Keep tightly sealed and cool. Replace it if the lumps have shrunk or the smell has faded. It decomposes and evaporates at room temperature.
- Substitution
- Commonly swapped for baking powder in roughly equal amounts in crisp-cookie recipes. Crush any lumps to a fine powder first. Lumps leave pockets of ammonia and uneven rise.
Brands that matter
- King Arthur Baking: Small containers of food-grade baker's ammonia.
- Dr. Oetker: Hirschhornsalz sachets for German baking.
What to avoid
- Using it in cakes, muffins or thick soft cookies.
- Containers that are not sealed tightly enough to keep the powder from escaping.
Questions
Why does it smell so strongly while baking?
That smell is ammonia gas being released. It is normal, and it disappears from properly thin, dry bakes once they have cooled.