Back عامل نفاشية Arabic Разрыхляльнік цеста Byelorussian Kypřidlo Czech Lefain Welsh Hævemiddel Danish Triebmittel German Agente leudante Spanish عامل ورآورنده Persian Kohotusaine Finnish התפחה HE
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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.[1]
When a dough or batter is mixed, the starch in the flour and the water in the dough form a matrix[2] (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.
- ^ Jacobs, Morris Boris (1951). The Chemistry and Technology of Food and Food Products. Hoboken, NJ: Interscience Publishers. p. 1932.
- ^ Hanft, Steven L. (2016). Fachenglisch für Laborberufe. Weinheim: John Wiley & Sons. p. 208. ISBN 978-3-527-33512-1.