Is baking powder gluten-free? Usually, check the filler

Usually, yes. Baking powder is bicarbonate of soda, an acid and a starch filler that keeps it dry. The filler is usually corn, potato or rice starch.

What to check

• The filler: some baking powders use wheat flour or wheat starch. In the EU and UK wheat is named and highlighted on the label, and in the US wheat has to be declared too.
• Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) on its own contains no gluten.
• Self-raising flour is wheat flour with baking powder already in it; gluten-free self-raising flour is labelled.

A baking powder labelled gluten-free takes the question away, which matters most when you bake for a coeliac guest.

Keep reading

• The Hidden-Gluten Watchlist: the 15 forbidden names and the ones to check
• Cooking gluten-free for a coeliac guest
• Gluten-free baking foundations
• Is modified starch gluten-free?

Sources: Coeliac UK, EU Regulation 1169/2011 and 828/2014, Codex Alimentarius (gluten-free = 20 mg/kg or less). We inform, we don’t diagnose: for medical questions, your doctor or dietitian has the last word.