Baking powder vs yeast for pizza and bread

Unlike gluten-free flours, such as amaranth flour, oat flour, corn flour, etc, all wheat flours(all-purpose, white bread flour, cake flour, etc) needs to be leavened(that's the air bubbles inside a baked good), else it will be super dense.

And because there are several options for leavening agents, you will have to choose one depending on what you want to achieve.

One thing to keep in mind is that different leavening agents affect the food in different ways and this may also have an impact on the flavor or taste of the food overall.

This is why in this article we are going through the advantages and disadvantages of using yeast and baking powder when it comes to making bread or pizza.

Both baking powder and yeast can work for pizza and bread. However, yeast is the best option and it's the most commonly used raising agent for bread and pizza. This is because it improves the flavor of bread or pizza through the process of fermentation.

Here is what we are going to cover in this article:

Disadvantages of using yeast

When making a pizza with yeast, you need to be careful with a few things. The first is the temperature of your water or any liquid(milk or water) you are using: the temperature of the liquid should be about 38°C/100°F. The temperature of the water should not exceed 54°C/130°F, else the yeast will die and there will be no leavening.

Because making a mistake with the temperature of the water could mess up everything, I think using yeast as a leavening agent is not that simple and this is a disadvantage of yeast.

As for the temperature of the water, the best solution to is use a thermometer. However, there is another technique you can use if you don't have a thermometer: mix boiling water with cold water and the ratio of boiling water to cold water should be 1:2(e.g. 1 cup of boiling water and 2 cups of cold water).

Moreover, using yeast need patience. Yeast takes about 1 to 2 hours to leaven the dough, and this means that you should not be in a hurry when using it. For example, if you think of making a pizza at night, yeast is not gonna not work and you will have no option but to use another leavening method(physical or chemical).

And this can be worst if you are using active dry yeast, which requires you to wait for it to proof for about 10 minutes before adding flour and other ingredients. And you may think of just adding all ingredients without proofing the yeast but you may end up with an unleavened pizza or bread if the yeast is not working.

Advantages of using yeast

If you are patient and know exactly how to work with yeast to prevent it from dying, you will reap the benefits of using it, and that is what we are about to discuss.

One thing to keep in mind about yeast is that it achieves leavening through a metabolic process. Yeast consumes sugars and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide through the process known as fermentation, and the carbon dioxide produced is the one increasing the volume of the dough(bread or pizza).

Fermentation, brought about by yeast, improves the flavor of your pizza or bread: by using yeast instead of other leavening agents you will achieve a yeasty flavor. Although several people may not like the yeasty flavor, most people seem to like it and this is why some people even take it a step further by fermenting pizza dough in a fridge overnight.

Moreover, yeast gives you more control over how much you want your bread to rise. This is due to the fact that with yeast you normally rise the dough before baking and in most cases, the dough is risen twice, before kneading and after kneading. Some people, when making homemade bread, do not rise the bread dough twice and this is because they prefer to make their bread a little bit dense. With a baking powder, you can't do this because rising occurs during the baking process.

Advantages and disadvantages of baking powder

Let's have a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of using baking powder. By knowing the pros and cons you can easily choose the right leavening agent based on your personal preference and the type of food you are making.

Advantages

The first advantage of baking powder is that it raises the food(bread or pizza) super fast. All it takes is for you to mix all your ingredients to form a dough(either bread or pizza dough) and then knead the dough, followed by the baking process, and there is no need for you to wait for hours for the dough to rise. This allows people to quickly make a pizza or bread right away, for example, making dinner with a limited amount of time.

Furthermore, using baking powder is relatively easier. For example, unlike when using yeast, with baking powder you don't really have to worry about deactivating it: it does not die as yeast does.

Disadvantages

The downside of baking powder is that it does not give the flavor that yeast does Unlike yeast, baking powder relies on a chemical process, not biological or metabolic, and it does not involve fermentation.

As we've discussed previously, yeast achieves leavening through the process of fermentation and this fermentation introduces a yeasty flavor to your bread or pizza. This is the main reason why most people prefer to use yeast instead of baking powder.

The best option for bread and pizza between yeast and baking powder

Both yeast and baking powder can leaven the bread and can make nice and tasty bread or pizza. However, there are cases where one option will work better than the other and that's why we have to finally pick just one and explain when to use the other.

There's a reason why most if not all bakeries use yeast for bread and there's a reason why most if not all restaurants use yeast for pizza. And the reason is the flavor: yeast bread is totally different from baking powder bread, as far as the flavor, smell, and taste are concerned.

Because you've been eating yeast bread since your childhood, Bread or pizza without yeast will taste unusual to you. So this makes yeast the best option for making bread and pizza, but you can use baking powder if you are in a rush.

What about using both yeast and baking powder?

Most recipes you will find will either use baking powder or yeast, sometimes bicarbonate or soda is also used along with yeast or baking powder. So the question that one may ask is, "why is no one talking about combining baking powder and yeast in the same recipe?". To answer the question, Baking powder and yeast can be used in the same recipe, and doing so can make the bread fluffier and soft.

The first time I mixed the two leavening agents I was amazed by the results, and from there I occasionally mixed them if I want to make the bread fluffier. You may think yeast alone can achieve this, but the bread is just unique.

So I typically use yeast if it's available and I have enough time to proof it, else I may use baking powder. And if I have both, I may use them to achieve the nice soft and fluffy bread or pizza, I think this is similar to adding eggs, which will contribute to the leavening, in your recipe.

Summary

Yeast and baking powder are the two most used leavening agents. The two are totally different and leaven food in totally different ways, yeast relies on the metabolic process to generate carbon-dioxide gas by breaking down sugars and baking powder makes carbon dioxide through a chemical process.

While both can be used when making bread or pizza, yeast is the most used and recommended leavening agent for these foods. This is because of the flavor which it introduces to the food.

That being said, there will be cases where baking powders are used for baking pizza or bread: when yeast is not available, when there is not enough time, or when mixing it with yeast for whatever reason.

Further readings

• BBC Good Food. (n.d.). Yeast. [online] Available at: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/yeast-glossary