Potash, 40 g
Potash is a leavening agent for various flat baked goods such as cookies, cookies, Biberli and gingerbread. It is particularly popular for sugary doughs such as honey cake. Similar to yeast or sourdough, this leavening agent ensures that even heavy doughs rise well. However, potash differs from sourdough and yeast in a number of ways. In contrast to other leavening agents, the dough rises in width rather than height. This is exactly what gingerbread is known for: It stays flat and yet becomes nice and airy. As with cornflour, potash should be dissolved in water, milk, egg white or cream before use to ensure better distribution in the dough. What happens in gingerbread with potash? Potash makes a light, airy and fine gingerbread dough particularly well. During baking, the leavening agent forms a gas that creates wide, flat pores. As a result, the gingerbread is neither tough nor too hard. If potash is omitted, the dough does not rise properly during baking and remains compact. Potash, also known as potassium carbonate, owes its name to the historical method of extraction from vegetable and seaweed ash. The ash was leached out with water and then evaporated in "pots" (pots). Today, this potash salt is mainly used in Germany, where it is also largely produced. Potash is very similar to staghorn salt in its effect. This used to be obtained by heating finely grated stag horn. Contrary to its name, deer horn does not consist of horn, but mainly of bone, which has a high nitrogen content - just like hooves, claws and leather, which were later also used to produce leavening agents. A combination of both leavening agents is often recommended in old recipes. If you also want to use this, you should make sure to dissolve the substances separately in liquid and only then add them to the dough. Although they are similar, a direct reaction can reduce their leavening power. When using potash, it is important to strictly adhere to the resting time of the dough. During this time, lactic acid and acetic acid are produced which, together with the acidity of the honey, develop the leavening effect to optimum effect. At the same time, the resting time makes the dough easier to work with. Freshly mixed gingerbread dough is very sticky; it dries slightly during the resting period and sticks less strongly to the hands and work surface. Nevertheless, all utensils should be well floured, which is why baking powder is less suitable for gingerbread. It is mainly used in cake batters to make them rise, and these are usually baked immediately after mixing. However, baking powder only reacts with moisture for a short time. If it were used in a gingerbread dough with a longer resting time, its leavening power would be lost before baking.
