Chemical Leaveners

The chemical production of gases occurs when chemical leaveners break down in the presence of moisture or heat, giving off gases. Before discussing chemical leaveners, bench tolerance should be defined. Bench tolerance is a measure of how well batters and doughs withstand (tolerate) being held before baking, without risking a large loss in leavening gases. Bench tolerance is an important consideration for commercial bakeshops, which need to produce consistent product, time after time, even if a batch is large and sits on the bench for a while before it is baked. Bench tolerance is affected by the thickness of the batter or dough, with heavy doughs typically having better bench tolerance than thin batters. Bench tolerance is also affected by the leavening agent used.