🧂 Baking powder
Allergen note
Baking powder is not a common allergen, but it usually contains a starch such as cornstarch, and some brands use wheat starch, which matters if your child has a wheat allergy or celiac disease. Check the label; the baked goods it goes into often contain egg, milk and wheat, so introduce those allergens on their own first.
How to serve
Baking powder is a leavening agent, never a food on its own. From about 6 months, it can go into soft homemade pancakes, muffins or flatbreads made without added sugar or salt, served in strips, and from 9 months in small pieces. Use only what the recipe calls for, typically about 1 teaspoon per cup of flour.
Preparation
Baking powder contains sodium, so use the smallest amount the recipe needs and choose recipes without extra salt; aluminum-free baking powder is easy to find if you prefer it. Mix it evenly into the dry ingredients so no bitter pockets remain, bake until the center is fully set, and never let children eat the raw batter.
Texture and choking risk
Baking powder itself is not a typical choking hazard, but fluffy baked goods can compress into a gummy ball and crispy edges can break into hard pieces. Serve soft strips or small pieces, add moisture with yogurt or fruit purée if needed, and store the container out of reach, since swallowing a large amount of baking powder can make a child seriously ill.
Starting ages are typical guidance for healthy, full-term babies who show signs of readiness. Your paediatrician may advise differently, especially where there is a family history of allergy.
Track first tastes and reactions
Log when your child first tries baking powder, note any reaction and see it in the allergen tracker.
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