Leavening Agents

FOODS WITH LEAVENING

Exodus 13:6-7 “Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days;
and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

This list of leavened or leavening items is based upon the premise that these items can be used to leaven bread or they are products containing leavening.

YEAST

BICARBONATE OF SODA (Baking Soda) (also called Sodium Bicarbonate)

BAKING POWDER (Contains Baking Soda)

SOURDOUGH (A naturally fermenting yeast batter or liquid)

SOME OF THE FOODS WHICH CAN CONTAIN ANY OR ALL OF THE LEAVENING AGENTS LISTED ABOVE ARE:

BREAD

ROLLS

BUNS

CAKES

SOME CRACKERS

PANCAKES

WAFFLES

DOUGHNUTS

CERTAIN COOKIES

CERTAIN CEREALS

IF YOU ARE IN DOUBT ABOUT ANY PRODUCT, CHECK THE INGREDIENTS. WHEN IN DOUBT ABOUT A PARTICULAR FOOD,
DON’T EAT IT.

EGG WHITES are not considered to be a leavening agent. However, egg whites when beaten can leaven by expansion of the air and by steam when heated.
Therefore, egg whites should not be used as a substitute for leaven in an attempt to get around the spirit of the law.  Beating whole eggs to scramble them is alright to do.

YEAST EXTRACTS on labels of certain foods are derivatives of yeast that cannot leaven anything. It would be alright to use a product containing yeast extracts providing the product does not contain an actual leavening agent.

BREWERS YEAST is a food supplement that contains all the elements of the B vitamin complex. It has no leavening properties.

CREAM OF TARTAR by itself is not a leavening agent.

TORULA YEAST is not a leavening agent.

AUTOLYZED YEAST is not a leavening agent. It is a flavor enhancer.

CORN STARCH is not a leavening agent.

SOME HYGIENE PRODUCTS CONTAIN BAKING SODA ALSO. (CHECK THE LABELS.)

TOOTHPASTE: There has been some concern about toothpaste with baking soda. The toothpaste would not be used for making bread,
so it doesn’t need to be removed.

DEODORANT: In this case the baking soda is used to mask odor and will not be used for cooking or ingesting, so it would not need to be removed.

DOG FOOD & CAT FOOD: There has been some question in the past about these products. I have found that most of these dry foods contain some kind of yeast. In keeping with the spirit of the law we believe that keeping these foods in your home for your pet’s consumption is alright. The reason God commanded the Israelites to remove the leaven was so that they could not leaven the bread that they would be consuming. The leaven in the bread or in other products that we consume represents sin and the idea is for us to not feed upon sin, but instead to feed upon the Word of God. Since, hopefully, we don’t consume cat food or dog food, then the yeast in these products cannot affect us. Each of us will need to pray about this and let our own conscience guide us in this decision.

WINE OR BEER. Yeast is only used during the fermentation process. Once the fermentation is complete, the yeast is no longer active and is siphoned out of the liquids, so these do not have to be removed.

We all need to pray and ask God to guide us in all that we do. If you cannot accept what is written here with a clear conscience then do what your heart tells you.

1Timothy 1:5 “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:”

Romans 14:23 “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

Any products containing leavening need to be removed before observing the Passover at sundown.  If this day falls on a regular weekly Sabbath, then all leavening products need to be removed before the Sabbath.

It is a good time to clean the toaster, check the furniture for crumbs, sweep the floors and wipe down the counters.  Some have asked if they should throw away their toaster.  Open the bottom and clean it the best that you can, then put it away until the feast is over at sundown on the last day.

Quite often, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we will find products with leavening that we missed during our initial search. Don’t panic! Just take the item or items out, dispose of them and then pray and ask God to forgive you for overlooking it. (Sin can creep into our lives the same way.)

Many people that work outside their homes have caught themselves ordering a sandwich for lunch and just as they get ready to take a bite they realize what they’ve done. Again, don’t panic. Just remove the bread or bun and dispose of it, then ask God’s forgiveness for the mistake.

(We are all flesh and blood and we make mistakes and hopefully a mistake like this will be an eye opener and a reminder to not make the same mistake again.) It also shows us that it is very easy to lose our focus on the things of God and allow sin to slip in on us.

If you are eating out during the Feast, be safe and ask the waiter or waitress about any breading that may be in a salad, soup or other meal. Even after your meal comes, take time to look it over and make sure that something with leaven hasn’t been put on your plate.

Be aware that most meals in a restaurant come with some kind of bread products, for example rolls, biscuits or toast.
You should ask them not to put these on your dish, but if you forget and they serve it to you, just take it off and set it aside. Don’t make a big deal out of it by having them come and remove it from the table.  They’ll throw it away when you are finished eating.

Be wary of ordering anything battered unless you know for certain that there is no leavening in it. Most places will check for you if you ask them too. If they are not certain, then don’t risk it.

These are the Days of Unleavened Bread and the idea is to put leavening, which represents sin, out of our lives.  Not only does the leavening represent sin, but it also represents the puffiness of pride that can develop within us if we don’t keep a watch out for it.

As we keep these days, let us use common sense and keep in mind the spirit of the days, not making it a burden, but a joyous time.

It is important that we all eat unleavened bread each day of the Feast. There are unleavened bread and cracker products available in some stores if you are unable to prepare unleavened bread yourself.

PDF Cookbook   We are working on a clearer, updated version of the cookbook and will make it available as soon as it is finished.

There is also a hardcopy of the cookbook, containing the recipes without leavening, available by snail mail upon request.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through out contact page or call: 816-380-7821.