SD Quickbreads with Baking Powder - Why?

Whatever
1

I make quickbreads a lot and have recently tried using recipes calling for sourdough. I see most don’t require any fermentation time, but I have found a few that do (Cultures for Health for example) so I’m doing those (pumpkin, banana). (I guess fermentation could be a separate point of discussion.)

Here’s my question: why do these recipes, which all require a large amount of starter (e.g., 241g for 113g flour, one egg) also need baking powder and soda? This one calls for 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, which are amounts typical for a non-SD recipe. Has anyone tried leaving those out and just used starter?

2

If you let the batter sit for hours and are careful to not de-gas it much when pouring it into the pan (or let it sit IN the loaf pan), you may be able to get away without baking soda or powder. But when starter is just used for flavoring and getting rid of discard, and there’s zero fermentation time, I don’t think you’ll get much leavening.

3

Because it is a quick bread and the sourdough is only there for flavour and as a catalyst. There is leavening but it’s a chemical one and not a fermentation coming from the sourdough.