For all of the passionate bakers out there! We have thoughtfully compiled a comprehensive list of alternative ingredient options that can be used for baking in Germany, along with their corresponding German translations.
| Product | Substitute / Translation |
|---|---|
| Self Raising Flour | You do not find this often in Germany. Sometimes you can get it at Lidl. The classic and most reliable substitute for 1 cup of self-raising flour is: 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour / plain flour (Use Type 405 (Weizenmehl 405) as your base flour — it’s closest to South Africa’s cake flour.) 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt |
| Cake Flour | Type 405 for baking and sauces, pastries and pie crusts and other lighter baked goods Type 550 is a finer all purpose flour. Most often used to bake white bread, cookies, muffins, biscuits |
| Rye Flour | Type 1150, Roggenmehl. This is a medium to dark flour. For very dark use Type 1800 |
| Bread Flour | Type 812 for baking bread. it has a chewier texture than all purpose flour |
| White Whole Wheat | Type 1600, contains whole wheat kernels including the germ and bran. |
| Volkoring meel / Whole Wheat | Type 1700 Weizenvollkornmehl, good for baking dense and nutty whole wheat bread |
| High Gluten Flour | Type 1050 best for elastic dough such as bagels and pizza crusts |
| Speltflour / Dinkel Wheat / Hulled Wheat | Type 630 Dinkelmehl , it can be used instead of Type 405, it has more gluten |
| Nutty Wheat | According to the Snowflake website, Nutty Wheat is flour that has 18% coarse wheat bran added to it (wholemeal only has about 12%), So in theory you could make your own. Mix 4/5 plain flour with 1/5 wheat bran (available form health shops). |
| Bran / Semels | die Kleie |
| Wheat Bran | die Weizenkleie |
| Mielieblom / Cornstarch (mostly know as Maizina) | die Speisestärke. Available in the baking section You can also substitute 15ml Cornstarch with 30ml Cake Flour. Cornstarch (Speisestärke) is a binding agent for light sauces and a baking ingredient to loosen the dough. Corn starch (Maisstärke), potato starch (Kartoffelstärke) and wheat starch (Weizenstärke) are all food starches (Speisestärke). Corn starch is extracted from the whole corn kernel and wheat starch from the starch component of ground wheat. |
| Baking Soda / Koeksoda | das Natron |
| Cream of Tartar / Kremetart | der Weinstein (pulver) |
| Tartaric acid | Weinsäure / Weinstein Cream of tartar is less acidic than tartaric acid. If your recipe calls for tartaric acid and you don’t have it, using cream of tartar might work. For every teaspoon of tartaric acid, replace with two teaspoons of cream of tartar. However, using tartaric acid will produce better results |
| Baking Powder | das Backpulver. It is usually sold in packages See a detailed explanation on double and single acting below The baking powder you find in SA is Double acting e.g. Royal Baking powder ( Starch, Acidifying Agents (E450(a) – Sodium Pyrophosphate & E341 – calcium phosphate ), Sodium Bicarbonate (E500) ). This means it has two acidic components. The ingredients for Dr Oetker Backin is: Backtriebmittel (Dinatriumdiphosphat (E 450), Natriumhydrogencarbonat (E 500)), Stärke. The E341 Calcium Phosphate is missing. |
| Instant dry yeast | Instant Backhefe or Trockenbackhefe |
| Vanilla Essence vs Vanilla Extract | Vanilla Essence is called Vanilleessenz. It is an artificial product Vanilla Extract is called Vanille Extract and is more readily available in Germany. The Extract is a natural product and has a more intense flavour and if you have to substitute, the information I could find suggest you use half the extract if your recipe calls for essence, and double the essence if the recipe calls for extract |
| Ash | Protein | US | UK | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ~0.4% | ~9% | pastry flour | soft flour | 405 |
| ~0.55% | ~11% | all-purpose flour | plain flour | 550 |
| ~0.8% | ~14% | high gluten flour | strong or hard | 812 |
| ~1.1% | ~15% | first clear flour | very strong or hard | 1050 |
| >1.5% | ~13% | white whole wheat | wholemeal | 1600 |
Usually, you can substitute one type of baking powder for the other. So, if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of double-acting baking powder, you can use 1 teaspoon of single-acting baking powder (and vice versa).
Exception!!
If a recipe calls for double-acting baking powder because there is a time delay between mixing and baking, it’s not a good idea to use single-acting baking powder. Pancakes for example
I found this info on the internet:
To substitute 1 Tsp of Double Acting Baking Soda, use:
1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
OR 1 1/2 teaspoons single-action baking powder
OR 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk, sour milk or yoghurt to replace 1/2 cup (120 ml) non-acidic liquid
| German Name | English Name | What It Is | Use in Baking | Can It Be Substituted? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natron | Bicarbonate of Soda / Baking Soda | A pure alkaline (sodium bicarbonate) that requires acid to activate. | Used to help baked goods rise when combined with an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk). Also helps with browning. | Not directly interchangeable with Backpulver. If a recipe calls for Natron and you only have Backpulver, adjust acid and quantity carefully. Rule of thumb: 1 tsp Natron = 3 tsp Backpulver (omit acid). |
| Backpulver | Baking Powder | A complete leavening agent containing both an acid (like cream of tartar) and a base (bicarbonate of soda), plus a drying agent like starch. | Used to make cakes and baked goods rise without needing extra acid in the recipe. Convenient all-in-one option. | Can be homemade: 1 part Natron + 2 parts cream of tartar = baking powder. Example: 1 tsp Backpulver = 1/3 tsp Natron + 2/3 tsp cream of tartar. |
| Reinweinstein / Weinsteinpulver | Cream of Tartar | An acidic byproduct of winemaking (potassium bitartrate). A white, powdery acid. | Stabilises whipped egg whites, prevents sugar crystallisation in syrups and meringues, and can be used to make homemade baking powder. | For egg whites, can substitute lemon juice or vinegar. For baking powder, combines with Natron to create leavening power. |
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