leavening

[ lev-uh-ning ]

noun

1. Also called leavening agent. a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or batter; leaven.
2. the act or process of causing to ferment by leaven.
3. leaven ( def 3 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of leavening¹

First recorded in 1600–10; leaven + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Seven years after her father’s disappearance, Diamond Newberry and her mother are struggling, but Diamond’s observations provide comic leavening.

From Los Angeles Times

They are also what make it rise in the absence of other leavening agents.

From Salon

You would think all the leavening would make it light, but the weight of the other ingredients created 4-pound pancakes, which were so thick that the inside could only cook if the outside was burnt.

From Los Angeles Times

“Temperature is part of the chemical reaction process for baked goods made with a leavening agent, such as baking powder,” nutrition and wellness educator Jenna Smith wrote for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign extension website.

From Washington Post

Attending nuns push not gurneys but shopping carts, leavening the tragic with the mundane.

From Los Angeles Times