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I am planning on making a bunch of gingerbread this year, the recipe I use takes both baking powder and baking soda. In order to cut down on dishes and time I thought I might mix all of the dry ingredients together in multiple batches and store it in the fridge for a week or two until I have time to actually bake it.

Can anyone tell me if it will cause problems to store baking powder and baking soda (and the rest of the ingredients) mixed together for couple of weeks in the fridge?

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    I would just note that baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is actually part of most baking powder formulations already. There's absolutely no reason not to mix them together or store them together.
    – Athanasius
    Dec 6, 2015 at 20:43
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    I don't want to edit your question too strongly but it seems like the question you're actually asking here is "can I store the dry ingredients together?" not just baking soda/powder.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Dec 6, 2015 at 21:01
  • Well, I really was only concerned about the baking soda/powder but for clarity felt like I should clarify that I'm storing it in with the other ingredients as well.
    – binarylegit
    Dec 7, 2015 at 14:38

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As long as they're all dry ingredients, then you should be just fine — after all, that's exactly what a box of packaged cake mix is.

Again, if it's just dry ingredients, I see no need to refrigerate it. I would put it in an airtight container — preferably a glass jar*. Placed in your pantry, it should have a shelf-life of a least a couple of months.

* Glass jars are my preference for storing dry ingredients — they're easy sanitize, and the twist-off cover makes an airtight seal: enter image description here

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    Agreed about not refrigerating - if anything, that's asking for trouble, in the form of taking on odors from something else in the fridge, or possibly even collecting condensation.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Dec 6, 2015 at 20:48
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    I often pre-mix the dry ingredients for pancakes and store multiple jars worth in my pantry, so it is easy to just open a jar and dump into a bowl. I like your jar lid labels :)
    – Erica
    Dec 6, 2015 at 21:22
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    @Jefromi : I'd be more worried about condensation in the fridge, thus activating the baking powder.
    – Joe
    Dec 7, 2015 at 5:07
  • @Joe I said "possibly even" because in airtight containers full of dry ingredients you wouldn't really get condensation. But if you do, yes, it'd be very bad.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Dec 7, 2015 at 6:45
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    @Jefromi : you can still get condensation in airtight containers, with the amount being proportional to the volume of air & how humid it was when you sealed it. A bag with as much air squeezed out as possible is better than a few teaspoons at the bottom of a jar. As there's flour in there, it's possible that might absorb the moisture before the baking powder would ... but until someone tries it, I'd be concerned about storing it in the fridge. (especially when there's no need to refrigerate.)
    – Joe
    Dec 7, 2015 at 11:16
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@ElmerCat is almost completely correct (cake mix has a slightly shorter shelf life than the ingredients but still years), but in the specific case of baking soda and baking powder, there is additional assurance available: baking powder is made by grinding baking soda with cream of tartar, therefore mixing them is only making a modified ratio, and will not shorten shelf life at all. Other dry ingredients added to the mix may shorten the shelf life some (Not that you would notice in normal usage).

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You're basically making self-raising flour this way (slightly different proportions). It will keep as long as the flour, at room temperature. And if kept clean and dry the date on flour is quite conservative. You've probably got months to use it, and the worst that would happen is slightly less rise. Damp of course is another matter.

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