What's the Difference Between Baking Powder and Baking Soda?
Baking powder and baking soda are both leavening agents which are used to help make baked goods rise. To the untrained eye, the two products are difficult to tell apart and often confused for one another. Indeed, many minor baking disasters have resulted from accidentally substituting one for the other so it’s helpful to know the difference when working in the kitchen!
Baking soda, known more formally as sodium bicarbonate, is a white crystalline powder that is naturally alkaline and is activated by an acid to help with leavening, or rising in baked goods such as cakes and breads. Upon activation, carbon dioxide is produced which causes the food to rise and become fluffy during the baking process. Recipes that include baking soda will also include an acidic ingredient such as buttermilk or lemon juice.
Baking powder is a complete leavening agent that contains both baking soda and the required acid needed to activate the leavening process. A buffer such as cornstarch or flour is typically used to prevent the acid and base ingredients from activating during storage. When baking powder is combined with a liquid, carbon dioxide bubbles are produced. These bubbles are what leaven the baked goods with their rapid lifting ability, making baking powder a convenient time saving ingredient.
Single and double acting baking powders are available but single acting varieties are generally used by food manufacturers and are not typically available for household consumer use. Most recipes call for double acting baking powders that create two separate reactions – an initial reaction when combined with liquid at room temperature and a second reaction when heated. The double acting powder ensures that leavening doesn’t happen all at once.
Some recipes may call for both baking soda and baking powder because the recipe contains an acid that must be offset by the baking soda but is not enough to completely leaven the product. For most recipes, either one or the other will be called for depending on the required acid/base balance. Substituting baking powder for baking soda is possible but keep in mind that baking soda is much stronger than baking powder. It takes roughly 3 times as much baking powder to create the same rising ability as a given amount of baking soda. And it may give the final product a bitter taste. Substituting baking soda for baking powder will require the addition of an acidic ingredient such as buttermilk to activate the baking soda.
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