Baking Soda And Baking Powder Research

I have been required to carry out an investigation between baking soda and baking powder in order to determine which additive is better for cooking and baking. For this assessment, research will be carried out to find out what each additive contains, how and why they enhance cooking and their advantages and disadvantages.

Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical name for baking soda and it has a chemical formula of NaHC03. Baking soda is a chemical compound with a high pH that comes in the form of a fine white powder and tastes somewhat salty. The substance can be used for cooking but also it can be used for oral hygiene such as teeth whitening and mouthwash. Sodium bicarbonate can also be used when mixed with water to treat indigestion, heartburns and allergy. Bicarbonate of soda has an “amphoretic” characteristic in the sense that it neutralizes both acids and bases.

Baking soda is used to make a mixture rise and therefore as a base it reacts with an acid to get co2 gas, water and salt. This reaction takes place once the mixture has been mixed properly. The co2 gas bubbles rise in the oven at 80 C and gives a light spongy texture. If you decide to wait after you have mixed the ingredients the mixture may fail to rise and ruin your recipe.

Baking powder is used as a raising agent for baking especially when making cakes. It consists of alkali, baking soda and cream of tarter. Corn flour and rice flour is also used to soak up any moisture. The sodium hydrogen carbonate or baking soda molecules effectively break down when it’s being heated causing carbon dioxide gas (co2) to form. The co2 causes the mixture to bubble and rise so that the cakes are spongy. The word equation for this is below and shows that b...

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...bon dioxide. A disadvantage however is that it causes whatever is baking in the oven to turn brown thus the “browning” effect.

In conclusion it can be said that baking powder is better than baking soda because baking soda can be used as a substitution and has a neutral characteristic. Nevertheless it is down to personal preference of an individual to use baking powder or bicarbonate of soda or both.

Reference

http://www.thekitchn.com/pantry-basics-whats-the-differ-40514

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/baking-powder

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

http://www.chemicalformula.org/baking-soda

http://www.orbitals.com/self/leaven/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

http://joythebaker.com/2013/10/baking-101-the-difference-between-baking-soda-and-baking-powder/