Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren fog O bomb here. If you're in the mood to make some kind of baked good, the recipe you grab will almost certainly call for baking powder or baking soda. That's because both ingredients are leavening agents used to make your favorite baked goods light, fluffy, and moist. But while baking powder and baking soda are similar, they're definitely not the same. Baking soda is made from one ingredient, sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate is alkaline, sometimes called a base, and its job is to react with some kind of acid in batter, such as buttermilk, yogurt, brown sugar, or vinegar, and upon reacting, release carbon dioxide bubbles that help your baked goods rise and become light and fluffy. This reaction happens immediately when the baking soda and acid come in contact with each other. On the other hand, making powder is a combination of sodium bicarbonate plus two acids that are stable in a dry room temperature state, often those acids being mono calcium phosphate and sodium aluminum sulfate. These two additional ingredients work to extend the leaveting process and mean that you don't necessarily have to add any acids to your batter. When you stir dry baking powder into a wet batter or dough, First, the mono calcium phosphate hydrates and can react with the sodium bicarbonate to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. Then, when you put your unmaked goods in the oven, the combination of heat and moisture will allow the sodium aluminium sulfate to react, giving off a second burst of gas. This two stage activation process, which gives baking powder the tag double acting, means you can delay baking the batter or dough for up to twenty minutes without much affecting its leaveting power. Recipes using baking soda, on the other hand, require immediate baking for the best results, since baking soda alone reacts to an acid as soon as the two are mixed, the dough will only deflate from there. But if you've got only baking soda on hand and need baking powder no worries. You can substitute baking soda for baking powder with two precautions. First, you need enough acidity in the mixture to activate the baking soda. Uh say, one cup of butter milk or a teaspoon of lemon juice per half teaspoon of baking soda. Second, you have to calculate the proper amount of baking soda to use. Baking soda is four times stronger than baking powder, so a recipe calling for a teaspoon of baking powder translates to a quarter teaspoon of baking soda. If you happen to have cream of tartar at home, you can make your own baking powder by combining it with baking soda. A quarter teaspoon of baking soda and five eighths of a teaspoon of cream of tartar will be equal to one teaspoon of baking powder. A cream of tartar is another powdery acid potassium by tar trait. Baking powder was actually originally a combination of cream of tartar in baking soda. It first debuted in England in the late eighteen forties, but at the time of tartar was pricey, and being that it's a byproduct of the wine industry, Americans had to import it from Europe. So in eighteen fifty six, an American chemist created modern baking powder, which substitutes mono calcium phosphate for cream of tartar. Unfortunately, while it's relatively easy to substitute baking soda for baking powder, the opposite is not true. If a recipe calls for baking soda and all you have is baking powder, it's best not to proceed, as baking powder is a combination of at least a couple ingredients. Since baking soda is again stronger than baking powder, you'd need three or four times the amount of baking powder and a reduction in salt and other acidic ingredients in the batter to approximate a substitute, and it's likely that the texture and flavor of the finished product will not be what you were going for, even with your best efforts. Also, a caveat when using either baking soda or baking powder, measure carefully. Too much baking soda can cause your baked goods to fall, while too much baking powder can lend a bitter taste to your goodies, and too little of either of these leavening agents can result in dense, heavy goods without enough Rise. Today's episode was written by Melanie Red Zekie McManus and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other topics that will lift you up, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com and for more podcasts. For my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren fog O bomb here. If you're in the mood to make some kind of baked good, the recipe you grab will almost certainly call for baking powder or baking soda. That's because both ingredients are leavening agents used to make your favorite baked goods light, fluffy, and moist. But while baking powder and baking soda are similar, they're definitely not the same. Baking soda is made from one ingredient, sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate is alkaline, sometimes called a base, and its job is to react with some kind of acid in batter, such as buttermilk, yogurt, brown sugar, or vinegar, and upon reacting, release carbon dioxide bubbles that help your baked goods rise and become light and fluffy. This reaction happens immediately when the baking soda and acid come in contact with each other. On the other hand, making powder is a combination of sodium bicarbonate plus two acids that are stable in a dry room temperature state, often those acids being mono calcium phosphate and sodium aluminum sulfate. These two additional ingredients work to extend the leaveting process and mean that you don't necessarily have to add any acids to your batter. When you stir dry baking powder into a wet batter or dough, First, the mono calcium phosphate hydrates and can react with the sodium bicarbonate to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. Then, when you put your unmaked goods in the oven, the combination of heat and moisture will allow the sodium aluminium sulfate to react, giving off a second burst of gas. This two stage activation process, which gives baking powder the tag double acting, means you can delay baking the batter or dough for up to twenty minutes without much affecting its leaveting power. Recipes using baking soda, on the other hand, require immediate baking for the best results, since baking soda alone reacts to an acid as soon as the two are mixed, the dough will only deflate from there. But if you've got only baking soda on hand and need baking powder no worries. You can substitute baking soda for baking powder with two precautions. First, you need enough acidity in the mixture to activate the baking soda. Uh say, one cup of butter milk or a teaspoon of lemon juice per half teaspoon of baking soda. Second, you have to calculate the proper amount of baking soda to use. Baking soda is four times stronger than baking powder, so a recipe calling for a teaspoon of baking powder translates to a quarter teaspoon of baking soda. If you happen to have cream of tartar at home, you can make your own baking powder by combining it with baking soda. A quarter teaspoon of baking soda and five eighths of a teaspoon of cream of tartar will be equal to one teaspoon of baking powder. A cream of tartar is another powdery acid potassium by tar trait. Baking powder was actually originally a combination of cream of tartar in baking soda. It first debuted in England in the late eighteen forties, but at the time of tartar was pricey, and being that it's a byproduct of the wine industry, Americans had to import it from Europe. So in eighteen fifty six, an American chemist created modern baking powder, which substitutes mono calcium phosphate for cream of tartar. Unfortunately, while it's relatively easy to substitute baking soda for baking powder, the opposite is not true. If a recipe calls for baking soda and all you have is baking powder, it's best not to proceed, as baking powder is a combination of at least a couple ingredients. Since baking soda is again stronger than baking powder, you'd need three or four times the amount of baking powder and a reduction in salt and other acidic ingredients in the batter to approximate a substitute, and it's likely that the texture and flavor of the finished product will not be what you were going for, even with your best efforts. Also, a caveat when using either baking soda or baking powder, measure carefully. Too much baking soda can cause your baked goods to fall, while too much baking powder can lend a bitter taste to your goodies, and too little of either of these leavening agents can result in dense, heavy goods without enough Rise. Today's episode was written by Melanie Red Zekie McManus and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other topics that will lift you up, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com and for more podcasts. For my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.