Hi Alexandra! Please contact [email protected] and we'll troubleshoot with you!
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is one of the most commonly used leavening agents in baked goods. Baking soda is naturally found in crystalline form but when used for cooking, is ground to a fine powder. Baking soda is often used to leaven quick-bake items such as pancakes, muffins, scones, cakes, and even some fried foods.
Considering baking soda is a base, it will react with any acid it encounters. Due to the alkaline chemical compound of baking soda, when it is mixed with acid it will produce small gaseous carbon dioxide bubbles. When baking a cake, the acid comes in the form of vinegar, lemon, buttermilk, yogurt, cream of tartar, or even coffee. Moreover, in cake batter, once the baking soda has reacted with the acid, it is important to immediately put the batter in the oven because the air bubbles can be lost over time. However, when baking cookies, the acid that triggers the reaction with baking soda generally comes from dry ingredients such as brown sugar or cocoa powder. This is why cookie dough can keep much longer in the refrigerator. The chemical reaction does not effectively occur until the cookie dough is placed in the oven.
Aside from leavening, baking soda also increases the pH of the dough it is added to. This creates thickness, while weakening the gluten, to create tender baked goods. Compared to baking powder, baking soda is about four times as strong, and as such, recipes generally only call for a small amount. If too much baking soda is used, it can create a metallic aftertaste. Baking soda differs from yeast and baking powder, because it produces carbon dioxide gas (and loses it) quickly. Once exposed to heat, it will expand and become rigid. Baking powder or yeast is generally sought after in place of baking soda when a recipe calls for an extended chemical reaction (aka rising of dough) rather than a quick release.
Yeast is made up of small, single-celled organisms that consume sugars and excrete carbon dioxide. Through this biological reaction, the leavening of dough occurs. Though yeast can be found either fresh or dried, when it is first purchased at the store, it is generally in a dormant state due to shelf stability. In order to activate dried yeast and have it wake up, it needs to be combined with (commonly) a warm liquid to hydrate it, and sugar, including honey, fruit juice, or plain table sugar, for it to feed on. As the yeast consumes the sugar, the CO2 and alcohol byproduct allows dough to rise and to develop gluten and flavor. When baking bread, yeast can help strengthen the elasticity of the dough (the gluten) resulting in a chewier and fluffier bread. Without gluten, the CO2 bubbles in bread would be lost, resulting in a much denser loaf. Whether in the form of active dry yeast or homemade starter, yeast is essential for bread to rise, not only because of the CO2 that is produced but also by way of alcohol. The alcohol evaporates as the bread bakes, which helps to strengthen and develop the gluten. The yeast also provides for the main underlying flavor of bread through the process of fermentation. The enzymes in the yeast break down the starch into a greater depth of flavor. Factors that set yeast apart from the other two leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda) include the increased time it takes for the leavening process to occur, the strengthening of gluten, and the biological reaction that occurs.
Hi Alexandra! Please contact [email protected] and we'll troubleshoot with you!
Hi Joanne - Most breads that are leavened with baking powder (known as "quick breads") do not require kneading, though it would depend on your specific recipe. If you want to chat with our recipe specialist, please email us at [email protected]
I recently made a scallion bread that called for baking powder AND yeast. Per the instructions, I only let the dough rise once, which I thought unusual for filled and shaped yeast breads. My limited experience is that those rise after assembly, but I followed the recipe exactly. The result was good, although I wished it were fluffier, but maybe that was my dough handling error. Can you explain why baking powder and yeast would be used together?
Hi Lorraine - it's not very common to use both baking powder and yeast in a bread recipe. Baking powder leavens with carbon dioxide release twice - once when acid/base ingredients are mixed and then again when heated. Yeast also creates carbon dioxide, though by a different reaction. In your recipe, it sounds like yeast is there as a flavor component and the baking powder is there as a secondary leavening agent, though it's hard to say exactly without seeing the recipe.
If you're up for trying another scallion bread recipe, we highly recommend these two options from Lisa Lin at Healthy Nibbles.
- Baked Scallion Bread
- Flaky Scallion Pancakes with Shallots
Thank you for the information. I have a question. I baked buns with Bob's red Mill oat flour with baking powder (German type). I used less than 1 tsp for 300g flour but I could still taste that bitter taste of the baking powder. The recipe contained eggs, water and salt. Could you please recommend what would be the ideal amount of baking powder? Or should I use something else for leavening?
Thank you for your answer in advance.
Eszter V.
Hi Eszter, that ratio of baking powder to flour isn't abnormal and you shouldn't taste any off-flavors from the baking powder. It's possible that the baking powder may have absorbed a smell/flavor from something else stored nearby. I suggest testing the same recipe with a fresh bag of baking powder.
I’ve been making a simple orange cake for years, using baking soda and apple cider vinegar as rising agent. (Recipe uses white flour, sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, a bit of salt.) But I’m wondering how the addition of alcohol, I.e. a tablespoon or so of Grand Marnier, might affect the way the cake rises, if at all. Any helpful ideas? Thanks in advance. Hank S.
Hi Hank - the addition of Grand Marnier sounds delicious! I do not think it would affect the leavening agents in the recipe.
Thank you for this explanation! I working on tweaking a Neapolitan pizza dough recipe using yeast and 13 grams of salt or 2.3 tsb. I have a sodium restriction and the amount of salt needed to aid the yeast is very problematic.
The yeast and a long leavening period (8-24 hours) is desired i believe for the taste and texture of the fermenting process with the yeast. I'm going to need to experiment i know, but my questions are... 1. if I use a low sodium baking powder, will the initial leavening process actually work for 8 hours or longer ?and 2. can I cut back on the sodium maybe by 1/2 or 2/3 and use both yeast and low sodium baking power? I realize this is such an off the wall situation but hopefully you have encountered a similar situation that might offer some guidance. If it helps, I'm using Type 00 flour. Thank you!
You don't need any salt for yeast to do it's business - in fact salt hampers the action of yeast. You can leave the salt out altogether (it just won't taste the same)!
Hi Mark, these are great questions, but unfortunately, without knowing what recipe you are using, we can't answer these questions. We have an incredible recipe specialist on staff. You can ask her detailed questions based on specific recipes. You can reach her at (800) 349-2173 or [email protected].
That's a very clear explanation. So does baking banana bread require yeast or a combination of baking soda and baking powder good enough?
Thank you for the article.
That really depends on the recipe you are following. Typically banana bread does not use yeast though. Most recipes use baking soda and/or baking powder.
Thanks for posting this article! This provides a great explanation of these ingredients. Most of my baking is cakes and banana bread type of loaves. Your article makes reference to "If the volume of the batter you are making is large, it is advisable to use either baking powder or a combination of baking powder and baking soda.". Can you please explain what a large volume means? Are you referring to the depth/size of the pan or something else like the density of the batter? The deepest pan I use (so far) are the loaf pans for things like banana bread and the batter is quite dense/thick compared to cake batter. All of the recipes I have seen use baking soda although some also add baking powder.
Hi Karen! If you are making a small batch of muffins, a combination of baking powder and baking soda is not always necessary. On the other hand, if you are baking a large 10-cup bundt cake, both will likely be needed.
We're so happy this was helpful for you.
I make muffins that call for 1 tsp baking soda and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. Can I substitute yeast for either or both? If so, what would be the measurement of yeast?
Hi J., unfortunately we don't have a tested method for subbing in yeast for baking powder/soda. Yeast typically takes time to proof whereas baking powder and soda are activated by heat and acidity. If you have more questions please contact our Customer Service team.
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This is a great article. I really appreciate this. I get the part about differences between baking soda vs powder but Iv often wondered if I really do need yeast for bread since it's not an ingredient I always have at home as I rarely bake bread. The few times iv tried to substitute yeast with soda it ended up looking like scones or cake. I'm considering buying yeast now
Gluten is the elastic substance that allows bread to raise into a light and fluffy product. Gluten free flours lack this substance. Consequently, they never are quite the same texture. I use yeast with gluten free flours anyway. Just allow plenty of time for dough to rise. Love the way breads taste.
Hello and thank you for this information. My daughter cannot have yeast and I don’t do well with baking powder. Is there a way to use baking soda (maybe with cream of tartar) in a gluten free bread with oat and / or white rice flour, and if so, do you have any such recipes for us?
Thank you.