Whats the differences between baking soda and baking powder?

Answer 1

Both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they are added to baked goods before cooking to produce carbon dioxide and cause them to 'rise'. Baking powder contains baking soda, but the two substances are used under different conditions.
Baking Soda

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise. The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat!

Baking Powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. Single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven.

How Are Recipes Determined?

Some recipes call for baking soda, while others call for baking powder. Which ingredient is used depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. The ultimate goal is to produce a tasty product with a pleasing texture. Baking soda is basic and will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk. You'll find baking soda in cookie recipes. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste. Recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk. Baking powder is a common ingredient in cakes and biscuits.

Substituting in Recipes

You can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you'll need more baking powder and it may affect the taste), but you can't use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder. Baking soda by itself lacks the acidity to make a cake rise. However, you can make your own baking powder if you have baking soda and cream of tartar. Simply mix two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda.

Answer 2

Baking powder is normally made of three different parts:

An acid
A base
A filler of some sort

All three need to be dry powders that can be mixed together. For example, baking soda (a base), cream of tartar (an acid) and corn starch (the filler) are three common ingredients.

In school, you may have done the experiment where you mix baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid) and get a bubbling reaction. Baking powder works the same way. When you add water to baking powder, the dry acid and base go into solution and start reacting to produce carbon dioxide bubbles.

Single-acting baking powder produces all of its bubbles when it gets wet.

Double-acting baking powder produces bubbles again when it gets hot.

If you want to prove to yourself that this is how baking powder works, simply try mixing a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. As long as the baking powder is fresh, you will definitely see the reaction!

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, has the chemical formula NaHCO3.

Cream of tartar, also known as tartrate salt, has the formula KHC4H4O6.

Mixed together, the reaction is:

NaHCO3 + KHC4H4O6 ----> KNaC4H4O6 + H2O + CO2

Some baking powders contain sodium aluminum sulfate: NaAl(SO4)2.

The reaction there is:

NaAl(SO4)2 + 3 NaHCO3 ----> Al(OH)3 + 2 Na2SO4 + 3 CO2

Many recipes call simply for baking soda rather than baking powder. Usually these recipes use some kind of liquid acid like buttermilk or yogurt to react with the baking soda to produce the bubbles.

The reason why people often prefer baking powder to yeast is because yeast takes so long -- usually two to three hours -- to produce its bubbles.

Baking powder is instant, so you can mix up a batch of biscuits and eat them 15 minutes later.

Answer 3

Baking soda and baking powder are both leavening agents. What is a leavening agent? It is an ingredient that produces a gas which causes batters and doughs to rise. Baking soda is simply sodium bicarbonate, which does not have any leavening capabilities by itself. It is only when baking soda is mixed with an acid such as sour cream, molasses, lemon juice, or buttermilk that these gases are released. Because these gases start forming right after the baking soda and acid are mixed, batters using baking soda should be baked immediately after mixing.

Baking powder actually consists of baking soda and an acid, usually cream of tartar, calcium acid phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate, or a mixture of the three. Double-acting baking powder, the most common type, is usually made up of baking soda, sodium aluminum sulfate, calcium acid phosphate, and cornstarch which is used as a drying agent. It is called double-acting baking powder because it has two rising actions. The first time the mixture rises is when a liquid comes in contact with the baking powder, and the second time is when the batter is exposed to heat. This makes it possible to mix the ingredients ahead of time and to bake the dough whenever it is convenient.

Answer 4

I am looking at a can of double acting baking powder, and it says it has the following ingredients: cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda, sodium aluminum sulfate, and mono-calcium phosphate. On the box of baking soda I have right here it says that baking soda has sodium, and bicarbonate of soda in it. Baking soda biscuits can be good, if you do not use too much. Pioneers did use that quite a bit. It does have a different taste. Called "soda biscuits" they were a staple at one time. Double Acting Baking Powder uses BOTH the sodium bicarbonate and Sodium Aluminum Sulphate. I do not know what the difference is except it just tastes better in biscuits and baking to me. Baking soda by itself can be used for upset stomach, if dissolved in a glass of water, and also is used as a safe cleaner for microwave ovens and refrigerators without leaving a bad odor. It can be used for deodorizing, and cleaning many items around the house. Just look on the box to see where it recommends. Baking powder is not a cleaner. It is used JUST for baking. The taste of baking soda is more like the English Soda Biscuits sold in some cafeterias. They make a nice biscuit, but you have to like it or learn to like if you cook with it. The texture of Baking powder is much smoother, because it has corn starch in it too. Cornstarch in the kitchen can be added to a cake or biscuit recipe to add smoothness, even if you use just the baking powder. It is also used for white gravies. Baking powder - especially double acting baking powder makes the a cake mix more stable in its rising, while the baking soda will look and feel different. Cream of Tartar is sometimes an ingredient of Baking powder, and you can add that to a recipe and expect a smoother texture also. It is slightly acidic, but that is counter balanced by sweeteners or by other ingredients such as fruit. Littlelady75

Answer 5

Baking soda is 100% sodium bicarbonate.

Baking powder contains baking soda, plus one or more acid salts such as Cream of Tartar (Tartaric Acid), Sodium Aluminium Sulphate, Calcium Acid Phosphate plus a drying agent such as cornflour and the exact mix determines whether it is "Single" or "Double" acting. The difference between baking soda, single and double acting baking powders, is when the chemical reactions actually take place.

Answer 6

Its very simple,Baking soda is used to make or prepare veggies whereas the baking powder is used 2 bake things such as cake

Answer 7

1's a powder and 1's a soda.

Answer 8

I have no clue, all I do know is that if you mix them up while baking, you are sh!t out of luck!

Answer 9

soda foams up when you put it in water
powder does not

Answer 10

I agree with Brillantina.