1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 1: Lauren fog O bomb here. If you're in the mood 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:12,799 Speaker 1: to make some kind of baked good, the recipe you 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: grab will almost certainly call for baking powder or baking soda. 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 1: That's because both ingredients are leavening agents used to make 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: your favorite baked goods light, fluffy, and moist. But while 7 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: baking powder and baking soda are similar, they're definitely not 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: the same. Baking soda is made from one ingredient, sodium bicarbonate. 9 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: Sodium bicarbonate is alkaline, sometimes called a base, and its 10 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: job is to react with some kind of acid in batter, 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,919 Speaker 1: such as buttermilk, yogurt, brown sugar, or vinegar, and upon reacting, 12 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: release carbon dioxide bubbles that help your baked goods rise 13 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,639 Speaker 1: and become light and fluffy. This reaction happens immediately when 14 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: the baking soda and acid come in contact with each other. 15 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: On the other hand, making powder is a combination of 16 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: sodium bicarbonate plus two acids that are stable in a 17 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: dry room temperature state, often those acids being mono calcium 18 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: phosphate and sodium aluminum sulfate. These two additional ingredients work 19 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: to extend the leaveting process and mean that you don't 20 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: necessarily have to add any acids to your batter. When 21 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: you stir dry baking powder into a wet batter or dough, First, 22 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: the mono calcium phosphate hydrates and can react with the 23 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: sodium bicarbonate to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. Then, when you 24 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: put your unmaked goods in the oven, the combination of 25 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: heat and moisture will allow the sodium aluminium sulfate to react, 26 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: giving off a second burst of gas. This two stage 27 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: activation process, which gives baking powder the tag double acting, 28 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: means you can delay baking the batter or dough for 29 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: up to twenty minutes without much affecting its leaveting power. 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: Recipes using baking soda, on the other hand, require immediate 31 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: baking for the best results, since baking soda alone reacts 32 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: to an acid as soon as the two are mixed, 33 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: the dough will only deflate from there. But if you've 34 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: got only baking soda on hand and need baking powder 35 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: no worries. You can substitute baking soda for baking powder 36 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: with two precautions. First, you need enough acidity in the 37 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: mixture to activate the baking soda. Uh say, one cup 38 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 1: of butter milk or a teaspoon of lemon juice per 39 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: half teaspoon of baking soda. Second, you have to calculate 40 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: the proper amount of baking soda to use. Baking soda 41 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 1: is four times stronger than baking powder, so a recipe 42 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 1: calling for a teaspoon of baking powder translates to a 43 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: quarter teaspoon of baking soda. If you happen to have 44 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: cream of tartar at home, you can make your own 45 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: baking powder by combining it with baking soda. A quarter 46 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: teaspoon of baking soda and five eighths of a teaspoon 47 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: of cream of tartar will be equal to one teaspoon 48 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: of baking powder. A cream of tartar is another powdery 49 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: acid potassium by tar trait. Baking powder was actually originally 50 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 1: a combination of cream of tartar in baking soda. It 51 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: first debuted in England in the late eighteen forties, but 52 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: at the time of tartar was pricey, and being that 53 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: it's a byproduct of the wine industry, Americans had to 54 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: import it from Europe. So in eighteen fifty six, an 55 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: American chemist created modern baking powder, which substitutes mono calcium 56 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: phosphate for cream of tartar. Unfortunately, while it's relatively easy 57 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: to substitute baking soda for baking powder, the opposite is 58 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: not true. If a recipe calls for baking soda and 59 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 1: all you have is baking powder, it's best not to proceed, 60 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: as baking powder is a combination of at least a 61 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: couple ingredients. Since baking soda is again stronger than baking powder, 62 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: you'd need three or four times the amount of baking 63 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: powder and a reduction in salt and other acidic ingredients 64 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: in the batter to approximate a substitute, and it's likely 65 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: that the texture and flavor of the finished product will 66 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: not be what you were going for, even with your 67 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: best efforts. Also, a caveat when using either baking soda 68 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: or baking powder, measure carefully. Too much baking soda can 69 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: cause your baked goods to fall, while too much baking 70 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: powder can lend a bitter taste to your goodies, and 71 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: too little of either of these leavening agents can result 72 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: in dense, heavy goods without enough Rise. Today's episode was 73 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: written by Melanie Red Zekie McManus and produced by Tyler Clang. 74 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. 75 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other topics that 76 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: will lift you up, visit our home planet, how stuff 77 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: Works dot com and for more podcasts. For my heart Radio, 78 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 79 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.