[Sca-cooks] baking soda vs. baking powder

[Avraham haRofeh of Sudentur]

> > The very first time I ever did a recipe "all by myself" (okay, so I was
> > seven) was snickerdoodles.  I put the wrong leavening in (can't
> > remember
> > if it was baking soda instead of baking powder or t'other way around).
> > They were perfectly shaped, perfectly baked, and perfectly inedible.
> > <g>
> Okay you food chemists out there, *why* would one of these work in this
> recipe but the other wouldn't and yet both seemed to give the same rise
> to this food. Maybe this depends upon what "snickerdoodles" are?

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder is a combination of sodium
bicarbonate and another basic salt, usually of the phosphate variety. Sodium
bicarbonate begins to foam and fizz as soon as it comes into contact with an
acid liquid, starting the initial rise. The second element of baking powder
doesn't start to form gas until it's heated, usually to around 110-130F, so
it doesn't start to rise until the food is in the oven. Using baking soda
instead of baking powder results in an incompletely-risen product.

Snickerdoodles are a New England cookie, rather shortbread-like, if memory
serves.

Avraham

*******************************************************
Reb Avraham haRofeh of Sudentur
     (mka Randy Goldberg MD)
RandomTag: I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal
lobotomy. - Tom Waits



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