[Sca-cooks] Commercial bread leavening

[Harris Mark.S-rsve60]

Bear replied to me with:
>Soda bread is a bread leavened with baking soda rather than yeast.

I was going to ask whether this meant that most modern, commercial breads were soda breads, but then Admantius' comments make it clear that "soda bread" is actually a bit more specific than that. But this does raise a question. What is the rising agent in most commercial breads, the wonder bread and similar ones, not the artesian breads baked in your local deli? Are they using yeast or a chemical agent? For years I had assumed the latter, but now I'm wondering if it isn't yeast after all.

>What specifically is "soda bread"? Bread for eating while drinking soft 
>drinks? One of the first breads made using baking soda?
>
>Stefan

Stefan