Today we’re going to take a look at baking powder vs baking soda. Whilst these two chemical leaveners have a lot in common, they’re also very different. You’ll see these ingredients called for in quick breads, pancakes,
First, A Few Key Similarities
Let’s take a look at how baking powder and baking soda are the same, then we’ll take a look at how they differ.
- Both baking powder and baking soda are white powders that you can purchase at every grocery store.
- Baking powder and baking soda each require an acidic component to do its job, but baking powder has an advantage we’ll cover further down in this article.
- Both can be stored at room temperature in your kitchen, and they should stay dry at all times.
- You will find both chemical leavening agents in baking recipes, and some recipes call for both to be used.
Baking Powder Vs Baking Soda: The Key Differences
Now let’s take a look at the differences between these awesome pantry staples because if you ask me, this is where things start to get interesting.
- Baking powder is a complete leavening agent, and doesn’t need any additional acidic ingredients to get the job done (more on this later).
- Baking soda is a single ingredient and must be combined with an acidic component to form a reaction that creates the carbon dioxide bubbles you’re chasing after.
- Baking powder does require a liquid to activate, but unlike baking soda, it can be any liquid (warm water, regular milk, dairy free milk, juice, etc.)
- You can purchase single acting or double actingbaking powder, whereas baking soda is a simple single reaction (I’ll also cover this more further down).
Finally, and yes, I saved the best part for last, I want to highlight the P and S in their names. Baking POWDER is extra puff and baking SODA is extra spread. If you were to bake up a batch of your favourite chocolate chip cookies and make one batch with baking powder and the other with baking soda, you’ll really be able to see the difference in these two agents. The powder recipe will have more puff, and a bit more of an airy texture. The soda batch will spread out a bit more, and have a more flat center and chewier texture.
Just remember, p = puff and s = spread. How cool is that?
What is Baking Powder
Baking powder is a chemical leavening agent and adds volume to baked goods and other delicious creations such as scones and waffles. Baking powder also lightens the texture of your baked goods. You can really see its power if you make something like these fluffy lemon pancakes. This pancake recipe also shows you how to combine both baking powder and baking soda for the ultimate egg and gluten free lift.
I’ll also add that without baking powder, items such as biscuits, cookies, and some breads would be more dense and flatter than you want. For those of you who can have eggs though, if you were to bake without baking powder, this would be less noticeable since the eggs are a form of leavening as well.
How Does Baking Powder Work
When you purchase baking powder it’s comprised of three key ingredient types:
- Alkaline Powder (such as bicarbonate of soda)
- Acid Salt
- Neutral Starch (usually corn starch, but you’ll also see potato starch and cassava starch as well)
When it’s time to use the baking powder, that’s where the fourth element comes into play: your liquid of choice.
Once your baking powder is combined with your wet ingredients, carbon dioxide is produced, and the gas is trapped in your dough, which causes the dough to rise. You’ll be able to see the this because bubbles are forming (that’s the gas).
This type of leavening is considered a chemical reaction, as is baking soda + an acid. The other main two types of leavening agents are biological (yeast, natural fermentation) and vaporous (steam).
What is Double Acting Baking Powder
Double-acting baking powder is a special leavening agent because it helps your baked goods rise twice. Remember the carbon dioxide production I mentioned earlier? With double acting baking powder, the key bonus ingredient is usually sodium aluminum sulfate. It’s unique because it doesn’t release all of its gas during the first reaction (when your wet and dry ingredients are combined).
The SAS releases its first round of gas that helps your batter initially rise (you’ll see bubbles forming). Then, once heated, a second round of gas erupts, and your goods get a second lift boost. This can be especially helpful for gluten free and/or egg free home cooks/bakers.
You should also know that double-acting baking powder is a bit more forgiving than single acting baking powder where over-mixing and stand time are concerned. Stand time is the time between completing your mixture and cooking/baking the batter. With a single acting baking powder, the longer the stand time, the less effective the rise will be.
When you over-mix a batter that uses a single acting baking powder, over-mixing can destroy all of your bubbles that have formed, and that’s the rising agent that you need to have as intact as possible when it’s time to cook/bake. This is even more obvious and apparent in gluten and egg free baking since there’s no gluten network to rely on or eggs to lift you out of a bad situation.
What is Baking Soda
Sodium Bicarbonate, aka baking soda, is commonly used in baking, cooking, cleaning, and toothpaste. It’s a soluble white powder with a chemical formula of NaHCO3. Baking soda is one of the key elements that gives baking powder it’s leavening power.
Unlike baking powder, baking soda needs to be combined with an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice to create rise. With baking powder, you could use water only and your mix would still rise.
It’s critical to know that you can’t swap baking powder for baking soda in a recipe. If your recipe calls for 3 tsp of baking powder and you use 3 tsp of baking soda instead, your final baked goods will have an awful taste to them. Remember, both baking powder and baking soda are small but mighty.
Recipes That Call for Leavening Agents
There are all sorts of recipes that will call for baking powder, baking soda, or a combination of the two. The most popular classic recipes that call for them are:
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Cakes
- Cookies
- Egg Free Baked Goods
- Gluten Free Baked Goods
- Irish Soda Bread
- Pancakes
- Scones
- Waffles
Chemical Leavening Agents are an Essential Ingredient in Free-From Baking
Many of you who read my work are managing some kind of dietary restriction. I cannot stress this enough: in gluten free baking, egg free baking, and gluten + egg free baking, chemical leavening agents are essential. Without them, there’s no way you’ll achieve a proper fluffy texture, especially in recipes like regular or buttermilk pancakes.
You need that carbon dioxide gas to help lift up your ingredients to give you the airy texture most free-from goods are missing. If you follow the recipes that I share, you’ll notice that I always use enough of these agents and usually an acid as well to make sure I’m giving you the best boost possible.
With gluten-free baking, density is already an issue, so it’s important to get your leavening right to prevent more problems. This is compounded if you’re gluten free and egg free, so make sure you’re following awesome recipes.
Quick Substitutes for Homemade Leavening Powder
If for some reason you find yourself out of baking powder or need to get creative with your baking soda, here are some quick options that include common acids for you to consider:
- Buttermilk
- Baking Soda + Lemon Juice
- Baking Soda + Vinegar (apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, and rice vinegar are the best choices)
- Whipped Egg Whites
- Self-Rising Flour
- Baking Soda + Molasses
- Club Soda (it has added carbon dioxide, which is why it works)
When Your Baked Goods Have a Bitter Taste or Off Taste
If your baked item comes out with a bitter taste, metallic taste, or off taste, the main thing to check is how much baking powder (or baking soda) you used. This is especially if you’ve made the recipe before and everything turned out great the first time around.
Let’s look at cake as an example. If the taste of your chocolate cake or vanilla cake has a bitter undertone, you may have used too much baking powder. Most cake recipes call for 2 – 4 teaspoons of baking powder (3 – 4 is common in egg free & gluten-free baking). If you go over that amount, you can absolutely have an off taste in your cakes.
The usual culprit for producing the off taste in baking powder is sodium aluminum sulfate. When you use too much baking powder, there’s simply too much SAS in the mix and people can taste it. Remember, baking powder is small but mighty, and it only takes a small amount to get the job done.
Now you’re probably wondering if baked goods with an off taste can be saved. If you’ve already baked/cooked all of your batter, there’s nothing you can really do. You can try covering it loads of frosting (or maple syrup in the case of pancakes), or using it to make something else (like a layer in a multi-layered dessert).
If you have leftover batter, a good option is to add more of everything else, but this only really works if you know how much extra baking powder is in your mix. Let’s say the recipe called for 1 teaspoon of baking powder and you used 2. You’d need to double everything else in your recipe to balance it out. Alternatively, you can ditch your batter and start over.
Baking Recipes I Think You’ll Love
Here are just a few of the hundreds of delicious baking recipes I’ve shared on RAISE. These recipes are all gluten free, dairy free, egg free, sesame free, and very allergy friendly. RAISE has top 9 allergy free recipes, vegan recipes, and much more to choose from. Be sure to check out the Advanced Recipe Search, which has more than 125 filters for you to mix and match.
- Vanilla Sheet Pan Cake Recipe
- Sweet & Salty Chewy Date Muffins
- Peach & Brown Sugar Thumbprint Cookies
- Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Black Cacao Cake (Think Hostess cupcake copycat, but top 9 allergy free and gluten free)
- Lemon Paleo Muffins
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Answering Your Baking Powder and Baking Soda Questions
I’m allergic to citrus and vinegar products. Is there a way to still use baking soda with some kind of acid?
If you can have molasses, a form of cane sugar, you could use baking soda + molasses. I haven’t personally used this method, but I know other bakers have. If you can have eggs, you could lean into whipped egg whites as your main form of leavening. You could also try making your own baking powder at home and using that. However, if you’re allergic to grape products (which most vinegars are derived from), you’d need to avoid
Just remember that without the presence of an acid, it simply won’t work, so experiment with the acids you can have to see which rise you like best.
Does double acting baking soda exist?
Whilst this isn’t one of the most common questions I’ve gotten about leavening agents, I love it! It’s a great question, and no, double acting baking soda isn’t a thing. With baking soda, once it’s combined with acidic ingredient, the production of carbon dioxide is immediate, and, it’s a full strength reaction. You get all the bang for your buck in one go.
If for some reason you’re allergic to the regular ingredients in double acting baking powder, you could try making it at home. You’d probably have to purchase large amounts of some of the ingredients, but it could be worth it in the end.
What’s the best type of acid to use with baking soda in vanilla cake recipes?
There are a few different ingredients that would work well, but my top two fave picks for you would be apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. The thing is, the amount of acid that’s needed in these recipes is usually small (no more than 2 Tablespoons). The nice thing about ACV is that the baking process renders the taste to be just about unnoticeable. I use it frequently, and no one has ever told me that they can taste the ACV in my cake, not even the vanilla cake recipes where the flavors are more subtle.
Lemon juice may be a tiny bit pronounced in your recipe, but it pairs well with vanilla. Plus, if you plan to add frosting to your cake, and there’s no other use of lemon in the recipe (such as lemon zest), most people won’t even notice a hint of lemon.
Do the expiration dates of baking powder and baking soda really matter?
Yes, the expiration dates matters as the reaction power has a shelf life. However, if one of your items is past the expiration date, it may still be good. If you’re selling your baked goods, you absolutely should not be using ingredients past the expiration date. If it’s for home use, you can test to see if it’s still good.
To test if your baking powder is still good, mix a teaspoon into a cup of warm water. If there’s little to no action, your baking powder is no longer good and your baked goods (or pancakes etc.) will turn out a lot more flat than you want. If there’s a good reaction, go forth and bake.
I’ll also add, there’s a difference between “use by” and “best by”. Use by implies a definitive expiration. Best by is more of a suggestion and you have wiggle room. When in doubt, you can ask the manufacturer of the baking powder you purchased.
Can I purchase baking powder without cornstarch?
As someone with a severe corn allergy, it brings me great pleasure to tell you that yes, yes you absolutely can. Both Hain featherweight and Otto’s Naturals sell baking powder that’s free from corn starch and any other corn derivative.
The Hain Featherweight brand uses potato starch and the Otto’s Naturals uses cassava starch in place of the cornstarch that’s usually in baking powder. I’ll also add, Otto’s is now using dedicated top 9 allergy free and corn free equipment, so I’m extra excited for their products.
Do you have any tips for making baking powder at home?
Rather than talk your ear off all day, I’m going to point you to this article instead. I’ve shared a baking powder recipe that’s corn free. I also include info on how you can use cream of tartar in your homemade baking powder.
What’s the best way to store baking powder and baking soda?
You’ll want to store both of these pantry staples at room temperature, in a dry area in your kitchen. Make sure the container has an airtight lid to prevent any moisture (including natural moisture in the air) from getting into them.
I personally have a baking cabinet where I store all of my dry ingredients, and it’s not too close to the oven either to make sure the ingredients aren’t exposed to an excessive amount of heat from the shared cabinet wall.
Will I need to use baking powder in gluten free sourdough bread?
No, you won’t need any additional leavening agents for wheat sourdough or gluten free sourdough bread. What gives sourdough it’s rise (and unique flavor profile) is the fermentation process. During this long rise time, your yeast will produce gas that gives your bread the texture and height it will need.
If you’re new to making gluten free sourdough bread, check out Rustic Scoop. They sell a GF sourdough starter, and have a course just for this topic.
