# When to use baking powder vs. baking soda
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 18, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878 "2003-11-18T09:20:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@RobertP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobertP)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/1 "2003-11-18T09:20:10Z")
I like to experiement in the kitchen, and am sometime daring enough to try a little baking, which is generally less forgiving. Where I often get stuck is not knowing when to use baking soda, and when to use baking powder. It is clear enough when following a recipe, but when messing around, which should I use when? What is the difference?
I know that baking soda is a single compound – sodium bicarbonate – and that baking powder is a mixture which includes baking soda and some other things. But functionally, what is the difference?
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/2 "2003-11-18T10:48:46Z")
This page explains it more concisely than I can:
[http://users.rcn.com/sue.interport/food/bakgsoda.html](http://users.rcn.com/sue.interport/food/bakgsoda.html)
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### Author:  [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/3 "2003-11-18T10:54:56Z")
According to **pulykamell** in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=223494), baking powder is
“Sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar. When moisture is added, the tartar forms an acid which reacts with the baking soda, forming bubbles which makes whatever you’re cooking rise. If what you’re making already has an acidic substance in it, usually only baking soda is called for, since your acid (beit lemon juice or whatever) will act as cream of tartar would.”
Julie
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### Author:  [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/4 "2003-11-18T13:09:57Z")
Rule of thumb:
For things that rise up (cakes) - baking powder
For things that spread out (cookies) - baking soda
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### Author:  [@RobertP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobertP)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/5 "2003-11-18T16:21:00Z")
Thanks all for your definitive answers. I just figured out how to use the SDMB search function correctly,:smack: and see now that this was already discussed earlier. Sorry for the repeat.
Now, to hijack my own thread, can anyone explain to me how **yeast** fits into this picture?
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/6 "2003-11-18T17:55:21Z")
From that site mentioned:
> [@](#):
>
> If you notice carefully, recipes that use baking soda for leavening always have an acid somewhere. It might be obvious, such as vinegar (in muffins? bleah), lemon juice, sour milk or buttermilk. The acid might be hidden- for example honey and molasses are acidic.
I’ver never heard the rise-up/spread-out distinction, but I do have a question: Most cookie recipes I’ve seen do use baking soda, but what acid is it reacting with? The only suspects I see are milk (not soured,though) and brown sugar (is this acidic)?
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### Author:  [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/7 "2003-11-18T18:27:32Z")
**pulykamell** : Brown sugar and milk are both acidic. Brown sugar is probably the more important one here.
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### Author:  [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/8 "2003-11-18T20:19:28Z")
Chocolate & cocoa are both mildly acidic; I know of at least one chocolate cookie recipe that doesn’t use any baking powder at all.
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### Author:  [@White\_Ink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Ink)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/9 "2003-11-18T21:41:50Z")
yeast has to be active, that is, alive. You give it some liquid and sugar to live in and eat and it starts giving off gas bubbles.
When you bake something, these gas bubbles get trapped in the structure of the dough creating little spaces, these spaces are what you see when you tear apart a piece of bread and see airholes.
Beaten eggs play the same role in cakes. The egg traps air and as the dough cooks and stiffens, you get little spaces where the air bubbles were.
Otherwise you’d have flat, dense hard bricks that would break your teeth.
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### Author:  [@RobertP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobertP)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2003, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/10 "2003-11-19T07:47:41Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by White Ink \*
> \*\*yeast has to be active, that is, alive. You give it some liquid and sugar to live in and eat and it starts giving off gas bubbles.
>
> When you bake something, these gas bubbles get trapped in the structure of the dough creating little spaces, these spaces are what you see when you tear apart a piece of bread and see airholes.
>
> Beaten eggs play the same role in cakes. The egg traps air and as the dough cooks and stiffens, you get little spaces where the air bubbles were.
>
> Otherwise you’d have flat, dense hard bricks that would break your teeth. \*\*
Thanks **White Ink**. When would yeast be used, as opposed to baking soda or baking powder?
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### Author:  [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2003, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/11 "2003-11-19T08:29:57Z")
Baking soda will also outgass CO2 when heated.
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### Author:  [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/12 "2003-11-19T14:36:58Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by RobertP \*
> \*\*When would yeast be used, as opposed to baking soda or baking powder? \*\*
If you really want to get to the bottom of this I recommend that you have a look at _[On Food and Cooking](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684843285/qid=1069251420/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-9741685-0985534)_, by Harold McGee. (that’s probably the fifth time I recommend that book this week.) He has a very good chapter on baking, where he describes what goes on in a dough as well as a batter, all the way from grinding the grain to the bread going stale.
Simply: a yeast-containing dough utilizes gelatinized starch, reinforced by gluten, to keep in the CO[sub]2[/sub] which the yeast generates over the hour-long ‘proving’. As the process takes rather long, the structure has to be rather sturdy and impermeable.
A baking powder/soda containing batter, on the other hand, doesn’t need the gluten, as the gasses are created much quicker, and the starch sets straight away. A lot of the gasses are produced while the cake is in the oven.
As pointed out earlier, baking powder is baking soda mixed with an acid, normally cream of tartar. The baking soda gives out CO[sub]2[/sub] when exposed to water and acid (and heat). If the batter is acidic enough, you might not need the 'powder. In fact almost all usual ingredients are acidic - but maybe not acidic enough. (In fact, the only alkaline things you’ll find in a kitchen are egg whites and baking soda.)
Again, Try to find that book. If you’re into ‘experimenting in the kitchen’, it’s worth its weight in, maybe not gold, but at least sugar.
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### Author:  [@RobertP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobertP)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/13 "2003-11-19T16:47:37Z")
Thanks **Popup** , for the explanation and the reference. The book looks totally awesome, and I am going to put it right on the top of my Christmas list!
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/14 "2003-11-19T21:34:51Z")
> [@](#):
>
> (In fact, the only alkaline things you’ll find in a kitchen are egg whites and baking soda.)
Isn’t cocoa basic, also? I know that this is contrary to what **MikeS** said, but I think that was a typo (especially considering his statement that it can sometimes replace baking soda). And certainly cocoa tastes bitter. I didn’t know about the egg whites, though.
**pulykamell** , you may not have known this, but molasses is what makes brown sugar brown. So since molasses is acidic, so is brown sugar.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/15 "2003-11-20T01:56:14Z")
It seems that chocolate is acidic from the info I could find.
> [@](#):
>
> f cocoa powder is to be the end product, most of the cocoa butter is removed using a special press. The resulting paste is then formed into cakes and ground one more time. The resulting powder is sometimes treated with an alkaline solution to raise the pH of the powder from slightly acid to neutral. This simple process, called Dutching, darkens the cocoa, mellows its flavor, and makes it easier to mix the powder with a liquid. Of all chocolate products, cocoa powder contains the least amount of cocoa butter—from 10 to 20 percent.
From [here.](http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/blunt56.html)
Thanks for the bit about brown sugar. I could have sworn I’d read that somewhere but had completely forgotten.
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### Author:  [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/16 "2003-11-20T13:41:25Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chronos \*
> \*\ ***pulykamell** , you may not have known this, but molasses is what makes brown sugar brown. So since molasses is acidic, so is brown sugar. \*\*
This is worth highlighting. Many people believe that brown sugar is somehow ‘more natural’, and less refined. In fact, nowadays, brown sugar is simply normal white sugar that has been flavoured with some molasses.
I’m out on a limb here, but I would have thought that (a solution of) sucrose (white sugar) by itself is slightly acidic. I can’t find any good reference right now though, so don’t quote me on that.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/17 "2003-11-20T13:47:53Z")
If you want to make your own baking powder, the recipe is 1/2 cup of cream of tarter and 1/4 cup each of baking soda and cornstarch.
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### Author:  [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-to-use-baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/213878/18 "2003-11-20T15:22:12Z")
**Chronos** : No, I’m pretty sure that chocolate, at least, is acidic. Try melting a square of baker’s chocolate sometime and stirring in a quarter-teaspoon of baking soda; you’ll find that the chocolate becomes light and sponge-like. (I did this once while I was preparing a chocolate cake, and was surprised at the result.)
What I was driving at in my previous comment was that the only candidates for leavening in this particular cookie recipe are the cocoa and the baking soda; judging from the comments above, though, it may be that the 3/4 c of brown sugar in the recipe adds more acid than the 1/4 c of cocoa.