Baking Soda vs Baking Powder

A friend of mine asked me what the difference was between baking soda and baking powder and I thought to myself other people might be wondering.

Firstly they are both leavening agents. This means we use them when baking to make our cakes, cookies and such rise.

BAKING SODA

Baking Soda of Choice

Baking Soda is bicarbonate of soda. When it is combined with an acidic ingredient like buttermilk or vinegar like in a Red Velvet cake the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise.

Note: The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will not rise.

BAKING POWDER

Baking Powder of Choice

Baking powder has some baking soda and acid in there, which when combined with a liquid create the same reaction as baking soda. There are several different types of baking powder namely single acting and double acting. I use the double acting, reason being the single acting baking powder reacts with moisture so you have to bake the product immediately after mixing (similar to baking soda). Whereas the double acting can stand for a while before baking.

This is good for me when I am baking alot of cake from the same recipe using my small oven : )

You can use baking powder as a substitute for baking soda but you can't use baking soda when you have to use baking powder.

Hope this helps.