What is Baking Soda?Aka bicarbonate of soda or Sodium Bicarbonate.When a recipe calls for baking soda, it usually calls for some type of ACID. Like buttermilk, brown sugar, yogurt, lemon juice, vinegar, applesauce, or honey. You need this ACID in the recipe to react with the baking soda, which in turn creates carbon dioxide and allows your baked good to rise.
However Baking Powder contains baking soda. It is a mixture of baking soda, cream of tartar and sometimes cornstarch.Most Baking Powder sold is double acting leavening agent. This means that the first leavening occurs when Baking Powder gets wet– like when you combine the dry and wet ingredients in the recipe.The second leavening occurs when the Baking Powder is heated.
