what is the difference between "Baking Powder" and "Baking Soda"?
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
United States
March 20, 2010 10:18am CST
i have this recipe i want to make and when i was skimming over it to know what to get for it i didnt realize that it was calling for "Baking Powder" not "Baking Soda" but since i am NOT a cook by any means (trust me i do not belong in a kitchen but this is an easy recipe so i thought lol) i have no clue on what the difference is. i looked it up and found something that said it depends on what ingredients that are going with it on whether you use one or the other but nothing more than that which doesnt help me at all.. im as stupid as it gets in the kitchen (other than maybe 2 things i can make) so im totally out of my element here.. HELP!
Also it needs self rising flour and the flour i have doesnt say one way or the other.. its for a thin cinnamon pizza/desert type thing (not pizza but as thick as one) so it wont need to rise much so will that matter??
anyone else stupid at cooking as much as i am? anyone else confuse the powder with soda? and yeah feel free to laugh at my stupidity lol 
2 people like this
7 responses
@kar295rocks (2116)
• India
20 Mar 10
Hey, I am a tenth grader and this question is there in my curriculum. Baking soda is what you obtain out of Bayer's process. It is also called Sodium Bi-carbonate.
NaCl + H2O + CO2 + NH3 -- NaHCO3 + NH4Cl
But, this is not the NaHCO3 that we use in houses, this compound is much more basic and used in soda acid fire extinguishers.
In homes, we use baking powder and that can be made by :
H+ ion from any acid [Tartaric acid is generally used] + NaHCO3 -- H2O + CO2 + Sodium salt of Na
This CO2 is responsible for the fluffiness and the spongy nature of cakes, buns, pastries etc.
Cheers!
3 people like this
@kar295rocks (2116)
• India
20 Mar 10
Oops! Not Bayer's process ! Bayer's process is used to extract Aluminium from Bauxite ore! Sorry!
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
21 Mar 10
your definitely smarter than me! i was awful at science!
TATA.
And you really axpect me to understand that??@kar295rocks (2116)
• India
20 Mar 10
Saphrina, you have got it all wrong! See my response!
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (84760)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
21 Mar 10
Basically baking power and soda are defined by how they react when heated and ingeredents are mixed. If something is calling for baking poder it would be in your best interest to use it. Baking soda isn't always going to work, and if you're using it for something like pizza use the powder.
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@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
21 Mar 10
thats weird that they react so differently.. i had hubby go pick the right stuff out so hopefully it will turn out edible lol
@only1fushia (96)
• United States
20 Mar 10
Kitchen duties isn't something I do a lot of anymore. Baking powder has a few more ingredients to help with rising flour. Baking soda is actually one of the ingredients in Baking Power.
Self rising flour, as I understand has baking powder and other similar ingredients. Don't quote me on that last statement.
You probably have just regular flour. There is self-rising and bread flour as well.
Good luck on that recipe.
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@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
21 Mar 10
well i decided to take no chances and hubby picked up the baking powder and im like ok never seen that before lol.. thank goodness i looked though.. it would have been my luck i really screw it up!
@nangisha (3495)
• Indonesia
20 Mar 10
I didn't really know the difference but I usually use baking soda to make cake, and baking soda to clean my dog teeth. Self raising flour is flour that already contain baking soda if I am not wrong, it usually can be found in supermarket.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
21 Mar 10
i never have even heard of baking powder but since i dont cook that might be why lol
@ramp123 (191)
• India
21 Mar 10
Nothing to laugh about, it's quite understandable. Baking soda is also called cooking soda, and is used to soften stubborn beans, lentils, and stuff like that when you are cooking them. Its basically bicarbonate of soda.
On the other hand baking powder contains yeast, which is used to make breads, cakes and similar stuff rise. The self rising flour has baking powder mixed into it. So, if you want a thing to rise, use baking powder. If you want to boil and soften something stubborn, use baking soda.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
31 Mar 10
that makes sense.. we got the baking powder just to be safe and it came out great i think..
@Professor2010 (20156)
• India
25 May 10
Hi moon
lol both are almost same. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, it helps releasing carbon di oxide and makes the flour light and puffy, as i said baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it also contain starch.
Sorry for late response.. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome always. 
Cheers.
Prof
Thanks.
Cheers.
Prof
Thanks.
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