There are a lot of elements which have similar names and hence create a great confusion when one wants to use one of them. The case of baking soda and baking powder is also one of such cases with similar names but different functions. Baking soda and Baking powder both are chemical agents used for accelerating the process of fermentation in dough. These are added to the raw materials of the goods that are to be baked for puffing them up. A baking powder has the contents of baking soda, but still both have different uses.
What separates baking powder and baking soda?
Baking soda is chemically referred as sodium bicarbonate and baking powder is a known mixture of sodium bicarbonate and other acidic agents such as tartar. Baking soda is used with water and other digestible acids in the preparation of yoghurt, chocolate, etc. while being prepared bubbles of CO2 are released into the atmosphere which is why the eatables puff up and people love such puffed up items. Hence to change the raw material as softer and digestible baking soda is used by the food makers. Baking soda has the instant effect on the raw material. After the addition of baking soda the recipe should be immediately baked or the recipe won’t taste as expected.
Baking Powders available in the market are of two types. One of the type is single-acting baking powder which requires moisture to begin the process of fermentation. If one is using single-acting baking powder, then it should be noted that one needs to immediately bake the recipe. Another type of baking powder is double-acting baking powder which has two different steps to complete the whole reaction. The use of double-acting baking powder gives more time to the person who is cooking after secreting it with other raw material. By using the baking powder major amount of CO2 is released during the process of baking.
So now a cook can know which of the given two fermentation agents can be used for making the recipe tastiest.