Modern recipes often include baking powder instead of baking soda so that no further ingredients would be needed for its activation.
What happens if you forgot baking powder? While the lack of baking powder would not alter the taste, forgetting baking powder could leave your baked goods inedible if they stay raw and collapsed in the middle. It will certainly leave them hard and flat unless another leavener such as baking soda gets added.
Many recipes call for both baking soda and baking powder to help the dough or batter rise. If it contains baking soda, it can still rise without baking powder. If there is no raising agent at all, the texture will not turn out as expected. Let’s examine all possible options to avoid the worst-case scenario.
What Does Baking Powder Consist of?
Baking powder has three to four ingredients. It always has baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) as its base, and it also has a filler (which is usually corn starch). Sodium aluminum sulfate and monocalcium phosphate are commonly used as fast-acting leavening acids in baking powder but you can find aluminum-free products as well.
In addition, the source of acid can be a powdery residue of wine production called cream of tartar.
Baking powder has been used since the end of the 19th century to improve the texture of baked goods. Its potency lasts up to 12 months and it always needs to be stored at a dry place without exposure to too much light or heat. You can check if it is still potent by mixing about ½ teaspoon of baking powder with hot water to see if bubbles appear.
The same method also works for testing the freshness of baking soda. If it does not fizz, you need to discard it because it has lost its ability to raise baked products.
What Happens Without a Leavener?
The answer depends on what exactly you would like to make. Excess density can be reduced by using proper baking methods. The fluffier it needs to be, the more affected it will be by not having a proper leavening agent added to it. If you already baked something without any leavener, you cannot fix it anymore.
Cookies are more likely to turn out fine compared to cakes. Before you start baking, it is a good idea to shop for at least one raising agent so that you would never run out when you need it. It is a small item that makes a huge difference when it comes to flavor, consistency, and aesthetics.
How Do Baking Powder and Baking Soda Differ?
Many people wonder about the difference between baking powder and baking soda. These two staples are widely used as raising agents, but they work in different ways. Their names are confusingly similar and so are their color.
Baking soda has a single ingredient called sodium bicarbonate. It needs to be exposed to moisture to work. Since it does not have any added acid, it needs buttermilk, yogurt, vinegar, lemon juice, or a similar acidic agent to react with. This is how carbon dioxide is released to make baked items lighter because gas takes up more space than solids.
If you do not have any of the above-mentioned items, you may try sour cream, applesauce, honey, or brown sugar. Surprisingly, even natural cocoa powder can help you achieve the same reaction with baking soda.
Unlike single-acting baking soda, baking powder is double-acting in most cases. This means the leavening process is ready to start once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed and when you heat up the batter.
Baking powder already contains baking soda and a dry acid. In most cases, you need to add it to your batter as the last ingredient since it immediately starts a reaction.
You may ask why it is so important to distinguish between these two. That is so because the reaction with your recipe’s other ingredients might be affected by substituting one for another.
For example, cocoa powder has no leavening properties with alkaline baking soda unless its acidic variant is chosen. Furthermore, baking soda is 3-4 times stronger than baking powder. This is crucial to keep in mind because if you want to swap them, the ratio will not be 1 to 1.
Why Do Some Recipes Call for Both Baking Soda and Baking Powder?
You may wonder about the reason for having both baking soda and baking powder in the same recipe. If a recipe calls for both, it contains something acidic to activate baking soda.
Baking powder gives a perfect lift when combined with baking soda. Sometimes you do not want to use one or the other only because a large amount of baking soda can significantly alter the flavor of your desserts. Thoroughly mix your baking powder and baking soda with flour because this is what ensures even distribution in the batter.
What are the Best Baking Powder Substitutes?
Leavening is a must for successful baking because it will determine the overall quality of your baked goods. Since incorrect adjustments of ratios can ruin the recipe, it is a good idea to make a small batch to test out your substitute first.
The most self-evident replacement is baking soda, but it cannot be used interchangeably with baking powder without adjustments. As mentioned earlier, baking soda is about 3 times stronger than baking powder. Thus, one tablespoon of baking soda can replace 3 tablespoons of baking powder.
Too much baking soda can result in a sunken texture because it will make your dough or batter rise very quickly leading to a collapse after cooling down.
If your recipe calls for a lot of baking powder, do not replace the entire amount with baking soda. Baking soda can be mixed with cream of tartar instead (their ratio should be 1 to 2). This will neutralize the soapy and bitter taste that too much baking soda could result in. Cream of tartar by itself cannot replace baking powder because it needs baking soda to react with.
Self-rising flour already contains some baking powder. This makes it a suitable replacement which is often used in cakes, pancakes, biscuits, scones, and any dessert with an airy texture.
Yeast can help your bread or pastries rise but it is not an ideal substitute for every single recipe because it can cause significant changes in texture. Moreover, yeast takes multiple steps and more time to form bubbles than baking powder or baking soda would.
Whipped egg whites have some potential to create enough air to help with density, but they will not work for every single recipe. They can get runny and collapse if not whipped long enough.
Some people use club soda as a leavener but just like whipped egg whites, only a limited number of recipes such as pancakes can get enhanced by such alternatives.
Final Thoughts
Since baking powder has a role to lighten and soften, leaving it out of a recipe can result in a less desirable texture. We can conclude that baking soda is the best replacement for baking powder. Make sure to adjust the ratios when substituting baking soda for baking powder.
Unlike baking powder, baking soda will need something acidic like lemon juice, buttermilk, or vinegar to be activated. Do not forget to replace your leaveners from time to time because their expiration can affect their potency.