Both products make baked goods rise...produce gas within and make the cake or whatever rise...theya re leavening agents. Baking soda is bicarbonate of soda and will produce gas in the presence of an acid, like brown sugar, molasses, honey, chocolate, sour cream, butter milk, lemon juice etc. Baking powder is bicarbonate of soda and alnother chemical like sodium aluminum sulfate, and a calcium salt, that produces gas in the presence of a liquid and again when heated. When mixed with a liquid, the acid of the sulfate combines with the sodium bi carb and produces a rise...and the other ingredient reacts with heat and produces another rise. That's why baking powder loses it's ability to leaven when exposed to moisture... Linda C

I couldn't find other such proportion information for other brands. I used to use Calumet, and now use Rumford, mostly because it's what was on the shelf when I bought it. I do think it's noticeable that more of the Rumford reaction is in the bowl, but there are so many other reasons why that could be that I wouldn't call it definitive. I just adapt. If you were going to make a differentiation, I'd think that more heat rising might be good for something like pancakes, where they're made over time so the BP is discharging in the bowl, and you don't really want them to rise much before they get hot anyway. I don't think it makes any difference for a cake, where the method is to mix, pour and bake without stopping. Perhaps in a quickbread you'd want more of the reaction in the bowl so it won't go over in the oven? I don't think you can control it that much and it really depends more on things like the relative moisture content. Maybe we can get Grainlady back to answer that part of the question. A lot of people claim to be able to taste the aluminum in baked goods made with baking powder that contains it. I seem to think that things are more "delicate" with Rumsford, which might be that, might be the proportion of wet reaction, or might be a different kitchen and a new bag of flour.

I don't have any Dr.Oetker baking powder at the moment, although I do have their yeast. However I do have an Austrian brand of baking powder "Perlinger Reinweinstein Backpulver". On the back of the packages it says one sachet of 18 grams of baking powder is sufficient for 500 grams of flour. I see the Dr. Oetker USA website describes their sachet of 20 ml (5 tsp) as suitable also for 500 grams of flour(4 cups). Oh oh I see they also have a boxed Molten Lava Cake mix as well. Our neighbourhood German supermarket is full of Dr. Oetker baking products. I hope I'm not tempted. SharonCb

Q. Doesn't baking soda need an acid to work? A. Yes. These ingredients/foods are commonly used with baking soda in leavening: citrus, vinegar, cranberries, rhubarb, apples, berries, apricots, orange juice, honey, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, bananas, carrots, pumpkin, molasses, cocoa and chocolate (listed in decending order from high acid - pH of 2.0 to lower acid - 6.0). Baking soda is an alkali, or a base, and it reacts with acid to make carbon dioxide. Without acid, baking soda can't properly do its job. But think of it as "lightening" the baked good because of the carbon dioxide, not just leavening, because eggs also contribute leavening. Exception to the rule (isn't there always one!): Occasionally you find a recipe that doesn't contain an acid counterpart. There's still some carbon dioxide produced, just not as "lively". The baking soda that is left unnutralized can have a soapy, bitter taste. That's another reason to sift, or thoroughly mix, dry ingredients together to make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the bulk of the ingredients, and to break up a soda "lump" that can remain because of the quick mixing techniques normally used on chemically-leavened baked goods. The alkalinity can also cause color changes - yellowing the pigments in flour, can accelerate browning, and alter the colors of chocolate and molasses. If the recipe also has cream of tartar in it, that's also an acid that is used to complete the reaction of the soda. -------------------- Q. Doesn't baking soda begin to react with the liquids immediately? A. The liquid ingredients cause the blending of the acid and alkali ingredients in a mixture to create a chemical reaction that makes carbon dioxide. Not just the liquid. If the acid ingredient is a liquid (sour milk, yogurt, etc.,) it is the cause of the reaction. It may take the blending of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to perform the reaction. Baking powder reacts once with the liquid, and then again with the heat from the oven (hence, double-acting baking powder). Hence - the tests for activity level of chemical leaveners. You mix soda with vinegar (a liquid acid) to test it's activity level, while baking powder only needs to be tested with hot water. --------------------- Q. Can the batter be frozen in balls if only baking soda is used, or will they go flat when later thawed and baked? A. Generally speaking, you can freeze cookie dough, even when only leavened with soda. Occasionally you find a recipe that doesn't perform as well when the dough is frozen. Eggs also perform part of the leavening. -Grainlady