Why do so many pancake recipes ask for both bs and bp?

[Anonymous]

Why include both baking powder and baking soda?

The recipe I’ve used for years calls for 1:2 soda:powder ratio.

I left out the baking soda today and it tastes so much better! The baking powder gives just as much rise as using both together. Recipe calls for either buttermilk or regular milk but since I normally don’t have buttermilk on hand, it’s just milk which is it even acidic enough to react with baking soda?

Baking soda has such a strong taste. Why even include it in a recipe when the baking powder is already doing the same function.

[Anonymous]

Our family recipe, handed down for generations, only calls for what feels like an insane amount of baking powder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why include both baking powder and baking soda?

The recipe I’ve used for years calls for 1:2 soda:powder ratio.

I left out the baking soda today and it tastes so much better! The baking powder gives just as much rise as using both together. Recipe calls for either buttermilk or regular milk but since I normally don’t have buttermilk on hand, it’s just milk which is it even acidic enough to react with baking soda?

Baking soda has such a strong taste. Why even include it in a recipe when the baking powder is already doing the same function.

I don’t know if you’re trolling, but I mean, you changed the recipe!

The buttermilk is acidic. The baking soda is alkaline. They react together to make bubbles (just like your 2nd grade volcano!) and they neutralize each other. When you see baking soda in a recipe, there will always be an acidic ingredient as well.

Baking powder has an acid and a base. They’re stable in the can, then they react when heated to neutralize each other and make bubbles.

So yeah, you’re left with a very alkaline taste of baking soda that was just left hanging in your recipe with no acid.

If you take out the buttermilk, you need to reduce/eliminate the baking soda or add another acid, like lemon juice. You can use a buttermilk substitution “recipe” online for how much lemon juice and it will probably get you pretty close.

I think you might be trolling, but if you’re not, this is what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why include both baking powder and baking soda?

The recipe I’ve used for years calls for 1:2 soda:powder ratio.

I left out the baking soda today and it tastes so much better! The baking powder gives just as much rise as using both together. Recipe calls for either buttermilk or regular milk but since I normally don’t have buttermilk on hand, it’s just milk which is it even acidic enough to react with baking soda?

Baking soda has such a strong taste. Why even include it in a recipe when the baking powder is already doing the same function.

I forgot to answer this part but it could be to mellow out the sharpness of the buttermilk a bit as well as adding rise early in the process, before the baking powder is activated. The baking soda will start making bubbles as soon as you mix it, so your batter will be a bit lighter and fluffier. The baking soda will only start to work when it gets hot enough, so for pancakes that cook quickly, they’ll probably come out noticeably more dense because the batter will set quickly after the baking powder starts working.

[Anonymous]

There's baking soda in my choc chip recipe but no acid...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why include both baking powder and baking soda?

The recipe I’ve used for years calls for 1:2 soda:powder ratio.

I left out the baking soda today and it tastes so much better! The baking powder gives just as much rise as using both together. Recipe calls for either buttermilk or regular milk but since I normally don’t have buttermilk on hand, it’s just milk which is it even acidic enough to react with baking soda?

Baking soda has such a strong taste. Why even include it in a recipe when the baking powder is already doing the same function.

I forgot to answer this part but it could be to mellow out the sharpness of the buttermilk a bit as well as adding rise early in the process, before the baking powder is activated. The baking soda will start making bubbles as soon as you mix it, so your batter will be a bit lighter and fluffier. The baking powder, sorry will only start to work when it gets hot enough, so for pancakes that cook quickly, they’ll probably come out noticeably more dense because the batter will set quickly after the baking powder starts working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's baking soda in my choc chip recipe but no acid...

Post the recipe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's baking soda in my choc chip recipe but no acid...

If you post the recipe, we can probably figure it out. It might be just a small amount that’s there to help them brown.

[Anonymous]

You can use a splash of white vinegar to be the acid with your baking soda too. I do this instead of buttermilk. About 1 tablespoon per cup of milk.

[Anonymous]

I’m not trolling, the recipe calls for buttermilk or regular milk. I understand using the baking soda with buttermilk but not with regular milk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not trolling, the recipe calls for buttermilk or regular milk. I understand using the baking soda with buttermilk but not with regular milk.

Can you post a link?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's baking soda in my choc chip recipe but no acid...

Post the recipe.

NP. But the nestle toll house recipe just uses soda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's baking soda in my choc chip recipe but no acid...

Post the recipe.

NP. But the nestle toll house recipe just uses soda

I think it's to help them brown, not for leavening really. But it would be a good experiment to take it out or switch to BP and see what happens! It probably does change the flavor a bit.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes soda is to neutralize acids.
Sometimes recipes add non-essential ingredients for two purposes: to either get around any legal infringements, or to simply make the recipe look more difficult so people can think they "are cooking yay!" similar to the silly recipes for the old Easy Bake Ovens to make little girls think they are really cooking something fancy.

Once a person learns to cook, they don't even use recipes anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's baking soda in my choc chip recipe but no acid...

Post the recipe.

NP. But the nestle toll house recipe just uses soda

Brown sugar is acidic, which makes some of the lift in your cookies. The soda also helps make them crispy at the edges while the egg and moisture from the butter and brown sugar keep them chewy.