Holiday baking can be more of a challenge if you discover all your baking soda got used up for baking soda volcanoes and invisible ink. If you have baking powder, it will save you a trip to the store. If your problem is being out of baking powder, you can make your own using baking soda and cream of tartar. Here's how to make the substitutions:Using Baking Powder Instead of Baking Soda
- You need to use 2-3 times more baking powder than baking soda. The extra ingredients in the baking powder will have an effect on the taste of whatever you are making, but this isn't necessarily bad.
- Ideally, triple the amount of baking soda to equal the amount of baking powder. So, if the recipe called for 1 tsp baking soda, you would use 3 tsp baking powder.
- What I do is compromise... I use twice the amount of baking powder as baking soda (add 2 tsp of baking powder if the recipe calls for 1 tsp baking soda), plus I omit the salt (which adds flavor but also affects rising in some recipes).
- You need baking soda and cream of tartar to make baking powder.
- Mix 2 parts cream of tartar with 1 part baking soda. For example, mix 2 tsp cream of tartar with 1 tsp baking soda.
- Use the amount of baking powder called for by the recipe. No matter how much homemade baking powder you made, if the recipe calls for 1-1/2 tsp, add exactly 1-1/2 tsp of your mixture.
- Cream of tartar is used to increase the acidity of a mixture. So, you can't switch baking soda for baking powder. You can switch baking powder for baking soda, just expect the flavor to change a little.
Comments
great i needed help!! thanks chickadee
Hi, I just wanted to thank you on the great explanation you have on balancing Redox Reactions. Nowhere else makes it seem so simple.
Thanks loved it needed help!
This line might be clearer if it read: “Ideally, triple the amount of baking soda to CALCULATE the amount of baking powder YOU’LL NEED.”
Thanks for the info!
First point says: “You need to use 2-3 times more baking powder than baking soda.”
Second point says: “Ideally, triple the amount of baking soda to equal the amount of baking powder. ”
Is the second point backwards??
I was a bit confused at first which is tripled but comment #4 and logic clarified that. I’ve been baking American pancakes here in Bulgaria and my recipe mentioned baking powder/bak pulver (Bulgarian). It’s costing me a fortune as they only sell it in 10 gram sachets. As the recipe includes buttermilk (I use “kiselo” a kind of sour milk) I’ll now switch to sodium bicarbonate/baking soda which I can get in big packages much cheaper. Thanks!
Thank you very much!
Foungd in using baking soda 3 to 1 in small batches like pizza crust, that you must not use any salt at all. Baking soda makes things VERY SALTY!
next time you give advise on baking, dont switch around the amounts of baking powder to baking soda, its very confusing.
Thank you…my banana bread was salvaged after I accidentally put baking powder instead of baking soda in the mix. Great information.
you can also use lemon juice in place of cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp per 1/2 tsp, great for vegan recipes!
meaning 1/2 tsp lemon juice for every 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar.
The juxtaposition of these two options immediately adjacent to each other is confusing. We just added cream of tartar to baking powder. Oh well…