A yeast-free dough will be fluffy and soft if it contains baking soda as a leavening agent. Of course, baking powder can be used, which makes the dough porous. But it also contains soda, so you can cook the product yourself.
Some housewives don't know why baking soda is used as a baking powder. This powder is nothing more than sodium bicarbonate. When interacting with an acidic environment, it decomposes into salt, water and carbon dioxide. The last component gives the dough fluffiness and friability.
Extinguished or not?
Baking powder, aka baking powder, is convenient in that it does not require quenching, because it already contains acid. Soda, on the other hand, loosens the dough only when it interacts with something sour. For example, vinegar, lemon juice, kefir, etc. Only then will carbon dioxide be released and the dough will become porous.
Many housewives extinguish soda in the old fashioned way: pour it into a spoon, and pour vinegar or lemon juice on top. When the composition foams, it is poured into the dough.
This method gives practically no results - the dough rises only slightly or does not rise at all. And if the baking still rose, it means that some of the soda is not extinguished.
From this it follows that there is no need to extinguish the soda. The fact is that when soda and vinegar come into contact in a spoon, the reaction necessary for a loosening effect occurs in the air.
To get airy baked goods, you need to put the baking soda directly into the flour, and only then knead the dough. Interacting with kefir, whey, fermented baked milk or yogurt, soda gives the maximum loosening effect.
Or maybe baking powder?
Many people wonder why use baking soda if it is already contained in a factory baking powder? But tartaric or citric acid is already present in baking powder, as well as starch, flour or powdered sugar. The first one is put so that the reaction passes without a trace. The second acts as an inert ingredient.
Some housewives prepare homemade baking powder for the dough. To do this, you need to strictly observe the proportions. To get 20 g of baking powder, you need to mix starch or flour (12 g), with soda (5 g) and lemon (3 g). For those who have electronic scales, this is easy to do. For the rest, it is recommended to use a commercially available baking powder or baking soda.
Tandem or interchange?
Baking powder, like soda, does not require quenching. But soda needs an acidic environment, so it is better to use it for doughs where fermented milk products or lemon are present.
Some recipes contain both baking soda and baking powder. Their combination is necessary when a large amount of kefir or fermented baked milk is put into the dough, which can provoke a strong reaction. Then you need a tandem of soda and baking powder.
In addition, baking soda can replace baking powder and vice versa. The exceptions are recipes for honey dough, where soda must be present.
