Baking Powder vs Baking Soda

(Sodium Bicarbonate)

Both baking powder and baking soda in baking get used interchangeably but should they? To understand this we need to know what their chemical structures are, and why they work as levening agents. To start off a levening agent is a chemical that helps the rise of a batter or dough, creating air pockets that give softer, less dense mouth feel. Baking powder and baking soda contain the same levening agent sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate is made from the atoms carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H) and sodium (Na) linked together through bonds. However the sodium is held close to the rest of the molecule through a different kind of bond to the rest of the atoms. This bond is referred to an ionic bond. An ionic bond is the same as holding oppositely charged magnets together; they stick.  In order for sodium bicarbonate to be used as a levening agent we must react it with something to cause it to break up into carbon dioxide gas (CO_{2 (g)}) and water (H₂O _(l)). Where the carbon dioxide gas creates “air pockets” in the batter when baked which in turn will lead to a lighter, softer mouth feel when the cake is eaten. 

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  To react the sodium bicarbonate we must use something that is safe to eat and preferably something that is already in the food preventing a change in flavour.  Luckily our cake batter is a liquid due to the water in eggs, milk, buttermilk, etc. which starts the reaction. When the sodium bicarbonate is dissolved the sodium atom is lost because water molecules have a small negative charge, which screens the negative charge of the carbonate part of the molecule. Now that sodium is gone the rest of the molecule is vulnerable for attack by lurking chemicals!

  
  

  

   (Water Shielding the Sodium Atom) 

  
  

  What do I mean by lurking chemicals? I mean acids. Acids are commonly found in food, everything from buttermilk to fruits, but what are acids and what are they doing in our food? Just as easily the sodium was lost in sodium bicarbonate by just dissolving in water; the same can happen when a loosely bonded positively charged hydrogen is hydrated, it falls off the molecule. And that’s all an acid is (for this purpose), a positively charged hydrogen floating around in water.

  However if this positive hydrogen finds the negative bicarbonate they bond much more strongly together than the sodium did because hydrogen is much much smaller than the sodium, therefore we can say the charge density on the hydrogen is far greater. But as a consequence of the positive hydrogen bonding with the negative bicarbonate a chain reaction is set off, causing the bicarbonate to decompose, breaking down into water and carbon dioxide. But from what I just said you need strong acid, an ingredient that will lose a hydrogen atom when dissolved in water, but not all cakes have acidic ingredients in them like buttermilk or fruit, so where is the acid source? And this is where the difference between baking powder and baking soda lays. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate and baking powder is sodium bicarbonate and an acid in the form of cream of tartar. In baking powder the acid and sodium bicarbonate are dry therefore cannot react; they must be dissolved in water to allow a reaction to occur.  Now we understand the difference between baking soda and baking powder we can use them when appropriate. If you know you have a strong acid in your batter like buttermilk you know you can get away with only using baking soda to yield a good rise. However if you know that the batter contains no strong acids it may be worth using baking powder where you know you’re more guaranteed a good rise. 

  
  

  

  (Reaction Mechanism of Sodium Bicarbonate with an Acidic Hydrogen)

  
  

  A draw back that affects both baking powder and baking soda is that as soon as they are dissolved they can react with acid and if the batter is not in the oven you are losing precious carbon dioxide, and therefore rise. To prevent this and further ensure a decent rise you can buy and use double action baking power which contains two acids; cream of tatar  and sodium aluminium phosphate or sodium aluminium sulphate, or sodium acid pyrophosphate. These additional acids do not react with the bicarbonate until a critical high temperature is reached, which in baking terms means you get two rises, ensuring a deliciously light cake! But only if your cake has a neutral pH; if you have buttermilk or an acid in your batter it doesn't matter that your heat sensitive acid will not react until your critical temp, all your bicarbonate will have already be gas and water.

  
  

  Happy Baking!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

With the transition from the end of winter to spring I thought I would make a pudding that I think best combats the winter blues! I have kept the sponge in this recipe very light to remind us that it’s not early January and that….. Summer is coming.

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  What you need for 6 portions:

  
  

  For the sponge:
  

  • 75 g of dark muscovado sugar
  • 75 g of light muscovado sugar
  • 175 g of plain flour
  • 2 eggs 
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract (NOT essence)
  • 50 g of butter 
  • 175 g of dates (you NEED the dates - without them it’s not sticky toffee pudding!)
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • AND 1 tsp of baking SODA 

  
  

  For the sticky sauce:
  

  • 250 ml of double cream
  • 75 g of dark brown sugar
  • 75 g of light muscovado sugar
  • 80 g of butter

  For serving sticky sauce:
  

  • 300 ml of double cream
  • 50 g light muscovado sugar
  • 50 g dark muscovado sugar
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract 
  • 50 g of butter

  How to make it:

  
  

  1. This recipe is so easy and very quick to prepare, so here we go. For the sponge start by de-stoning the dates (if necessary) and finely chop the dates up. Put the dates in a bowl and cover with 275 ml of just off the boil water, and let them cool to room temperature.
  2. To make the sponge batter put your dates and water, butter, sugars and eggs into a blender (or you could do it with a hand blender) and blend until smooth. Then transfer to a big bowl and whisk in your flour and vanilla. –I didn’t put the flour in the blender with the wet ingredients because I didn’t want to “work the gluten”. By this I mean I don’t want the baked sponge texture to be in anyway like bread i.e. chewy. To stop a chewy cake / sponge from forming don’t over mix your flour with your wet ingredients. Right at the end whisk in your leavening agents, (the stuff that is going to make your sponge rise) like baking powder and baking soda.  You must add both, because they are slightly different and the combination yields a greater rise than just one of them.
  3. Quickly pour your batter into a buttered brownie tin or any other cake tin and place in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes at 180 ^oC.
  4. Each sauce follows the same preparation technique:
  5. Add the cream, butter and sugar into a sauce pan and melt everything together, then bring the liquid to just boiling then take off the heat.
  6. Repeat method for the serving sauce, not forgetting the vanilla.
  7. Once the sponge is cooked –springy to the touch and when stabbed with a skewer there is no raw batter on the skewer- pierce your sponge all over with a skewer and then pour over your first sticky sauce. Put the sponge under a hot grill until the top starts to bubble and then serve with the extra hot sticky sauce poured on. 

  -If you want to really indulge yourself you could pour on to extra cold double cream or really say goodbye to winter and make yourself some homemade custard!-

Chinese Style Mussels

This recipe strays away from the traditional French style of steaming the mussels in white wine or a more English cider, both of which are delicious. This dish uses spice to warm you up during winter rather the more common comforting double cream in the sauce – not that there’s anything wrong with double cream!!

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  What you need for 2 mains/ 4 starters:

  • 800 g of fresh live mussels
  • 2 spring onions 
  • a thumb sized piece of fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic 
  • 2 tbsp of light soy source
  • 1 tbsp of chilli sauce
  • 2 tbsp of shaoxing rice wine
  • a bunch of coriander

  
  

  How to cook it:
  
  

  1. Start by prepping the mussels - by this I mean de-beard them (pull out the “hairs” from the side opening of the shell). Using a knife you have no real love for, scrape off any barnacles etc.  Now put all the mussels in a bowl with water and rub the mussels together cleaning them and repeat until the water in the bowl is clean. Once clean store the mussels out of water (fresh water apparently isn’t very good for the life span of the shell fish).  As a warning if when tapped the shell doesn’t close the fish is dead and you don’t know how long it’s been dead for therefore it could be rotten - obviously don’t eat it.
  2. The rest of the recipe is easy, peel the garlic and ginger and finely slice (I chopped the ginger into batons). Fine slicing creates a high surface area needed later in the recipe. Now slice up the spring onion but not too thinly (you cannot substitute for regular onion in this recipe). Pour the liquid ingredients, except for the oil, over the vegetables into a heat proof bowl.
  3. Steam the mussels. I did this by having a half full pan of water on the boil and placing a sieve in the pan (you don’t want the sieve touching the water) and put the shell fish in the sieve and seal in tight with tin foil (aluminium foil). Let the mussels steam for 5 minutes, they’re done when they have all opened up, discard those that haven’t.
  4. While steaming you want to heat up 4 tbsp of a flavourless oil (a groundnut or a sunflower oil) on a high heat. When the oil is just starting to smoke pour the oil over the sauces and vegetables quickly frying everything, extracting their flavour into the oil.  Remember to stir everything while it’s still warm from the oil, maximizing flavour extraction!
  5. Chop up the coriander, put the mussels into a serving bowl and pour over your sauce garnishing with the coriander. You can toss the mussels in the sauce ensuring good coverage and even dispersal of flavour!

  
  -while not strictly a Chinese accompaniment but rather a Yorkshire indulgence, serve it with bread to dip in your sauce-   

Savoury Cheesy Pancakes

Sweet pancakes are in my eyes best enjoyed simply with sugar and lemon. However pancakes should not be just relegated to a pudding status, they are a versatile platform with their roots being found in beef wellingtons, preventing moisture from the beef, mushroom and pâté stuffing causing the dreaded soggy bottom. So I say let’s rejoice in the dynamic ingredient that is a pancake and lets smother them in cheese.

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  What you need:

  
  

  Pancakes:
  

  • 3 eggs
  • 85 g of plain flour
  • 100 ml of whole milk
  • salt

  
  

  Cheese Sauce:

  
  

  • 2 leeks
  • ½ a block of gouda
  • 25 g butter
  • 25 g of plain flour
  • 300 ml of whole milk
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • a smidge of grated nutmeg
  • oh and some good quality ham!

  
  

  How to make it:

  
  

  1. Start of by trimming up the leeks, slicing them in half to wash out any residual git/ mud. Putting the leeks flat side down on your chopping board, cut them up into 1 cm thick ribbons. Get a frying pan on and melt some butter in it, quickly throwing in the leeks once the butter has melted.  Season the leeks in the pan at the start; this draws moisture from the greens breaking down the cellular structure “cooking” the leeks faster without colouring them. You want to keep the green colour, but you don’t want to have a crunch to the vegetables and that is what the salt helps to do.  Take the leeks off the medium to high heat after 5 minutes.
  2. Now while the leeks are being cooked make up the pancake batter. Whisk together the eggs flour and milk. You may need to adjust the amount of milk required as its dependent upon how dry your flour is; the consistency should be between milk and single cream. Lumps are fine no need to over beat.
  3. Making the cheese sauce requires a roux, a term for melted butter mixed with flour and with flavoured milk. Start with the milk, put it in a sauce pan and add in torn bay leaves, garlic clove which you have stabbed with a fork and the peppercorns. Bring the milk to the boil grate in the nutmeg and then let it cool. Once cool strain the milk removing all the bits. Now melt the butter in a sauce pan and throw in the flour, mixing thoroughly with a wooden spoon! After a minute of the butter and flour cooking in the pan add in the cold milk in 4 parts to the butter, now whisking thoroughly to remove all the lumps. When all the milk is combined cook on a low heat for 5 minutes ensuring the flour is cooked through. –What do we mean when we say the flour is “cooked through”? Flour is a thickening agent, individual grains of flour absorb moisture /water from their environment causing them to swell 30x’s larger than their original volume. The swelling therefore makes it difficult for other molecules to get past these fat flour granules slowing down the movement of the liquid resulting in a thicker and more viscous sauce! -
  4. To the hot béchamel (butter flour milk mix) add in your grated cheese (gouda worked really well) and leeks and mix, saving a quarter of the cheese.
  5. Now let’s make the pancakes, melt butter in medium to high temperature frying pan and add just enough of the batter to cover the bottom of the pan, cook for a minute each side until they take on a golden colour. Repeat until you have used all your batter (it should be enough to make 6 large pancakes). Keep the cooked pancakes in a tea towel to keep warm.
  6. To each pancake add slices of ham and cheese sauce and torn parsley. Roll up the pancake and place in a roasting tin or deep sided oven tray. Repeat and rack up the pancakes. Add the remainder of the cheese sauce to the top of the rolled pancakes, sprinkling on the rest of the cheese. Grill the pancakes until golden on top and oozy!

  
  

  -serve with a salad ‘coz this is cheesy!-