What is baking powder, and how does it work?
In school, you may have done the experiment where you mix baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid) and get a bubbling reaction. Baking powder works the same way. When you add water to baking powder, the dry acid and base go into solution and start reacting to produce carbon dioxide bubbles.
If you have read How Bread Works, then you understand how the release of carbon dioxide by yeast can cause bread to rise. Many recipes, however, use no yeast. Things like muffins, biscuits, cakes and cookies usually use baking powder instead. Baking powder is normally made of three different parts: • An acid • A base • A filler of some sort In school, you may have done the experiment where you mix baking soda (a base) and vinegar (an acid) and get a bubbling reaction. Baking powder works the same way. When you add water to baking powder, the dry acid and base go into solution and start reacting to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. • Single-acting baking powder produces all of its bubbles when it gets wet. • Double-acting baking powder produces bubbles again when it gets hot. If you want to prove to yourself that this is how baking powder works, simply try mixing a teaspoon of b
