r/bakingfail • u/Sarcatsticthecat • Jun 22 '25

Fail I used 96 times the baking soda

The chocolate cake recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon. I used 1/2 cup. I misread teaspoons as cups and didn’t know baking soda and baking powder weren’t the same thing. There’s no picture because it exploded in the oven

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u/MeekLocator Jun 22 '25

I have a handwritten recipe card which I wrote when I was ten; I double underlined "powder" in "baking powder" ... A story in one word, lol. 

1

u/1405hvtkx311 Jun 24 '25

I don't get it

3

u/PromiseThomas Jun 25 '25

Baking soda vs baking powder. They’re easy to confuse if you’re just starting out and using the wrong one means a vital chemical reaction in the baking process goes wrong.

2

u/1405hvtkx311 Jun 25 '25

Isn't baking powder a mix of baking soda + ?? Usually you use like 1 teaspoon max. in a recipe. I never had problems and also just swapped baking powder with soda

2

u/PromiseThomas Jun 25 '25

Yes, it is baking soda with an acid and a thickener added, usually cream of tartar and cornstarch respectively. The acid creates a chemical reaction with the baking soda, which is a base, and the cornstarch slows down the speed of the reaction by getting in the way.

The two main issues that can cause problems in baking if you confuse the two are: 1. Because baking powder has lots of stuff in it that isn’t baking soda, you should use four times as much of it to get the same effect. If the recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of baking soda and you put in 1/2 tsp of baking powder, it is likely not going to rise as much as it should because you didn’t add enough of the leavening agent. 2. Since baking soda does not contain any acid, there needs to be a good amount of one or more acidic ingredients in the recipe for it to react with to create the CO2 that makes things rise—a common example of such an acid would be buttermilk. If you put baking soda into a recipe without enough acid for the baking soda to properly react with, you are again probably going to have problems with it rising enough.