Baking soda question
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Snip 13
Master Chef
The baking soda helps it rise and makes a lighter bread. I've also noticed that banana bread made with baking soda has a better colour, not sure why that happens.
bakechef
Executive Chef
Maybe since you are adding extra heavy wet ingredients like bananas, this will help give it a bit more lift.
Steve Kroll
Wine Guy
Does the recipe also call for baking powder? While sometimes baking powder is used by itself, usually baking soda and baking powder are used together in recipes. Baking soda (more alkaline) and baking powder (more acidic) causes a chemical reaction when mixed with water and forms carbon dioxide gas bubbles in the dough. This is where the "rise" comes from.
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GLC
Head Chef
There is a large range of preferences as to how light, risen a banana bread should be, so there are recipes calling for baking soda and some using baking soda and baking powder. Banana bread batter is rather heavy, so for substantial rising, baking powder will be added. But here's how the strategy works.
Bananas are mildly acid and are the primary source of acidity, unless you use buttermilk or brown sugar. The correct amount of baking soda is the amount that will react with and therefore neutralize the acid in the other ingredients. It is pointless to add more, because it won't do anything, and it will make the batter distinctly alkaline. When greater rising is desired, baking powder is added, because it includes it's own acid sources. It also reserves some rising to happen during baking, thus causing some rising likely to stay risen until fixed by baking. It does that, because some of its acid is released by heat.
We could probably guess which banana bread used baking powder and which used baking soda only.
Bananas are mildly acid and are the primary source of acidity, unless you use buttermilk or brown sugar. The correct amount of baking soda is the amount that will react with and therefore neutralize the acid in the other ingredients. It is pointless to add more, because it won't do anything, and it will make the batter distinctly alkaline. When greater rising is desired, baking powder is added, because it includes it's own acid sources. It also reserves some rising to happen during baking, thus causing some rising likely to stay risen until fixed by baking. It does that, because some of its acid is released by heat.
We could probably guess which banana bread used baking powder and which used baking soda only.
CharlieD
Chef Extraordinaire
I think people forget that one cannot use baking soda alone. There is an old French recipe cook book story told in the kulinary world.
when a French recipe calls for egg or eggs it doesn't mention anywhere that eggs must be room temperature. The French do not keep the eggs in the fridge. So if you are going to use cold egg you are not going to get desirable result. The same thing with baking soda. I bet sometime long ago everybody knew that when you use soda you must use either acid or rolling boiling water to promote reaction. Otherwise soda does absolutely nothing but make the baked good bitter.
That is why I always add some vinegar, always, soda neutralizes(sp?) the taste of vinegar, and vinegar promotes the bubbling reaction in soda which in turn helps raising of the dough. Try it next time, I guarantee a great result.
when a French recipe calls for egg or eggs it doesn't mention anywhere that eggs must be room temperature. The French do not keep the eggs in the fridge. So if you are going to use cold egg you are not going to get desirable result. The same thing with baking soda. I bet sometime long ago everybody knew that when you use soda you must use either acid or rolling boiling water to promote reaction. Otherwise soda does absolutely nothing but make the baked good bitter.
That is why I always add some vinegar, always, soda neutralizes(sp?) the taste of vinegar, and vinegar promotes the bubbling reaction in soda which in turn helps raising of the dough. Try it next time, I guarantee a great result.
