why we use baking soda only in cakes and instant yeast in breads?

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İ mean what is the diffrence if they both make the batter fluffy

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Anonymous 0 Comments

They make the batter fluffy in very different ways, with effects that appropriate for each type of baked item. I’ll also note upfront that there is *some* crossover e.g. yeast (pan)cakes and soda breads, but your division is largely accurate and I’ll explain why each is used in its own case below.

Baking soda is a chemical base, so when it encounters a chemical acid (plenty of common ingredients, e.g. most dairy) it produces carbon dioxide (CO2) gas that lifts the dough/batter. It doesn’t have a strong taste if used in appropriate quantities, so improves the texture without doing much else and the flavors of your other ingredients like eggs, sugar, etc shines through. Baking soda works very rapidly once combined with acid and you should bake shortly after mixing to prevent too much gas from escaping if it sits too long.

Yeast are microorganisms that feed on sugar in your dough/batter and fart out CO2 gas that has the same leavening effect. But they also fart out other waste products that can have significant effects on the final product; many of these other products are key flavors in certain breads, but would be out of place in a cake. Alcohol is a notable one, as well as various acids that lower the pH of the entire dough/batter. Yeast also need time to grow, hence why well-leavened bread typically needs at least two hours of fermentation before baking, whereas you can mix up cake batter with baking soda and chuck it in the oven straightaway.

A bread recipe’s sugar, salt, and water content, mixing process, and timing around rises and baking *all* have to account for the complexity of the fact that yeast is a life form with more complicated results than the single chemical compound of baking soda.

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