What happens if you use baking powder instead of baking soda? I found out by accident when making my favorite banana bread recipe. I was distracted. Yes, I know I should know the recipe by heart at this point. Also, I should have noticed when I took out the baking powder that something was wrong. But I didn’t realize my mistake until it was too late.
That said, I had a moment of indecision. Should I throw the batter away or wait to see what would happen? I did a quick bit of research.
My first research tool was to go to King Arthur, a reputable source of baking information and recipes. As noted there, baking soda is a base that requires an acid to make gas which is what causes quick breads to rise. By contrast, baking powder contains both baking soda and cream of tartar. So what is the acid in my usual banana bread? Maybe it is the bananas, which are mildly acidic.
Honestly, I’m no scientist so I really don’t know why it works out so well with baking soda.
Do Other Recipes Use Baking Soda?
I checked a bunch of banana bread recipes and found that some use baking soda, while others use baking powder. BTW, note that I linked to reputable bakers and the first recipe, using baking soda, is like mine. In other words, it does not have any of the traditional acidic ingredients to go with the leavening.
In any event, baking powder is less strong than baking soda, so you need more of it. And I only did a 1-to-1 swap (because I was mistakenly using baking powder.) So in theory my bread should have not have risen nearly enough.
In a Baking Powder for Baking Soda Subsitution, What Ratio Should You Use?
How much more baking powder should you use? If you consider McCormick to be an expert, then the answer is 3 times as much if you’re substituting it for baking soda. On the other hand, a blogger, The Tart Queen, says the answer is 4 times as much.
What I Did.
I decided to keep the loaf and bake it even though I had only made a 1-for-1 swap. It turns out that my instinct was right. Although it was not as good as the original, the banana bread with baking powder was edible. The crumb was not as light as it should have been and the banana bread did not rise as high, but it still tasted good.
The comparison is below. The top two photos are the banana bread “mistake.” The bottom two photos are of my favorite banana bread correctly made.
Why did the substitution work? I have no idea. But maybe the moral of this story is simple. If you make a mistake that doesn’t involve food safety, don’t immediately throw the dish away. Consider finishing it and tasting it. If it’s edible or better than edible, keep it. And learn from your mistakes.
I doubt that I will ever make this same mistake again.
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