You've Added Too Much Baking Powder To A Recipe. Now What? - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you add too much baking powder to a recipe? ›

Too much baking powder can cause the batter to be bitter tasting. It can also cause the batter to rise rapidly and then collapse. (i.e. The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break causing the batter to fall.) Cakes will have a coarse, fragile crumb with a fallen center.

This taste is easily neutralised by addition of a sour liquid during baking. You can add limejuice, orange juice, strawberry juice, or buttermilk instead of milk/water.

Mix in something acidic

Baking soda is basically sodium bicarbonate, which is alkaline in nature. It is important to balance its overtly bitter taste lest it overpowers your dish. Use a small amount of an acidic condiment such as lemon juice or vinegar to neutralise the soda.

Since baking powder is baking soda with an acid and a stabilizer added, one of the best substitutions for baking powder is to use baking soda plus an acidic ingredient, such as plain yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, or vinegar.

In this series of photos, you can see that as we increase the baking powder, the cookies tend to rise a little more, but only to a certain point. Eventually, the reaction is so strong and violent that it will actually cause those air pockets to rupture and collapse, delivering a denser, squatter cookie.

One of the most common misfortunes among bakers is that they are using too much baking soda or baking powder. Know that too much baking soda or baking powder in cakes will not just lead to a metallic and bitter taste, but it can also make a big mess in the oven as it will rise beyond expectations.

Try a pinch of baking soda.

Baking soda is very alkaline, which is a good way to correct overly bitter dishes. Sprinkle just a pinch into your food and mix it in well to see if that helps. This is a good trick for if you're cooking and realize that you added too much of a bitter ingredient.

baking powder is a combination of baking soda and acid and I personally easily notice the metallic taste in anything made with baking powder. So the reaction products don't taste much better than the baking soda itself.

But I would recommend against it, because it is too easy to put too much baking soda and ruin the sauce! The best way to bring down the acidity is to cook the sauce slowly for several hours, typically with something like carrots to add sweetness naturally. But if you're in a pinch, a pinch of sugar could help!

Remove the meat from the container and briefly rinse the meat in plain water to strip off the baking soda solution (or as much of it as possible). Cook as desired.

What happens if I accidentally use baking powder instead of baking soda? ›

Baking powder: Baking powder can be used to replace baking soda, though not at a 1-to-1 ratio. Because the former is not as strong as the latter, it's important to use three times the amount of baking powder as baking soda. Be aware, a slightly bitter, off-putting taste might result from using that much baking powder.

Try a little lemon or honey to balance/ neutralize the taste.It could be that your soda/powder isn't blended well enough.

Metallic or Bitter Taste: Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, which can leave behind a metallic or bitter taste when used in excess. This can affect the overall flavor of the cake and make it unpleasant to eat.

Baking powder needs acid to create a reaction. The acid in the baking powder also needs to combine with the liquid before it is available for the reaction. Baking powder is a two stage ingredient. It begins reacting and creating bubbles when it becomes damp.

One of the most common misfortunes among bakers is that they are using too much baking soda or baking powder. Know that too much baking soda or baking powder in cakes will not just lead to a metallic and bitter taste, but it can also make a big mess in the oven as it will rise beyond expectations.

General Guideline

As a general rule of thumb, you'll want to use about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of all-purpose flour.