What is soda slaking? How to extinguish soda so that the product is truly fluffy and tasty

Many housewives very often bake various confectionery and bakery products at home, such as cakes, pancakes, pancakes, pies, and so on. When baking, everyone encounters baking soda and baking powder, often called baking powder. The principle of action of these ingredients is generally clear to everyone, but let's look in more detail at what they are needed for and how to use them correctly. And also let's talk about how to use vinegar correctly.

Everyone probably knows what soda is. It has many names: bicarbonate or But, despite the numerous names, the principle of action of soda is unchanged, as is its chemical formula - NaHCO3. Soda itself is not able to somehow affect the dough, but when combined with an acidic environment, a chemical reaction occurs, during which the soda breaks down into several elements. These elements are water, salt and the most important ingredient - carbon dioxide. So it is precisely due to carbon dioxide that the dough is loosened. Thanks to this reaction, the dough becomes fluffy and elastic.

Baking powder, or as it is also called, baking powder, is a mixture ready to be added to the dough. This mixture consists of acid, soda and filler. Citric acid is most often used in baking powder, and a neutral component - flour or powdered sugar - acts as a filler. If you use baking powder, then as a rule, in addition to it, you do not need to add soda or acid to the dough. The baking powder ingredients are selected in such a way that the entire reaction takes place without residue.

Well, everyone understands what baking powder is. And everyone knows how to use it too - add it to the dough during its preparation and you’re done. But with soda, things are a little more complicated. Some housewives often wonder how to extinguish soda with vinegar, and most importantly, why extinguish soda with vinegar.

It is necessary to extinguish the soda, because if you do not do this, it will of course work, but the effect will not be the same. Without acid, soda will also act as a leavening agent, but it will begin to disintegrate only at 60 degrees, that is, directly during the baking process. The result is not very high-quality baked goods with a characteristic soda taste. The taste remains because without acid, soda is not able to react completely. In order for all the soda to react without leaving a residue, you need to know how to extinguish soda with vinegar correctly.

Many housewives do the following: take a certain amount of soda into a spoon and pour it with a small amount of vinegar. In this case, a very violent reaction naturally occurs with the active release of carbon dioxide. After waiting a little, this whole bubbling mixture is kneaded into the dough. And what's most surprising is that everyone believes that this is the correct way to extinguish soda. But this is a very deep misconception. Such housewives absolutely do not understand why and how to extinguish soda with vinegar. With this method, the reaction that should occur directly in the test occurs in the open air, where, apart from a beautiful spectacle, it brings no further benefit. Part of the soda, of course, acts in the dough, since not all of it reacts with vinegar.

To fully use the potential of soda, it must be mixed with flour, and acid in the form of kefir or lemon juice must be introduced directly when kneading the dough. With this method, the effect of soda will be maximum, you will get a fluffy and elastic dough. And the baked goods will not have the taste of soda and will also be fluffy.

But, there are recipes that, in addition to baking powder, still require adding a small amount of soda. What is it for? This usually happens if there are acidic products among the ingredients, such as kefir or whey. In such cases, the acid content in the dough turns out to be excessive and in order to neutralize the excess acid, add a little soda along with baking powder.

Now you know everything about soda, baking powder and how to extinguish soda with vinegar. The knowledge gained will certainly make your baked goods even more magnificent and tastier.

Oh, how sometimes you want to please your loved ones with a chic delicacy made with your own hands: a pie or cookies, cake or pancakes. But almost all recipes contain the following phrase: “Cause half a teaspoon of soda.”

But often young housewives are just interested in the question of how to extinguish soda. Usually this point is present in recipes for making various types of baked goods. Soda is used to ensure that the pie or cake crust turns out fluffy and not with a hard “sole”.

Of course, you can do just fine with baking powder bought at the store. By the way, it is created on the basis of elemental soda and acid, which react upon contact with liquid. The chemical process is practically no different from how the housewife can extinguish soda herself, without spending extra money on baking powder.

If the recipe specifies that soda should be taken at the tip of a knife, then the extinguishing process can be omitted altogether. When more sodium dioxide is needed, about a teaspoon, then it needs to be neutralized. During this reaction, the soda and acid interact with the secretion, which “lifts” the product, creating a fluffy product. The acid itself turns into water. Therefore, it is very important to maintain the proportions correctly, otherwise either acid or soda may remain unused, which can affect the taste of the product.

Considering the fact that soda is neutralized not only when exposed to acids, but also at high temperatures, it is not scary if the acid is slightly less than required for a complete reaction: the remainder of the soda will undergo decomposition during the cooking process. But the excess acid will remain there, giving the product not quite the taste that the owner is counting on.

So, we came to the conclusion that the less acid, the better. Since soda can be quenched with any acid that can be eaten, you should use vinegar (wine, apple, fruit, or diluted or fermented milk products, lemon juice, or Why it is recommended to use diluted vinegar and not essence can be understood from the beginning of the article. After all, It is quite difficult to determine the exact amount of concentrated acid, and you can easily “overdo it.” For the same purpose, it is better to use not a tea spoon, holding it directly over the dough, but a glass placed on the table.

The amount of acid is determined experimentally by adding it little by little to a glass of soda and stirring. As soon as the soda begins to bubble, actively releasing carbon dioxide, the mixture is poured into the dough and mixed. But there is no better way than to extinguish soda “dry” by mixing it with flour. It is recommended to add acid to liquid ingredients, for example, milk, water, kefir - those components that are included in the recipe. While mixing the products, a chemical process will occur, and the question of how to extinguish soda will disappear by itself.

You can also use a similar option, replacing liquid acid with dry acid, which can always be purchased for mere pennies in the supermarket.

This method, of course, is more convenient, since extinguishing soda in the air is not entirely correct. After all, the very carbon dioxide that we need to loosen the dough almost all goes into the air. Thus, the process loses its significance. This is probably why many housewives prefer to use store-bought baking powder. Because it is in them that dry acid and soda have the opportunity to interact with each other, being “inside” the dough, which creates maximum fluffiness and tenderness of the product.

And in order not to spend money on buying baking powder, make it yourself by pouring the required amount of soda and a pinch of citric acid into the flour. This will save the housewife from the problem of extinguishing the soda, from the need to measure the acid and dilute the essence, achieving the desired concentration.


The question “or not to quench baking soda with vinegar when baking” is as eternal as the question: “what came first – the chicken or the egg.” However, after delving into the literature and visiting a bunch of sites, including foreign ones, I came to the conclusion that this issue is at most 70-80 years old, almost as long as our country has existed since the October Revolution. Perhaps I didn’t search well, perhaps in the wrong place, but the lack of information still led me to these conclusions.

Break, a great many recipes of ancient Russian cuisine did not find a single one that mentioned soda. Previously, baked goods in our country were predominantly made with yeast, or without the addition of any rising or leavening accelerators at all.

So, baking soda was invented by the French chemist Leblanc at the end of the 18th century. This invention reached Russia much later, after a new method of its manufacture was obtained. As soon as Russian housewives had such a product as soda, they began to apply and use it in cooking through trial and error. Why was it decided to extinguish the soda? Yes, simply because our tradition of eating everything “in the heat of the moment” in this case is only harmful.

The fact is that quicklime soda in hot baked goods has a very unpleasant “soapy” taste. Which was “corrected” by extinguishing it, namely, adding boiling water or fermented milk products to the soda. For pancakes, this method still gives very good results. However, imagine what will happen to your shortcrust pastry if you pour a glass of boiling water into it? The answer is obvious. That's why it was invented to replace boiling water or fermented milk products with diluted 9% vinegar or lemon juice.

Now, let's go in order:

Why do you need to add baking soda or another baking powder?
- baking soda, when exposed to high temperature or an acidic environment, gives an enhanced reaction to release carbon dioxide, which in turn leads to fluffiness and porosity.

Is baking soda a baking powder?
- No. Baking soda itself is not a leavening agent. In order for the process of loosening (emission of carbon dioxide) to occur, soda requires two components: an acidic environment and high temperature. Important note: let's not go deep into chemistry, and consider only the aspect that is necessary for cooking, so we will not take into account the fair comments that only one of the components is enough to release carbon dioxide thanks to soda.

Why is vinegar used to extinguish soda?
From illiteracy, or from laziness, or out of habit. Baking powder was not sold in the USSR, which is why they wrote about extinguishing soda with vinegar, and still do, and I, too, will not adapt it for baking powder, so as not to confuse and scare away my visitors. Culinary illiteracy played almost the main role - soda needs acid, and instead of adding something sour to the composition - honey, sour cream, and so on - they poured and poured vinegar. “What does honey have to do with it, is it sour?” - you ask. Let me explain: do not confuse sweetness with the pH reaction: “Honey has an acidic pH = 3.26-4.36″, which is what we need.

By the way, many foods give an acidic reaction, for example eggs, but it is usually not enough.

Do you need to extinguish soda?
-No. How, in this case, to knead the dough correctly? Ideally, you need to mix soda with the dry baking ingredients, and mix the acid (in the form of sour cream, kefir, honey, lemon juice, etc.) with the liquid ones. Then quickly knead the dough, combining both mixtures, and bake immediately.

If this makes you feel safer, you can turn it off. But the benefit from “quenching” will be minimal. The fact is that we “quench” it incorrectly - pour soda into a teaspoon and drip vinegar or lemon juice into it. Why is this wrong? In this case, the entire necessary reaction to release carbon dioxide goes into the void, into the air, instead of getting into the dough. Therefore, if you nevertheless decide to use slaked soda, do not wait until all the bubbles that appear during slaking disappear, immediately pour it into the dough. And the excess that did not have time to react with vinegar will give you that long-awaited splendor and porosity.

Why does it leave an unpleasant taste if you don't quench the baking soda with vinegar?
Firstly, cooled baked goods may have minimal or no aftertaste.
Secondly, it's all about the exact dosage. I have never seen a housewife who uses electronic scales to weigh down to the gram each product that goes into baking. And the recipes themselves, ALL of them, are guilty of “approximateness”, they are made by eye. Imagine, for example, a big apple that a Ukrainian housewife or a resident of Sverdlovsk means. Their concepts of big will be very different. As for modern recipes, the amount of soda in them is incredibly large (everything is calculated on the fact that they will still want to extinguish the soda)

03.07.2015

During the baking process, bakers and homemakers use vinegar, adding additional heat. Why is such a procedure necessary? Everyone knows that soda serves as a leavening agent for dough. When it enters an acidic environment, it begins to undergo a decomposition process, releasing carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide helps loosen the dough. Under the influence of gas, the dough becomes porous and sandy.

It is customary to add vinegar and soda separately to the dough, but the product of their interaction. The product of their interaction is sodium acetate, which is obtained by quenching soda with vinegar. Sodium acetate is widely used in food production as a preservative or acidity regulator or leavening agent. Sodium acetate itself is resistant to high temperatures. Therefore, during the baking process the dough will not contribute to its loosening.

However, depending on the recipe, the dough may turn out different. If the recipe contains sour cream or kefir, this reaction will take place without a lack of acid and carbon dioxide will be released in the right amount. If the recipe is low in acid, the resulting baked goods will taste like soda that has not reacted. Therefore, housewives add soda, previously enriched with carbon dioxide, to the dough. This precaution arises because many cannot accurately predict the chemical composition of the dough being prepared.

If you extinguish soda with vinegar or boiling water in a spoon, most of the carbon dioxide formed instantly evaporates. Therefore, such soda enters the product with a low carbon dioxide content. In most cases, the dough will still rise in this case. This happens because the soda, which did not react, will still loosen the dough. Housewives use an approximate ratio of components (vinegar and soda).

Culinary experts believe that if baking soda is not quenched with acid, it retains its unpleasant taste in baked goods, affecting the quality of the dish. During the quenching process, the level of soda in the products decreases under the influence of carbon dioxide. The sodium carbonate flavor is destroyed by the use of acids. Soda that has not been extinguished causes a slight porosity effect in the dough.

Therefore, it makes no sense to extinguish soda with vinegar in a spoon. The optimal way to extinguish soda is to add dry soda while mixing all the components. Afterwards, you need to add some acidic substance, for example, lemon juice, to the dry mixture. In order for the dough to rise, you need to mix the dry ingredients - soda, citric acid in powder form, flour. Baking powders are made using the same principle.

If the product does not contain acid, this can lead to the fact that during heat treatment in the oven, soda will begin to disintegrate on its own into water and carbon dioxide very rapidly. This negatively affects the quality of the resulting baked goods.

Cooks are wondering how to extinguish soda with vinegar. The process of extinguishing in this way is quite simple.

When properly baked, it will allow you to make fluffy and airy baked goods, giving the dough porosity, lightness, and a loose structure.

Its decomposition occurs when any of the oxidizing agents is added. Often our product should be quenched with 9% vinegar. You can replace it with apple or wine. More often it is also replaced with regular lemon juice.

The cancellation procedure is quite simple. Experts in this industry recommend carrying out this culinary process in close proximity to the dough. In this case, you should put a certain proportion of the product into a tablespoon, which is indicated directly in the recipe for the dish being prepared.

Next you need to add vinegar. If there is a fear that you may overfill, you can use special graduated measuring cups. It will foam upon contact with this product. Don't worry.

This is the release of carbon dioxide that we were talking about. When the entire composition of the product has foamed, it should be immersed in the dough and mixed.

What will we need? The necessary tools and products that are used to extinguish our ingredient should be on hand for almost every housewife.

For this process you will need:

  • special container;
  • tablespoon or teaspoon;
  • vinegar and soda.

To extinguish it, you will need the following proportion: baking soda in the amount of 1 tsp, food acid in the amount of 1 tbsp.

Step-by-step instruction

You should understand the step-by-step instructions for extinguishing this product in more detail. Based on experience, in 1 tsp. there will be about 8 g of our product. In the case of pouring vinegar or 70% essence into a tsp. to the very edges the mass of this component will be about 4 g.

Based on calculations, for extinguishing 1 tsp. This product will need about 16 tsp. oxidizing agent or 2 tsp. essences. In this case, it will take 71 g of vinegar, and about 8 g of essence will have to be used.

Instructions on how to properly extinguish baking soda with vinegar:

  1. First you need to scoop it into a spoon and add the sour element there.
  2. When it starts to hiss, you should stir it a little.
  3. Our product has been cancelled.

For 1 tsp. about 2 dl of the ingredient should be added. vinegar, and not 16 tsp, which are indicated in the calculations. Dessert equals 2 tsp.

Thus, you need 4 tsp. for 1 tsp. soda This is the optimal consistency of the product, obtained experimentally over a long period by modern culinary specialists.

If our product is used correctly, it will be an excellent leavening agent. In acidic environments and under the influence of temperatures, it is characterized by decay and release of carbon dioxide. It is thanks to carbon dioxide that the dough will be loosened at the proper level. Moreover, the dough acquires a certain porosity and becomes sand-shaped.

If recipes are used that contain sour cream, kefir or other dairy ingredients in their structure, there will be plenty of acid and the reaction will be complete. This will extinguish it properly.

If the acid in the recipe is not in the required quantity, then the finished product may have a soapy aftertaste. Based on the above, the addition of our product should be done strictly according to the recipe, as it may not be extinguished properly.

An interesting fact is that women begin the quenching process in a separate container. This is incorrect, since the soda will release carbon dioxide long before it gets into the dough. In this case, the dough will not loosen properly and will end up stale.

There are 3 typical mistakes when extinguishing this product with vinegar. Today, soda is added to almost every baked product. But it should be properly extinguished so that the dough acquires a kind of porosity and looseness.

The main mistake cooks make is a soapy taste when making baked goods. This problem is caused by our product. Based on this, it should be added in certain proportions prescribed in the recipe.

The next mistake is that people extinguish it first in a certain vessel. Due to the fact that carbon dioxide will be completely released, the dough may not be loosened well.

The best way out of this situation would be to add our product to the dry ingredient. If the work is done with liquid, then it should be added to lemon juice, kefir or something sour.

Housewives cannot understand how to extinguish soda, and in doing so they make a mistake. The first remedy for extinguishing is vinegar.

Let's sum it up

Proper slaking of this product with vinegar gives looseness to the dough, and it acquires a certain porosity. If you neglect this, the baked goods will be bad and tasteless.