Baking powder and alkaline water

[Danl]

I've never been that impressed with the leavening power of baking powder, and it occurs to me that it may not be working that well for me because my water is HIGHLY alkaline. I mean pH~9.2. Now, the water tastes fine. They raise the pH to precipitate out a lot of the minerals that would make it taste bad. But is highly alkaline liquid likely to impede the performance of baking powder and, for that matter, baking soda? I'm talking drop biscuits or cakes. Now, acidification of the water is not hard to do. Cream of tartar, or even vinegar or citric acid. Is that likely to make a difference here? I'm looking for advice from people who actually have highly alkaline water.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I've never been that impressed with the leavening power of baking powder, and it occurs to me that it may not be working that well for me because my water is HIGHLY alkaline. I mean pH~9.2. Now, the water tastes fine. They raise the pH to precipitate out a lot of the minerals that would make it taste bad. But is highly alkaline liquid likely to impede the performance of baking powder and, for that matter, baking soda? I'm talking drop biscuits or cakes. Now, acidification of the water is not hard to do. Cream of tartar, or even vinegar or citric acid. Is that likely to make a difference here? I'm looking for advice from people who actually have highly alkaline water.

Acid, not alkali will neutralize an alkali.

Baking powder is a mix of sodium bicarbonate and acids. Alkali water won’t neutralize the sodium bicarbonate in baking powder.


The pH scale 1 - 14

Neutral pH is 7.

Most Water is a 7.

A base or alkali is a solution that has a pH greater than 7.

Sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) is an alkali. It has a pH of around 8.5

Anything below 7 on the pH scale is acidic.

Sodium bicarbonate activation requires an acid and moisture.

Baking powder is a blend of sodium bicarbonate and acid. Most baking powders contain two acids.

Baking powders are double-acting, meaning they activate, go dormant then activate a second time.

First activation happens when the acid comes in contact with liquid. The second activation happens when the acid reaches a certain temperature.

These brands contain two acids:


Argo

monocalcium phosphate and sodium acid pyrophosphate



Clabber Girl

monocalcium phosphate and anhydrous sodium aluminum sulfate



Sodium pyrophosphate

There is one acid that will activate, go dormant then re-activate at a higher temperature: monocalcium phosphate.



Rumsford contains acid monocalcium phosphate. It is often mistaken for a single-acting baking powder, but it is in fact a double acting baking powder.



When the monocalcium phosphate comes in contact with liquid at room temperature, two-thirds of the CO2 will release within two minutes of mixing. It will then go dormant because of dicalcium phosphate is a byproduct of mixing. When it is heated 140°F (60°C) it will reactivate.

 

[Danl]

I think you're misunderstanding. My point is that the acid that baking power contains may be neutralized by my alkaline water. I don't need a long and involved explanation. I know the chemistry. I just asked a simple question.

"Sodium bicarbonate activation requires an acid and moisture."

Yep, and the question was, will my alkalai moisture defeat the acidifier that is added to the baking powder?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I think you're misunderstanding. My point is that the acid that baking power contains may be neutralized by my alkaline water. I don't need a long and involved explanation. I know the chemistry. I just asked a simple question.

"Sodium bicarbonate activation requires an acid and moisture."

Yep, and the question was, will my alkalai moisture defeat the acidifier that is added to the baking powder?

err If you read my explanation you will learn that double acting baking powder is activated by moisture AND later by heat.

Hello

 

[Danl]

We're not talking about heat. We're talking about the acid that reacts with sodium hydroxide to make CO2, and whether that acid is neutralized in highly alkaline water. No question that double acting baking powder has other means of producing CO2. Turns out my baking powder is kind of old which, in itself, is one reason why it might not perform as well as it should. I'll get some fresh stuff, and try it out with both distilled water and my tap water. It will certainly fizz in the former. The question is whether it will fizz in the latter.

 

[Danl]

OK, I worked it out. When I use FRESH double-acting baking powder, it fizzes just fine in my highly alkaline tap water. That's nice to know - that highly alkaline tap water doesn't screw up the action of baking powder. Chemically, it could. Now, I did a pH test on it and wonder of wonders, when I add the baking powder to the water, the resulting liquid is neutral or slightly acidic! So the additive in baking powder that acidifies is successfully neutralizing the alkalinity in my tap water. The tap water isn't buffered, so killing the alkalinity in it isn't that hard, really. I have to assume that my frustrations with baking powder were mainly just that I was using old stuff. The lifetime of baking powder is less than a year.