Gene asked:
>Can any tell me exactly what the purpose is for using baking soda?
>Also known as sodium bicarbonate (sodium acid carbonate)
>It has an unpeasant taste for me and I have been leaving it out of
>recipes.
The short answer is that it's a substitute for yeast in baking.
The longer answer is that baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3)
(aka sodium hydrogen carbonate, or sodium acid carbonate). When mixed
with water, as would be the case in dough, it begins to break down at
20 degrees C (68 deg. F), releasing carbon dioxide (CO2), the same gas
that yeast produce. It produces a great deal of CO2 at 100 deg C (212
deg F) and is commonly used in low-rising items like flatbreads,
pancakes and biscuits. When combined with (usually) tartaric acid and
(again, usually) cornstarch, it's called baking powder.
Unfortunately, however, once the CO2 has been released, sodium
carbonate is left behind which imparts a bitter taste, and makes the
pH of the dough alkaline.
If you find the taste objectionable, you might try switching to baking
powder, or lightening up your dough somewhat.
Hope this helps,
Quinn
Irvine, CA
(Bitter living through Chemistry)