[orapunzel]

Maybe this is a dunce

question but I'm tired. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

So... a recent thread about beans and the recommendation of not using even as little as 1/8 tsp in the cooking water b/c it would interfere with the absorption on nutrients in the body got me to thinking...

If that little is the case, then why isn't this the case with baked goods... most of which use quite a bit more than the teeny amount referenced above?

This came to me as I was making a GF pumpkin cupcake recipe I have this past Sunday...and the recipe calls for 2 tsp of the stuff. My recipe makes about 21 cupcakes (after eating some of the dough

). [For reasons beyond those indicated in this post, next time I make this ... which is tomorrow b/c my DH wants to take them to work for a Pre-Thanksgiving Feast... I'm going to use baking powder, instead.]

Now... does the heat of baking make a difference? Or is it that we've overlooked this b/c we've become so used to recipes calling for baking soda that it has passed underneath our radars all this time?

I'm curious to see what you guys have to share.

 

[expansia]

I haven't seen the thread on baking soda and beans. I did look up what you asked about, though. Here's what I came up with.

About.com's nutritionalist says baking soda destroys thiamine (vitamin B). It's often added to reduce cooking time, but for beans a pressure cooker works just as well. Wiki says it helps reduce beans' gassiness after-effects.

In baking, baking soda is used for a different reason: to make the end product fluffy by introducing gas as it cooks (leavening agent). Assuming you use enriched flour for your cupcakes, the additon of baking soda could remove the thiamine that comes along with the flour (guess on my part). For me personally, I don't eat sweet baked goods for their wholesome vitamin B content, though.

Quote:

I'm going to use baking powder, instead.

Baking powder IS baking soda, plus an acid and a non-caking agent. So you could use baking powder, or baking soda plus cream of tartar for the same results (good or bad).

Sources: about.com, wikipedia.com