What is baking powder?

CBSE Class 10 CBSE Class 10 Science
,
1

What is baking powder ? How does it make the cake soft and spongy ?

2

Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and mild edible acid such as tartaric
acid.

  1. The chemical name of baking powder is sodium hydrogen carbonate ($NaHC{{O}_{3}}$).
  2. It is added to the dough while making cake because on heating it is converted to sodium carbonate with release of carbondioxide.
    $NaHC{{O}{3}}$ + ${{H}^{+}}$-------------->
    $C{{O}    {2}}$ + $H _{ 2 }O$ + Sodium salt of acid
  3. When baking the cake the $C{{O}_{2}}$ released by baking powder causes the cake or bread to rise making them soft and spongy.