Cooking Muffins

[deleted-92694]

Hi my name is Kara and I am in the research part of my project right now. My question is: What is the outcome of substituting baking soda for baking powder in a muffin recipe?
I have researched what baking soda and baking powder is composed of, what causes them to react in a recipe, and what the difference is between the two of them. Is there anything else I should research before I move on to the hypothesis? Also I copied and pasted my paper on background research below.


Main Question: What is the outcome of substituting baking soda for baking powder in a muffin recipe?

Other relevant Questions:
How does baking soda work?
What is the composition of baking soda?
What are the properties and characteristics of baking soda?
What ingredients activate baking soda?
How does baking powder work?
What is the composition of baking powder?
What are the properties and characteristics of baking powder?
What ingredients activate baking powder?
What ingredients are in a muffin recipe?

The idea of this science project is to replace baking powder with baking soda in a generic blueberry muffin recipe and compare the outcome to the outcome of the original recipe. Baking powder contains baking soda plus other ingredients, therefore the muffins with baking soda might not rise because of the lack of other ingredients provided in baking powder. In other words, baking soda relies on acidic ingredients and wetness found in the rest of the recipe to produce carbon dioxide, whereas baking powder already contains dry acid and only needs wetness to have the chemical reaction. There are no other acidic ingredients in the muffin recipe and the pH is low, so there is not enough carbon dioxide bubbles to make the muffins rise when the baking powder is replaced with baking soda.

Experimental priorities for this project include measuring precisely and following the recipe, along with changing only one variable. The control variables of the the experiment include the temperature the muffins are cooked at, the amount of dough in each muffin, and the amount of each ingredient in the recipe. The independent variable in the experiment is the substitution of baking soda for baking powder in half of the muffins. The height, weight, and time it takes to cook are the dependent variables that will be observed.








To-do:
Create a hypothesis
Gather ingredients
Test hypothesis by doing an experiment
Observe experiment and find the dependent variables
Analyze data
Draw conclusion
Complete display boards with information







Blueberry muffin recipe:

1 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tps. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Temp. at 400 degrees
makes 10-12 muffins

[deleted-71603]

Hi Kara. Excellent work so far!

Let me ask you this first: how are you going to measure difference in outcome? Will you be looking for differences in taste, appearance, ???. If you are considering measuring difference in taste, you could try to find out if substituting will alter taste (tastes drier, chalkier, etc). Otherwise, I think you are well on your way and can move on to your hypothesis.

Certainly write back for more feedback, if you like. Good luck!

[deleted-92694]

I am going to measure the height of the muffins (to see how high they rise) and the weight of them with a kitchen scale. Is there anything else I can measure? I don't want to measure the taste because my teacher said not to because it is not a definite answer/its an opinion. I just want to make sure, I only researched the answers to the questions listed in the last post, is there anything else I need to know like about CO2 or something? Also, is my background research paper in the right order? Thank so much! Kara

[deleted-71603]

Hi, Kara.

Based on your research of how the differences in the two might affect the outcome, I think measuring height and weight is fine. You are right on measuring taste. It is very subjective. You can always measure taste and add as an additional finding to your experiment, but I agree that it shouldn't be your primary dependent variable.

Your background research is fine. If you want, you could research what the additional ingredients are in baking powder and why they are important to muffin making. You have already talked about the importance of dry acid found in baking powder. Is there anything else? Otherwise, I think you are fine to press forward.

Good luck!

[deleted-92694]

Thanks!

[deleted-92694]

Alright, thanks! Do you know of any good websites to research pH?? That is the only thing I don't really understand. Thanks

[deleted-71712]

Kara,

I merged your two topics together so that anyone who answers can see the entire conversation. You might find these resources helpful for writing up your background research (which will be similar to the introduction section of your final report) and your final report:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ndex.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... plan.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... aper.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... port.shtml

Amanda

[deleted-71603]

Hi Kara. I've listed some websites below that I think do a good job at explaining the difference between baking powder and baking soda, and why powder is used in some recipes while soda is used in others. The important thing to remember is the end goal is to produce carbon dioxide to cause the muffins to rise. You need an acid (like vinegar) to mix with a base (like baking soda) in order to create the chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide. If your recipe includes baking soda, it is important to add an acid to the recipe not only to create carbon dioxide but also for flavor purposes. Baking soda is a base. If it isn't countered with an acidic ingredient, the food will taste bitter.

http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/specials%20 ... ecipes.htm
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools- ... powder.htm
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemi ... baking.htm

[deleted-92694]

Those websites are really helpful, thanks! I will let you know if I have anymore questions