You may not think of chemistry when you're baking a cake, but it is definitely a chemically based process. Whatever type of food you bake, the recipe's basic ingredients are involved in several chemical reactions that tie diverse ingredients together to form the finished dish.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
The process of cooking is a series of chemical reactions that turn separate ingredients into a cohesive, edible dish. Baking might not seem like it involves chemistry, but the ingredients you use undergo chemical changes to form the final baked good.
Gluten Formation
Most baking is based on the use of flour, the powder form of grains, nuts and beans. Wheat flour, the most commonly used type of flour in baking, is composed largely of starch and protein, with very high levels of a class of protein known collectively as gluten. When water is added to wheat flour, the gluten forms a heavy, pliable mass. This expands greatly under hot temperatures and sets with the desired airy texture.
Leavening Agents
Leavening agents such as baking soda, baking powder and yeast give baked dough its lightness. Baking soda reacts with acids in the dough to make carbon dioxide, which helps the dough to rise. Baking powder, which is baking soda with an additional acidic salt, releases carbon dioxide twice during the baking process, once when it hits water, and again when it reaches a certain temperature in the oven. Heat helps baking powder produce tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide, which make a cake light and fluffy. When yeast, a single-celled fungus that feeds on starch and sugars, is added to dough, it also releases carbon dioxide bubbles, giving the dough a light, delicate texture.
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Browning Reactions
Sugar does much more than just sweeten a cake. When the baking temperature reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit, sugar undergoes what is known as a Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction between amino acids, proteins and reducing sugars. The result is browning, which forms the crust of many baked goods, such as bread. The Maillard reaction is not the same as caramelization, but both work together to create appetizing golden-brown surfaces and an array of flavors. Sugar also provides a direct food source for yeast, enhancing the yeast's activity.
Emulsification and Binding
Eggs in a cake mixture may fulfill one or more of three functions. Beaten egg white is used, like baking powder, to give the dough a light, fluffy consistency. This is possible because egg white (albumen) contains lecithin, a protein that coats the air bubbles created during beating, which stops the cake from sinking during baking. ILecithin also acts as a binder to hold the cake together. When egg is used as a glaze, it also acts as a source of protein for the sugar's Maillard reaction.
FAQs
Baking Powder Reacts With Heat to Create Gas Bubbles
What are the chemical reactions in baking a cake? ›
Baking soda reacts with acids in the dough to make carbon dioxide, which helps the dough to rise. Baking powder, which is baking soda with an additional acidic salt, releases carbon dioxide twice during the baking process, once when it hits water, and again when it reaches a certain temperature in the oven.
What are the chemical equations in cake? ›
The balanced chemical reaction can be given as: 2 NaHCO 3 ( s ) → Na 2 CO 3 ( s ) + H 2 O ( g ) + CO 2 ( g ) ( Sodium bicarbonate ) ( Sodium carbonate ) ( Water ) ( Carbon dioxide ) .
What evidence that a chemical reaction occurs as a cake bakes? ›
The cake needed the heat from the oven in order to transform. Chemical changes might also be indicated by gases being released - this is what causes the cake to be light and fluffy, instead of thick batter.
What is the science involved in baking a cake? ›
In cakes, baking powder or soda reacts with moisture and heat, releasing carbon dioxide and causing the batter to rise. Fats and emulsifiers, like eggs and butter, aid in creating a stable emulsion, ensuring a uniform texture.
What is the chemical reaction of baking powder in a cake? ›
When combined with water, the sodium bicarbonate and acid salts react to produce gaseous carbon dioxide. Whether commercially or domestically prepared, the principles behind baking powder formulations remain the same. The acid-base reaction can be generically represented as shown: NaHCO3 + H+ → Na+ + CO2 + H2O.
Which chemical is used in cake? ›
The chemical leavening agent is essentially baking powder: a blend of a dried acid (for example cream of tartar and sodium aluminium sulphate) and an alkali (sodium bicarbonate known commonly as baking soda). Adding water (and heat) to this mixture allows the acid to react with the alkali to produce carbon dioxide gas.
What chemical reactions occur when cooking? ›
What Are Some of the Most Common Chemical Reactions in the Kitchen?
- Fermentation. Humans have benefited from fermentation for as long as history has recorded. ...
- The Maillard Reaction. ...
- Caramelization. ...
- Gluten Formation. ...
- Pyrolysis. ...
- Acid-Base Reactions. ...
- Protein Denaturation. ...
- Emulsification.
At about 175°C (or 347°F) sugar starts to caramelize, turning a warm amber color. During baking sugar, amino acids, peptides and proteins go through a process known as the Maillard Reaction. These reactions result in browning and produce wonderful smell associated with baked goods.
Why is baking a cake an example of chemical change? ›
Once the cake is formed, we cannot get back the original batter and the chemical composition of cake is different from that of batter. In any physical change, the chemical composition of a substance does not change. Hence baking of cake is not a physical change but a chemical change.
The ingredients of a cake—such as eggs and flour—are the reactants. They are mixed together and baked to form the cake, which is the product (see Figure below). The cake can't be “unbaked” and “unmixed” to change it back to the raw eggs, flour, and other ingredients. So making a cake is irreversible.
What triggers a chemical reaction that makes baked products rise? ›
A leavening agent is a substance that triggers a chemical reaction that causes a baked product to rise. The most well-known examples include yeast, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and baking powder (acid + base + filler such as corn starch).
Is baking a chemical reaction? ›
Baking cake is a chemical change. Baking soda and baking powder are key ingredients of cake. The baking soda reacts with the ingredient of the cake to produce bubbles of CO2 gas that get trapped in the batter. The gas bubbles expand in the heat of the oven and rise up as a fluffy cake.
What would we call the cake in the chemical reaction? ›
Flour, sugar, eggs, and baking powder would be considered reactants. Flour, sugar, eggs, and baking powder would be considered products. The cake would be considered a reactant. Cookies are the PRODUCTS of a chemical reaction that occur during the baking process.
What makes cake fluffy in chemistry? ›
It is important to note that baking soda is responsible for making cakes and pastries to be light and fluffy. The chemical name and formula of baking soda is sodium bicarbonate and \[NaHC{{O}_{3}}\]. Baking soda reacts with tartaric acid and generates sodium tartrate, water and carbon dioxide.
Is mixing cake batter a chemical reaction? ›
Yes. Actually, the cake recipe is a chemical outline with processing (baking) instructions included. As soon as the ingredients are mixed together, chemical changes begin to occur. Then, when the baked good is placed in the oven, additional chemical changes occur.
What are the chemical reactions in baking cookies? ›
Caramelization – Just as the cookie is almost finished baking, two chemical reactions happen – caramelization & Maillard reaction. As sugars in the dough break down (especially around the edges & the hot bottom), they transform into a brown, fragrant caramel gold adding to the flavours of the cookie.
