The magic of soda

I have the recipe, "Six-Month Bran Muffins" from my great grandmother that is a great example how the chef instructors got it wrong. The older this batter gets, the better the muffins become. Yes, you can keep the batter for six months. I just baked off my last five this morning. The batter had only been in the fridge for four months, but since I had to scrape a little mold (don't tell anyone) off the top in one corner of the container, I thought it was best to just use up the rest.

The rise was great; the flavor was delicious.

The only chemical leavening in the recipe is baking soda. How can that be? Isn't baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) supposed to run out of gas? You see, baking soda produces carbon dioxide gas in batters. In fact, it starts to release as soon as it comes into contact with moisture. According to The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg, this is especially true when it is used without baking powder and therefore, "...should be baked as soon as possible after mixing." Gee, he sounds like my Chef instructors.

Baking soda also requires an acid to accompany it, otherwise the baked product has an off taste to it. This acid may include buttermilk, chocolate, citrus juice, sour cream, molasses, etc. When it is mixed into the batter, carbon dioxide is produced more rapidly, leaving a milder form of sodium in its place. But again, it is the rational of why your recipes need to be baked immediately. If you aren't going to add an acid, technically, the baking soda will not turn into carbon dioxide and sodium carbonate until heat is added. But again, your product will taste soapy and alkaline.

At work we keep batter no more than four days. Many of our batters have both soda and powder. And you can tell a difference on that fourth day; I always have to add more batter to the pan. At another place I worked, we kept the muffin batter around for more than week. We didn't have any issues with rising. Those recipes included just soda in them.

So, perhaps it is the double acting baking powder that is causing the batter to flatten after a few days? Nope (at least not scientifically). Baking powder contains one part sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and two parts baking acid. That is one of the benefits to using baking powder over soda (you don't have to add extra ingredients just to obtain the acid). More importantly, double acting baking powder will begin to react with liquid, however, it won't finish until heat is added. This allows you to delay the baking time.

So what gives? I think I need to put a call into Shirley Corriher, the food science goddess.

And I think you should try the best bran muffins ever. Thanks to my Cookie Grandma aka Alice Smith.

Alice's 6-Month Bran Muffins (copied as she wrote it, so read carefully & prior to starting it)

Step 1: 1 C 100% Bran
            1 C boiling water
            - Mix, cool, set aside

Step 2: Cream 1 1/2 C sugar with 1/2 C oil

Step 3: Sift 2 1/2 C flour with 3/4 tsp salt & 2 1/2 tsp b/soda

Step 4: Add 2 eggs to creamed mixture

Step 5: Add 2 C All Bran cereal

Step 6: Add 1/2 qt (2 C) buttermilk, alternating with the flour

Step 7: Add 1/2 lb of raisins

Step 8: Mix all together. Add Step 1.

Store in covered dish in refrigerator. Improves with age. Do not stir. When ready to put in muffin tins, just scoop out. Bake 400 about 10-12 minutes.


Notice the buttermilk? Remember, you can always make buttermilk by mixing 1 C milk with 1 TBSP lemon juice or white vinegar.

Ideally, you want to the muffins to warm up to room temp before adding them to the oven. But if you don't (I never do, what's the point of having the batter handy then?) just add cooking time. Oh, I do add cooking spray to my muffin tins. It just makes life easier. And the raisins are a necessary ingredient.

I think that it is it! Enjoy!