Sodium bicarbonate breads, soda bread, and other baked and fried foods. Acidic compounds that induce this reaction include phosphates, cream of tartar, lemon juice, yogurt, buttermilk, cocoa, and vinegar. Baking soda may be used together with sourdough, which is acidic, making a lighter product with a less acidic taste. Heat can also by itself cause sodium bicarbonate to act as a raising agent in baking because of thermal decomposition, releasing carbon dioxide. When used this way on its own, without the presence of an acidic component (whether in the batter or by the use of a baking powder containing acid), only half
Crumpet If differentiated from the crumpet, a pikelet is defined as containing no yeast as a raising agent and as being cooked without a ring, making it rather flatter or thinner than a crumpet, and a thinner batter was also used. In Stoke-on-Trent, pikelets were once sold in the town's many oatcake shops. A 1932 recipe for Staffordshire pikelets specifies that they were made with flour and buttermilk, with bicarbonate of soda as a raising agent, and suggests cooking them using bacon fat. The term "pikelet" is used in Australian and New Zealand cuisine for a similarly flat cake, of the