ARM & HAMMER® Sodium Bicarbonate Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) best known use is as a chemical leavening agent for baked goods. When reacted with an acid or subjected to heat, sodium bicarbonate releases carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. These bubbles of carbon dioxide cause batter and dough to rise, making for lighter biscuits, cakes, pancakes, cookies, and a host of other baked goods. Sodium bicarbonate is a key ingredient in baking powders, self rising flours and packaged baking mixes and is used to develop the light texture of candies such as brittles and crisps. Choosing the Right Granulation Bicarbonate granulation influences the rate of the chemical leavening reaction. When developing new products, it is a good idea to try different grades to determine which one provides the best results. Church and Dwight offers four standard grades of Sodium Bicarbonate for baking: Grade 1 (Powdered) This grade is ideal for scratch bake biscuits, cookies, instant or quick breads and most cakes. It dissolves rapidly to assure quick, complete availability for reaction with the acid ingredients. Grade 1 - TFF (Treated Free-Flowing) Treated with tricalcium phosphate to improve flow quality and promote consistent mixing, this grade is particularly useful in self-rising flours and packaged mixes. Grade 2 (Fine Granular) The narrow particle size distribution of Grade 2 facilitates rapid, uniform blending in dry mixes and baking powders. The larger particle size of Grade 2 is recommended for those products where minimal leavening during mixing and holding (longer bench tolerance) is needed. Grade 2 is also useful in refrigerated and frozen doughs and batters where minimal leavening activity is needed during preparation and storage, but needs to be reserved until the final baking step. This grade is also recommended for baking powders where pre-reaction during storage can be a problem. Grade 4 (Granular) The particle size distribution of Grade 4 is even more narrow than Grade 2. Grade 4 finds utility in the same applications as above, but where the formulation compatibility issues or environmental conditions are even more challenging.