When making buns, buns and other pastries, the addition of baking soda can neutralize the acidic substances produced by over-fermentation, help produce gas, and help fermentation. The alkali also makes the starch easier to bake or steam. Alkaline pasta is loose and porous, but too much baking soda will reduce the aroma of the pasta's fermentation. When too much alkali is added, the pasta will have a little yellowish color, which is more obvious when the addition is uneven.
