I really don't get how the chemistry works. Like, I understand that the "baking soda" (I'm not sure the term "sodium bicarbonate" is actually technically correct, so I'll just use the common term) [EDIT: this was my first point of confusion] has water molecules chemically bound *inside* its crystal structure, [no] and that heating it breaks those off and converts it to the anhydrous form, "washing soda" [no] ("sodium carbonate" apparently?) which is about 10-times stronger of a base. (eg of claim (ie "10-times stronger"): [youtube Adam Ragusea's "Ramen orecchiette — easy homemade alkaline noodle soup"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1n8qc9Jfsk)) The problem is, when I go to make a noodle dough with dry "washing soda", I find I need to add it to water and *heat* it first to really get it to dissolve, which complicates the process of making a dough (especially if you're using eggs, so you need to be careful to get it *cool* again before you mix those in). So I was wondering if I could just *pre*-dissolve the "washing soda", and just use like a spoonfull of that in each batch of dough, except... How does that *not* just convert it back into weaker "baking soda"? --- EDIT: Okay, so what thought I read about "sodium bicarbonate" being a technically incorrect misname was just completely wrong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate#Thermal_decomposition That is, the thermal decomposition actually *is* changing the molecule itself, and not just converting the crystal structure to the anhydrous form? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_carbonate EDIT EDIT: I have no idea what I was thinking, where the heck I thought I read that. *maybe* I was vaguely remembering that "sodium bicarbonate" (NaHCO3) doesn't actually have double the CO3, but rather, "sodium carbonate" (Na2CO3) has double the Na relative to "sodium bicarbonate"? And I *somehow* got that confused into... the thing about "water of hydration/crystallization"?? --- --- Or maybe I should just find some jiǎnshuǐ(碱水 (鹼水)) / kansui(かん水) or something, i dunno...? [which is I believe something like 80% potassium carbonate and 20% sodium carbonate dissolved in water (not sure what concentration)]