Why do we bother to bake the baking soda?
Baking soda = NaHCO3 (sodium bi-carbonate)
When heated, it turns into:
Washing soda = Na2CO3 (sodium carbonate) plus water and carbon dioxide.
So, washing soda has twice as much sodium per molecule.
That means that we would have to use twice as much to obtain the same result.
However we cannot make a 2 Molar solution of baking soda. That exceeds its solubility.
Baking soda is made by bubbling carbon dioxide gas through a saturated solution of washing soda. The sodium bi-carbonate is less soluble, so it precipitates out.
So we could use 2ml of 1 Molar baking soda per liter to get the same results.
Try it out.
To make 1 Molar sodium bi-carbonate solution, use 8.4 grams in enough distilled water to make 100ml.
You might have to warm it up to get all the powder to dissolve.