Baking Powder - History

History

Early chemical leavening was accomplished by activating baking soda in the presence of liquid(s) and an acid such as sour milk, vinegar, lemon juice, or cream of tartar. These acidulants all react with baking soda quickly, meaning that retention of gas bubbles was dependent on batter viscosity and that it was critical for the batter to be baked before the gas escaped. The development of baking powder created a system where the gas-producing reactions could be delayed until needed.

While various baking powders were sold in the first half of the 19th century, our modern variants were discovered by Alfred Bird in 1843. August Oetker, a German pharmacist, made baking powder very popular when he began selling his mixture to housewives. The recipe he created in 1891 is still sold as Backin in Germany. Oetker started the mass production of baking powder in 1898 and patented his technique in 1903.

Following the American Civil War Joseph and Cornelius Hoagland developed a baking powder with the help of an employee, and their formula became known as Royal Baking Powder. The small company eventually moved to New York in the 1890s and became the largest manufacturer of baking powder.

Eben Norton Horsford, a student of Justus von Liebig, who began his studies on baking powder in 1856, eventually developed a variety he named in honor of Count Rumford. By the mid-1860s "Horsford's Yeast Powder" was on the market as an already-mixed leavening agent, distinct from separate packages of calcium acid phosphate and sodium bicarbonate. This was packaged in bottles, but Horsford was interested in using metal cans for packing; this meant the mixture had to be more moisture resistant. This was accomplished by the addition of corn starch, and in 1869 Rumford began the manufacture of what can truly be considered baking powder.

During World War II, Byron H. Smith, an inventor in Bangor, Maine, created a substitute product for American housewives, who were unable to obtain cream of tartar or baking powder due to war food shortages. Under the name "Bakewell", Smith marketed a mixture of sodium pyrophosphate mixed with corn starch to replace the acid cream of tartar component of baking powder. When mixed with baking soda, the product behaved like a single-acting baking powder, the only difference being that the acid is sodium pyrophosphate. He named the product "Bakewell".

In 2006 the development of Rumford Baking Powder was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark in recognition of its significance for making baking easier, quicker, and more reliable.