Baking powder (chemical leavener)
Polvo de hornear (levadura química)
- Date
- 1843 · confidence high
- Place
- Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Alfred Bird
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
A mix of bicarbonate and tartaric acid (or phosphates) that releases carbon dioxide when wet and raises doughs and cakes without yeast. Bird developed it for his wife, who was allergic to eggs and yeast.
Eben Horsford developed in 1856 in the United States a phosphate powder, the basis of modern American brands.
What it led to
- cakes and quick breads prepared at once
- pre-mixed baking products
- Horsford's phosphate powders (1856) and double-acting powder
Built on
- Leavened bread and large-scale bakery