If you bake at all, you’ve probably seen or used Rumford-brand baking powder, and you may have wondered who Rumford was and why the baking powder was named for him.
Rumford, born Benjamin Thomson in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1753, was a complex and interesting person. A loyalist to King George III, he was accused of spying for the English during the Revolution, so he left his wife and child and fled to England in 1774. There he joined the British army and was soon named Royal Scientist to the British crown for his improvements to military weapons.
Later he was made a Count of the Holy Roman Empire for his services to Bavaria. He chose the name Rumford for a small town in New Hampshire where he taught when he was young. Clearly he did not share the founding fathers’ disdain for royal titles.
In addition to his work on military equipment, Rumford was interested in food preparation. He created more efficient fireplaces, and invented or improved kitchen implements including a type of coffee percolator, a meat roaster, a double boiler, an insulating bottle, and more.
He wrote extensively about less expensive ways to provide food for the poor. His rumfordsuppe, made with potatoes, barley, peas, and bread crumbs was just one of his recommendations. He also tried to persuade the British that hasty or Indian pudding would be perfect for the poor since it was inexpensive and filling. They were not fans of cornmeal, however, and preferred to stick to their own earlier versions of hasty pudding made with flour, semolina, or oats.
Was he motivated by genuine concern for the poor or simply in giving them sufficient calories so they could work productively? Some scholars believe the latter, and given his political sympathies, they are quite probably right.
Back to the baking powder. He did not invent it. It was named after him by Harvard professor Eben Horsford, when he created it early in the nineteenth century. Earlier, Rumford had rewritten his will to provide funding for a Harvard professorship.
Baking powder is a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar, with cornstarch added. Cooks had made their own for years, but the commercial product was readily accepted since it was easier to use.
One tip. Check the use-by date of your baking powder, whatever its brand. If the date has passed, buy a fresh can. It will make all the difference in the world.
Baking Powder Biscuits.
Adapted from Biscuits and Scones by Elizabeth Alston
2 cups flour
One tablespoon baking powder
Pinch salt
Six tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut up
2/3 cup whole milk
Preheat oven to 450. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir milk in gradually until a soft dough forms.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead briefly. Then roll out to about a half-inch thickness. Cut out biscuits with a round biscuit cutter and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place them close together for soft biscuits, further apart for crisp ones.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until tops are golden.
Depending on the size of your biscuit cutter, this will make about a dozen biscuits. Elizabeth Alston recommends wrapping the hot biscuits loosely with a dish towel and letting them cool for about 30 minutes for the best flavor.