The story of Fleischmann’s® Yeast, and how it revolutionized modern American baking, begins in 1868, when Charles and Maximilian Fleischmann left Austria-Hungary to make a better life in America. And for them, that meant making better bread.
In an effort to make a better-rising bread like they had known in their homeland, the Fleischmann brothers partnered with American businessman James Gaff to build a yeast plant in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was there that the brothers produced and patented a compressed yeast cake that revolutionized home and commercial baking in the United States.
The new yeast had excellent leavening power, delivered consistent quality and made great-tasting bread. The Fleischmanns had created America’s first commercially produced yeast, which soon became the country’s best-selling yeast.
After introducing their new, freshly baked Viennese breads to a wide audience at Philadelphia’s Centennial Exposition in 1876, the Fleischmann brothers’ yeast soon became a household name. The brothers would later add a state-of-the-art research laboratory to their Peekskill, New York plant in 1900.
Decades later, at the forefront of World War II, Fleischmann® Laboratories developed Active Dry Yeast, to ensure GIs could enjoy home-baked bread. This new yeast required no refrigeration and was activated quickly with warm water. For the second time in its history, Fleischmann’s® had revolutionized yeast baking.
And in 1984, Fleischmann’s® did it again with RapidRise® Instant Yeast – a finer grain of dry yeast that raises dough as much as 50% faster than regular active-dry yeast. Less than a decade later, Fleischmann’s® introduced its Bread Machine Yeast – specially formulated to produce excellent-tasting loaves in any kind of bread machine.
In 2004, Associated British Foods purchased Fleischmann’s® Yeast, forming the company AB Mauri to service commercial bakers. A sister company, ACH Food Companies, currently directs the Fleischmann’s® Yeast consumer retail business in North America.
More than 150 years later, the Flesichmann’s® Yeast family is proud to continue to build on its reputation for innovation and legacy of fostering better baking.
