Flat, unleavened breads were all that mankind knew until 3000 BC when, allegedly, an Egyptian baker set aside some dough forgetting to place it on the fire. The growth of yeast cells caused the dough to expand dramatically. Adding this “sour dough” to his regular batch, the baker produced an aerated, light-textured loaf which soon became a luxury not intended for common consumption.

By 200 BC, the Romans had invented their own leavening and fermenting agents. And when Europeans arrived in North America, they brought with them baking techniques little changed from ancient Roman times. Maintaining uniformity of the yeast creation process was difficult because the envi- ronment of nineteenth century homes could not be controlled. In 1868, brothers Maximillian and Charles Fleischmann revolutionized both home and commercial baking with the development of Fleischmann’s Yeast, the first compressed yeast sold in North America.

Legend declares that Charles Louis Fleischmann, a visitor to New York in 1865, so disliked the bread consumed by Americans that he returned home to Budapest, isolated a quality strain of yeast and returned to New York City with the vial in his vest pocket. Establishing Fleischmann & Company, the brothers created an extensive distribution system. Initially, Charles Fleischmann distributed his yeast cakes in a hand-held basket going from house to house. Success through advertising and promotion led to a growing demand and eventually delivery by horse-drawn carriages. Refrigerated rail cars serviced more than 1,000 bakeries in the 1880s. By the turn of the century, over 30,000 bakeries and 225,000 grocers were similarly serviced. Freshness was so important that there was never more than one week’s requirement of yeast in the entire country.  In June 1929 The Fleischmann’s Yeast Company absorbed four smaller corporations: Royal Baking Powder Company, E.W. Gillette Company Ltd. of Canada, The Widlar Food Products Company, and Chase and Sanborn, Inc.. Together these companies formed Standard Brands, Incorporated.
 

By the end of the last century customers had become familliar with the freshness-preserving tin-foil wrapping with the bright yellow label. Today Fleischmann's Yeast is the market leader in North America with high brand awareness and a very loyal consumer following.

Throughout the years the Fleischmann’s Brand has continued to stand for innovative techniques. During World War II Fleischmann’s Laboratories developed strains of yeast containing large amounts of vitamin B1, enabling white bread to be “enriched.” An “active dry yeast” which did not require refrigeration permitted the army to ship and store large quantities of yeast overseas for troops. In the 1980s, the company developed “Quick-Rise Yeast” which allowed bread to rise 50 percent faster. In addition to product advancement, Fleischmann’s has cultivated the baking art itself with recipe dissemination programs, a toll free 1-800 Baker’s “helpline,” and grassroots support through rural Country Fair sponsorships and baking contests.

By 1986 Specialty Brands had purchased the Fleischmann’s Yeast product line. Specialty Brands’ family includes other famous names such as Allen’s, Spice Islands, Blue Ribbon, Dromedary, Dec-A-Cake, French’s ^® and Schwartz.^®

A plant in Lasalle, Quebec, produces all of the company’s Canadian retail yeast requirements as well as industrial and food service applications. Opened in 1928, the plant currently employs 83 full time staff and has seen significant volume growth in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This ensures for Canadians excellent baking results into the next century and beyond.