History of Muffins
 It is hard to believe that the wondrous array of breads we enjoy today, from scones and muffins, to richly decadent brownies, evolved from a common ancestor—a rock-hard wafer made from pulverized wheat or barley paste, hardened over an open fire. Even a caveman could make them, and, apparently, he did, at least 10,000 years ago, just as the Stone Age was coming to an end.
Most agree that sometime prior to 8000 BC, the need to cultivate cereal grains, in order to make bread, ushered in the first glimmer of what we call civilization. From that point on, various forms of the original flat or unleavened bread remained a staple for over 3,000 years. Interestingly, bread and beer began an important journey in about 6000 BC, in Sumer, where it is thought that a moist piece of bread was accidentally left to ferment, creating the first foamy brew. The formula for brewing this “divine drink” then spread to Egypt, where, in 4000 BC, bread and beer once again joined forces. The current theory is that one day an Egyptian baker mistakenly used ale instead of water to mix his bread dough, and leavened bread was born. Bread and beer became essential staples in ancient Egypt, as well as favored offerings to the gods. Even the children routinely drank beer. After the Greeks adopted the new formula, leavened bread eventually spread to Rome, where bread became a symbol of political power and social status, meaning white bread was reserved for the “upper crust,” a term coined later, in 1460. It also marked the beginning of strict regulations that would last for centuries.
In 168 BC, the earliest known Bakers Guild was established in Rome. Although bakers were the only craftsmen to be considered freemen, and a member of the Bakers Guild held a seat in the Senate—once a baker, always a baker. They were not allowed to withdraw, nor were their children, and they were forbidden to mix with comedians, gladiators and other common slaves. These “state run” bakeries catered to the wealthy, but allowed the poor to bring their dough in for baking. The baker’s trade remained virtually unchanged, up through the Middle Ages. It existed almost like a secret society—formulas and methods, closely guarded—and if you wanted to become a baker, you had to serve a seven-year apprenticeship. There was cakes, cookies, and pastries emerged during this period; however, the continued evolution of bread would rely, in part, on new technologies and additional happy accidents.
All bread, in its many variations, begins with the same two ancient ingredients: flour & water. However, when mixed with human imagination and ingenuity, the possibilities are endless. The advent of the American muffin would require two innovations: baking soda and the muffin pan, as well as the imagination to fill each morsel with a variety of grains, fruits, nuts and exotic spices.
The word, muffin, first appeared around the 11th century and may have derived from the French word, moufflet, which means soft, or from the German word, muffe, meaning cake. The first printing of the word in English occurred in 1703. A recipe for something similar to an English muffin appeared in a cookbook in 1747; however, it was not called an English muffin and it did not meet the definition of a “soft cake.” Muffins gained a bit of notoriety in 19th century London, where the muffin man roamed the streets at teatime, ringing his bell. In the 1840s, the bell was prohibited by an Act of Parliament, because the public objected to the noise. However, the prohibition proved ineffective, and the muffin man remained a colorful fixture for some time to come, even earning his own nursery rhyme.
While this is all very interesting, today’s English muffin and the American muffin were probably not among the muffin man’s wares. The term, muffin, likely referred to a variety of tea cakes, such as crumpets, slipperdowns and pikelets, which were delightful yeast-leavened baked goods enjoyed at teatime in England. Though created by an Englishman, the English muffin, which is also yeast-leavened, actually made its first appearance in America, in 1880. After immigrating to America, Samuel Bath Thomas built his business around his mother’s recipe, which is said to more closely resemble an ancient Welsh griddlecake from the 10th century. The American muffin, on the other hand, is unequivocally American and what we think of today when we hear the word muffin.
American muffins are considered Quick breads, meaning they are leavened with something other than yeast-based products. Prior to the discovery of pearlash, the forerunner to baking soda, the only leavenings available were yeast and beer. Made from wood ash, pearlash had been used since ancient times to cure meat, but American Indians were the first to use it as a leavening agent for bread. In 1796, American Cookery, the first American cookbook, published the first known recipe using pearlash as a leavening, but numerous cookbooks and recipes soon followed. Baking soda began to replace pearlash in the 1820s, ushering in the age of soda cakes, soda breads, and the American muffin we know today.
The book, The Accomplist Cook, published in 1685, describes a wide variety of baking utensils, from tin or wooden rings, to iron cake pans, earthenware pie pans, and tin patty pans and cups for small cakes and biscuits. The American muffin is believed to have started out as a small cake, similar to a fruit-filled tea cake, or perhaps an adaptation of cornbread. What is said to be the first printed reference to the American muffin appeared in 1879, in the book Housekeeping in Olde Virginia, where muffins are described as a small cakes, baked in cups. In 1896, in The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Fannie Farmer published the first recipes that clearly differentiated between the yeast-leavened English muffin and a soda-raised muffin mixture that was cooked in muffin rings and baked on a griddle. Farmer also included a corn muffin recipe that was baked in an iron pan with lozenge shaped cups. By the 1920s, cookbooks included as many as 23 different muffin recipes, and, in 1998, the book 1001 Muffins debuted.
America’s beloved muffins continue to evolve, even today. Sticky Fingers Bakeries now offers four quick and easy Premium Muffin mixes that are already packed with fruits, veggies, spices and herbs. You just add water, egg and oil, then stir and bake. What could be easier?
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