Efficiency: Before baking soda, leavening relied heavily on yeast fermentation, which is time-consuming. Baking soda allowed bakers to prepare bread, cakes, and cookies much faster.
Consistency: Yeast-based recipes can be unpredictable, depending on temperature and environmental factors. Baking soda introduced a reliable way to achieve consistent results.
Accessibility: By simplifying the leavening process, baking soda made baking accessible to more people, especially in home kitchens.
New Recipes: Baking soda paved the way for innovations in recipes like quick breads, muffins, and cookies, which don’t require hours of proofing like yeast-based dough