When you start baking, one of the first things you will encounter and have to choose is yeast. Yeast is part of what makes bakes turn out exactly as intended, and it is especially important in bread making. So for beginners, let's get to know yeast.
In baking, yeast could be called a core ingredient, as it is at the heart of the bread or bakes you are making. That naturally raises the question: what exactly is yeast, and what does it do? Many people have heard that yeast is what makes bakes rise and puff up, so today we will find out what yeast really does in baking.
What Is Yeast?
Yeast is a microorganism, a type of fungus. It is a single-celled living organism with a round shape, and the yeast used in baking is able to grow. A yeast cell looks rather like a hen's egg and is only about 5 microns in size, so it can only be seen under a microscope, not with the naked eye.
How Yeast Grows
Yeast grows by digesting food, especially during fermentation. It digests carbohydrates and various sugars particularly well. Fermenting bread dough, which contains sugar, plenty of carbohydrates and alcohol, offers exactly the food yeast loves most. To grow, yeast consumes sugars and carbohydrates and converts them into carbon dioxide. Given enough fermentation time, yeast can also turn starch and sugar into alcohol.
Yeast Itself Does Not Make Bread Rise
When you bake bread or other bakes, the dough rises because of the carbon dioxide released by the yeast. The gas becomes trapped inside the dough and cannot escape, and because bread dough is highly elastic, it expands during baking, giving the puffed-up result we see. Another key factor is temperature: yeast works best at 27 to 35 degrees Celsius, or in warm, humid conditions. You will notice that bread and bakery recipes always include resting the dough; this is to give the yeast time to work fully.
Benefits of Using Yeast
If you are just starting to bake, you need to know the benefits of yeast. To make your bakes taste even better, let's look at what yeast does.
1. Makes Bread and Bakes Rise
If you want your bread or bakes to be light and fluffy, the key is to add yeast. You may have wondered why so many bakes are so soft and airy. Bakery mixtures contain flour, water and yeast. When they come together, the yeast breaks the starch down into sugars and uses them, then releases carbon dioxide. This creates holes inside the bread and makes it rise.
2. Improves Flavour
As well as making bread soft and fluffy, yeast helps bread and bakes taste better. When yeast works on the flour and converts it to sugars, the bread becomes slightly sweeter, giving a more delicious, well-rounded flavour.
3. Adds Body to Bread
Because bread dough is highly elastic, when it meets yeast it expands and gains body, so your bread or bakes come out with a good structure, light, and delicious.
Now you have seen how yeast works and why it is so useful. So when you bake, don't forget the yeast!
