Yeast

An Explanation of the Characteristics of Bread Leavening

By Ilias Pihas
Yeast plays an instrumental role in making
most modern bread. Without it we would not
have leavened bread today. There are many
ways to get yeast. You are able to catch wild
yeast through leaving a mixture of bread and
water out to collect yeast from the air, this is
called a starter. You then continue to add
more water and flour to the mixture to feed
it and this creates sourdough starter. The
point of feeding the starter is so that the yeast
is able to grow, spread, and develop
throughout the process. The process is very
quick and yeast can generate yeast to a fullygrown size in about ten hours. In this process
the yeast eats the flour generates carbon
dioxide and alcohol this is called the
fermentation process. When wheat flour
mixes with water, naturally occurring
amylase enzymes break down the starch into
maltose; the enzyme maltase converts the
maltose sugar into glucose, which yeast can
metabolize. There are different types of yeast
and bacteria that give a distinctive flavor or
texture to fermented foods. Here I will
explain the process of the alcohol
fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae,the
most common yeast used for brewing ales,
sour beer brewers will often use the wild
yeast Brettanomyces, as well as bacteria such
as Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and
Acetobacter in addition I will be explaining
bakers yeast and how it is different from wild
yeast.

Bakers yeast is a special strain of

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. Bakers yeast
comes in many different forms. Cream yeast
is suspended yeast cells in a liquid and is
used both commercially and for home
cooking. Compressed yeast is similar to
cream yeast yet it has had the majority of its
liquid removed to form cake like cubes this
form of yeast is primarily used due to its very
short shelf life. Active dry yeast is the most
popular of the baking yeast in the United
States. It is popular because of its long shelf
life as well as its ability to be able to live in
many different climates. Active dry yeast is
granulated and dehydrated so it needs to be
proofed or rehydrated when used in cooking.
Brettanomyces impact on beer varies
dramatically
based
on
fermentation
temperature,
the
other
fermentation
organisms present in the flavor. I would like
to understand how this affects the bread and
how the same ingredients can be different in
different
regions,
Lactobacillus
and
Pediococcus are bacteria that produce lactic
acid, which provides the tartness you can
find in yogurt, buttermilk, and in almost all
sour flavor. It lends to the slightly acidic
flavor of the bread by creating lactic acid.
The alcohol that the yeast creates and the
lactic acid together are the source of
sourdough breads its unique flavor. For some
starters people use milk to create a different
flavor in the fermentation.

Without it we would not have

leavened bread today
Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast is the most
useful and common of all of the yeasts for
alcohol fermentation and baking. It is
believed that this was the yeast that was
originally used when baking in ancient times
by the Egyptians. Saccharomyces cerevisiae
is found in great quantities on the skins of
grapes. This is the reason why it can be
useful to put starters near grapes so that they
are able to pick up the yeast. Saccharomyces
can be visible on the skin of grapes as a thin
white film around the outside of grapes and
other dark fruits like plums.

Lactobacillus is a very common bacterium in

the fermentation process. Lactobacillus is
used in many thing the bacteria is active in
yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, pickles, beer,
wine, cider, kimchi, cocoa, kefir, and other
fermented foods, as well as animal feeds.
Sourdough bread is made using a "starter
culture," which is a symbiotic culture of
yeast and lactic acid bacteria growing in a
water and flour medium. The bacteria
metabolize sugars into lactic acid, which
lowers the pH of their environment, creating
a signature "sourness" associated with
yogurt, sauerkraut.
Yeast plays a very important roll in making
bread today. There are many different types
of yeast that all add a distance identity to
the bread. The most prominent of those
being Saccharomyces cerevisiae and
Brettanomyces. As time goes on there will
likely be new types of yeast that will give
even more opportunities to bakers.