Introducing Saccharomyces cerivisiae, or
baker’s yeast.
Out of the many characters that
take part in bread making, yeast is the most common star for leavened bread. Even
though it is so small, one gram of yeast contains 20 billion tiny cells, it plays such
a crucial role.
Yeast is a simple one-celled
plant that likes temperatures between 70 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures too hot will kill it and
temperatures too low will cause it to hibernate.
The use of yeast supposedly
started in ancient Egypt when they used their feet to kneed the bread instead of
their hands. The yeast that naturally
occurs between toes was incorporated into the dough and helped turn their flat
unleavened bread into a version of the light, fluffy stuff we know today.
Once it was discovered that yeast
was the cause of the delicious bread, many bread makers would leave their dough
exposed to the air to let the wild strains of yeast, found naturally in the environment,
supply the enzymes to leaven their bread.
For many generations the same
strain of yeast has been grown commercially making it a “tame” strain.
Under ideal conditions one gram
of yeast can turn into 15 tons in five days!
When yeast is bought from the
store, it is in a dormant state waiting for the ideal conditions of moisture,
warmth, and a food source to awaken and become active again.
The proofing process lets you
know the yeast is alive and active, ready to help you make your dough into bread.
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