• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Wild Wild Whisk
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Recipes
    • Bread
      • Quick Bread
      • Yeasted Bread
    • Breakfast/Brunch
    • Dessert
      • Brownies & Bars
      • Cakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Pies & Pastries
      • Candies & Other Confections
    • Drinks & Smoothies
    • Frozen Treats
    • Savory Dishes
    • Dog treats
  • Tips & How To
    • Baking Basic & Science
    • How-to
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Bread
  • Dessert
  • Drinks & Smoothies
  • Frozen Treats
  • Dog treats
  • Tips & How To
×

Home » Tips & How To » Baking Basic & Science

Friday Food Facts: Yeast

By Trang Doan - Jul 18, 2014 (updated Oct 24, 2017) - This post may contain affiliate links.


Dry yeastYeasts are living microorganisms that belong in the fungal ecosystem. There are many different species of yeasts, but the one we are most interested in is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is pronounced exactly how it is spelled (listen here). This is the type of yeast used in winemaking, brewing and baking. It is the key ingredient in the fermentation process, which produces carbon dioxide that helps bread rises.

Dry yeast in water
After 15 minutes

I still remember studying “fermentation” briefly as one of the topics in chemical reaction engineering back in college. It is so much fun to break it down in the molecular level, chemistry was my first love! Yeasts will reproduce under certain conditions, a moist environment with temperature around 110°F and with a food source (sugar or starch). This is why we proof active dry yeast in water at 105°F – 110°F with a teaspoon of sugar. When yeasts consume sugar, ethanol and carbon dioxide are produced; the chemical reaction is as follow:

C6H12O6 (sugar) –> 2C2H5OH (ethanol) + 2CO2 (carbon dioxide)

So when you proof yeast, that weird smell comes from ethanol, don’t be grossed out. Yeasts continue to reproduce when mixed with flour, and made into dough. The sugar in the dough provides the food source, and the carbon dioxide produced is then trapped within the gluten network (we discussed that last week, here) and helps the dough rise. Most of the alcohol will evaporate during baking.

Dough
Dough after 1 hour

Yeast’s growth rate is dependent on temperature. The optimum temperature is at 110°F. At lower temperature, the process will continue but at a slower rate. Dough kept in the refrigerator will rise slower. At higher temperature, 140°F and up, most yeast cell will die. This is important during proofing, if the temperature is too hot, you will kill off all the yeast before you even start making the dough.

The most common type of yeast available to the home baker is active dry yeast, which is what I use all the time. It can be kept in the fridge or freezer for an extended period of time. It must be rehydrated or proofed before use. Another common type of yeast I’ve seen a lot of recipes use is instant yeast. It is similar to active dry yeast but does not require rehydration.

Treat yeasts with care; they are living things after all.  Happy Friday!        

« Friday Food Facts: Gluten
Friday Food Facts: Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder »
  • Share

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About

Hi! I’m Trang and welcome to my blog. This is where I share recipes from my kitchen. From cookies to cupcakes, to pies and ice cream, to treats for your fur babies, I hope you’ll find something you like and stay a while. Read More…

As Seen On

Get A Free Ebook!

Sign up for email updates and never miss a recipe + Get my FREE ebook ROOM FOR PIE!

Newest Recipes

  • Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Easy Carrot Cake
  • Baileys Hot Chocolate
  • Baileys Whipped Cream

Spring Recipes

Strawberry cake with a slice being lifted off the cake stand

Strawberry Cake {6″ – two layers}

A slice of lemon cake on a plate, a bite is taken off and on a fork

Lemon Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies and lemon slices flat lay

Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies

Blueberry Hand Pies on a plate

Mini Blueberry Pies

Popular right now

  • How to Make Almond Paste
    How to Make Almond Paste
  • Mascarpone Mixed Berry Cake
    Mascarpone Mixed Berry Cake
  • Oreo Cake (Chocolate Cake with Oreo Frosting)
    Oreo Cake (Chocolate Cake with Oreo Frosting)
  • Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes with Whipped Cream
    Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes with Whipped Cream

Web Stories

Check out my web stories

Footer

sweet treat icons

FEATURED ON

As featured on
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Privacy Policy · Contact
Copyright © 2023 · WILD WILD WHISK

0 shares