Leavening of Bread

Leavening of Bread

Leavening of Bread -

Yeasts are added to bread dough to ferment sugar, producing CO2 that leavens the dough and causes it to rise.

The principal yeast used in bread baking is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the baker's yeast.

The yeast is mass produced in molasses-mineral salts medium at pH of 4.3 - 4.5 and 30°C, with sugar concentration of 0.5-1.5%.

Yeast cakes are normally formed and dried further.

Amylases in the dough convert starch to sugars and the yeast metabolises these sugars to CO2 and ethanol.

Besides yeasts some bacteria as Clostridium spp are also used for leavening the bread.

After leavening, the bread is raised, as CO2 bubbles are trapped in the dough.

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