Why Does Yeast Make Bread Rise?
Yeast is a single-celled fungus that has about 1,500 species. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the variety used for baking to make bread rise. This leavening agent combined with flour and water releases gas in the bread dough, causing it to inflate. Does this Spark an idea?
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Metabolizing Process
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Yeast is a living creature that breaks down simple sugars. When mixed with flour and water, it releases enzymes that breaks down the flour's starch molecules into simple sugars. It then metabolizes these sugars and as a result, releases carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol into the air pockets in the dough.
Rising Bread
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Like a balloon containing helium, the dough acts like the rubber skin containing the air. As more carbon dioxide is released into the dough, the bigger it becomes. Additionally, if the dough has a strong and elastic gluten matrix, it can hold more gas and thus can get much bigger.
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Strengthening Gluten
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When flour and water combine, they create an elastic mass called gluten. The more the flour and water are worked together, the stronger the gluten becomes as more flour and water molecules find and link to each other.
Kneading Encourages Gas to Form
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As the baker kneads the dough to form more gluten, he or she is also breaking apart the air bubbles. Every time an air bubble bursts, flour and water can rejoin to make more gluten. Additionally, it gives the yeast a chance to release more carbon dioxide gas into the dough as it continues to interact with the flour and water.
Trapping the Gasses
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After the first time the dough rises, the baker will punch it down, then stretch the dough and tuck it into a round shape. This effectively makes a dome that will trap the gasses that will continue to form as the yeast breaks down the sugars in the dough. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the dough will have risen some more and form a springy, inflated dough.
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