Chapter 7

Yeast Breads

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Yeast

• A living organism, one-celled fungus, with various strains present virtually everywhere.

• It feeds on carbohydrates present in starches and sugars in bread dough, converting them to carbon dioxide and ethanol during fermentation:– Yeast + carbohydrates = alcohol + carbon

dioxide

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Yeast

• Carbon dioxide is trapped in the dough, leavening the bread while the alcohol evaporates.

• Yeast is very sensitive to temperature and moisture.

• Salt inhibits the growth of yeast and controls the dough’s rise.

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Yeast

• Bakers yeast is available in three forms:– Compressed, a mixture of yeast and starch with

approximately 70% moisture content; it must be kept refrigerated.

– Active dry, with virtually no moisture, dormant and can be stored without refrigeration for months.

– Instant dry can be added directly to dry ingredients in a bread formula without rehydrating.

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Production Stages for Yeast Breads

• Production is divided into 10 stages:– Scaling the ingredients– Mixing and kneading the dough– Fermenting the dough– Punching down the dough– Portioning the dough– Rounding the portions– Make-up: Shaping the portions– Proofing the products– Baking the products– Cooling and storing the finished products

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Production Stages for Yeast Breads

• Yeast breads mixing methods are either:– direct or – pre fermentation, where dough is mixed in several

stages:• Sponge

• Old dough

• Sourdough starter

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Production Stages for Yeast Breads

• Fermentation is divided into two stages:– Bulk, where the entire mass rises before shaping

– Proofing, the rise given to shaped yeast just prior to baking

• Fermentation time is controlled by three factors:– Ingredients

– Dough temperature

– Room temperature

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Qualities of Bread

• Bread is judged by:– External and internal appearance– Flavor– Aroma– Keeping properties

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Convenience Products

• Bread bases are dry blends of specialty ingredients that must be added to a scratch formula or a mix.

• Powdered sourdough starters give bread a tangy flavor.

• Frozen dough enables restaurant operators to offer freshly baked bread.

• Parbaked bread is solidified, unbrowned flash-frozen bread dough.

On Baking © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.Labensky et al. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458