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Baker's Yeast
Baker's Yeast
Saccharomyces exiguus (also known as S. minor) is a wild yeast found on plants, grains, and fruits that is
occasionally used for baking; however, in general, it is not used in a pure form but comes from being
propagated in a sourdough starter.
History
It is not known when yeast was first used to bake bread; the earliest
definite records come from Ancient Egypt.[9] Researchers speculate
that a mixture of flour meal and water was left longer than usual on
a warm day and the yeasts that occur in natural contaminants of the
flour caused it to ferment before baking. The resulting bread would
have been lighter and tastier than the previous hard flatbreads. It is
generally assumed that the earliest forms of leavening were likely
very similar to modern sourdough; the leavening action of yeast
would have been discovered from its action on flatbread doughs A block of compressed fresh yeast in
and would have been either cultivated separately or transferred from its wrapper
batch to batch by means of previously mixed ("old") dough. Also,
the development of leavened bread seems to have developed in
close proximity to the development of beer brewing, and barm from the beer fermentation process can also
be used in bread making.
Without an understanding of microbiology, early bakers would have had little ability to directly control
yeast cultures but still kept locally interesting cultures by reusing doughs and starters to leaven later batches.
However, it became possible to isolate and propagate favored yeast strains in the same manner as was done
in the beer industry, and it eventually became practical to propagate yeast in a slurry with a composition
similar to beer wort, usually including malted barley and wheat flour. Such cultures (sometimes referred to
in old American cookery as "emptins", from their origins as the dregs of beer or cider fermentation) became
the ancestors of modern baker's yeast, as, in general, they were carefully maintained to avoid what was later
discovered to be bacterial contamination, including using preservatives such as hops as well as boiling the
growth medium.
In the 19th century, bread bakers obtained their yeast from beer brewers, and this led to sweet-fermented
breads such as the Imperial "Kaiser-Semmel" roll,[10] which in general lacked the sourness created by the
acidification typical of Lactobacillus. However, beer brewers slowly switched from top-fermenting to
bottom-fermenting yeast (Saccharomyces pastorianus) and this created a shortage of yeast for making
bread, so the Vienna Process was developed in 1846.[11] While the innovation is often popularly credited
for using steam in baking ovens, leading to a different crust characteristic, it is notable for including
procedures for high milling of grains (see Vienna grits[12]), cracking them incrementally instead of mashing
them with one pass; as well as better processes for growing and harvesting top-fermenting yeasts, known as
press-yeast.
Refinements in microbiology following the work of Louis Pasteur led to more advanced methods of
culturing pure strains. In 1879, Great Britain introduced specialized growing vats for the production of S.
cerevisiae, and in the United States around the turn of the century centrifuges were used for concentrating
the yeast,[13] making modern commercial yeast possible, and turning yeast production into a major
industrial endeavor. The slurry yeast made by small bakers and grocery shops became cream yeast, a
suspension of live yeast cells in growth medium, and then compressed yeast, the fresh cake yeast that
became the standard leaven for bread bakers in much of the Westernized world during the early 20th
century.
During World War II, Fleischmann's developed a granulated active dry yeast for the United States armed
forces, which did not require refrigeration and had a longer shelf-life and better temperature tolerance than
fresh yeast; it is still the standard yeast for US military recipes. The company created yeast that would rise
twice as fast, cutting down on baking time. Lesaffre later created instant yeast in 1973, which has gained
considerable use and market share at the expense of both fresh and dry yeast in their various applications.
Modern baker's yeast is the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One of its properties is that it is not inhibited
by propionates, which are commonly added to baked goods like bread dough to inhibit mold development
and bacterial growth.[14] Conversely, sorbates do inhibit yeast fermentation activity, so are not added
directly to yeast-leavened doughed but may be sprayed onto finished products or even incorporated into
packing materials.[15]
Instant and active dry yeast are essentially the same ingredient, just in slightly different forms and
applications. Consumers should keep sealed packets of both yeast types at room temperature and store
partially used packets in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The main differences between the two are:
Active yeast needs rehydration. Instant yeast can be mixed directly into dry ingredients,
whereas active dry yeast must first be dissolved and rehydrated in warm water.
Instant yeast needs less time to rise. Since instant yeast has a finer texture than active dry
yeast, it’s possible to skip the initial rise time and shape loaves immediately after kneading.
Loaves made with active dry yeast require longer rising times for the yeast to work its way
through the dough.[23]
Commercial brands
For most commercial uses, yeast of any form is packaged in bulk (blocks or freezer bags for fresh yeast;
vacuum-packed brick bags for dry or instant); however, yeast for home use is often packaged in pre-
measured doses, either small squares for compressed yeast or sealed packets for dry or instant. For active
dry and instant yeast, in general a single dose (reckoned for the average bread recipe of between 500 g and
1000 g of dough) is about 2.5 tsp (~12 mL) or about 7 g (1 ⁄4 oz), though comparatively lesser amounts are
used when the yeast is used in a pre-ferment. In general, a yeast flavor in the baked bread is not noticeable
when the bakers' percent of added yeast is less than 2.5%.[24]
Notable commercial brands of baker's yeast include Lesaffre's SAF red and SAF gold, Fleischmann's, and
Red Star Yeast.
Use in research
Model organism
Because it is readily available and easy to culture, baker's yeast has long been used in chemical, biological,
and genetic research as a model organism. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a facultative anaerobe and
undergoes aerobic fermentation in the presences of oxygen and sugars. In 1996, after 6 years of work, S.
cerevisiae became the first eukaryote to have its entire genome sequenced. It has over 12 million base pairs
and around 6000 genes. Since then, it has remained in the forefront of genetic research. For example, most
of our knowledge of the cell division cycle was worked out from experiments with yeast.[25]
Organic synthesis
Psychoactive drugs
Baker's yeast can also be used to produce ethanol via fermentation for use in chemical
synthesis, although doing so in some places requires permits.
A GMO strain of baker's yeast, YMC17, has been developed to produce the precursor for
LSD, lysergic acid.[28]
Industrial production
The baking industry relies on industrial production of its ingredients, including baking yeasts. Much effort
has been put into developing and marketing yeasts that will perform reliably in mass production. Since the
end of the nineteenth century, baker's yeast has been produced by companies that specialize in its
production.
The main ingredients for industrial production are yeast cultures, sugar from cane and sugar beet; but a
number of minerals, nitrogen and vitamins are also needed.[29]
pure cultures in a laboratory flask for 2 to 4 days, then batch fermentations for 13 to 24 hours
(anaerobic);
intermediate and stock fermentation with gradual feeding and constant aeration;
pitch and trade fermentation with large air supplies for up to 15 hours;
filtration, blending, extrusion, and cutting, drying.
The yeast grows from hundreds kg in the intermediate and stock fermentor to tens of thousands kg in the
trade fermentor, where most yeast is produced.[29] The earlier stages produce more ethanol and other
alcohols, while in the final stages ethanol production is suppressed up to 95% by controlling the amount of
oxygen and sugar, in order to increase the yeast production instead.[29]
The industry is highly concentrated, with five companies holding up to 80% of the worldwide market for
dry yeast as of 2006. While dry yeast is exported over long distances and mostly sold in the developing
countries, industrial customers often prefer to supply fresh yeast from local facilities, with a single
wholesaler having up to 90% of the liquid yeast market in the UK in 2006.[31] In the US companies like
Lesaffre Group, AB Vista, GB Plange and AB Mauri produced hundreds of thousands of metric tons of
yeast in 2012.
See also
Dough
Bread
Further reading
Corriher, Shirley, Cookwise. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1997, ISBN 0-688-10229-8.
Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Baking Illustrated. Brookline, MA:Boston Common
Press, 2004, ISBN 0-936184-75-2.
The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. Woodstock, Vermont: Countryman Press, 2003,
ISBN 0-88150-581-1.
Simmons, Amelia. American Cookery, Hartford, 1798. Text at Feeding America (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20041101203932/http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/authors/a
uthor_simmons.html) and Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12815).
Sloat, Caroline (ed.), Old Sturbridge Village Cookbook 2ed.. Old Saybrook: Globe Pequot
Press, 1995, ISBN 1564407284.
OMRI for the USDA National Organic Program (2014-01-22). Yeast Handling/Processing,
Technical Evaluation Report (https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Yeast%20T
R%20Handling%201-22-14%20final.pdf) (PDF).
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