Why does bread rise? Let's find out. Yeast helps bread dough rise. It is a fungus made of a single cell, and it is alive. Dry yeast needs warm water to wake up. It eats sugar and gives off a gas.
Kneading means pushing, pulling and stretching the dough. Gluten works like a net that traps the gas in dough. Bread dough is set in a warm place to rise until it doubles in size. Rising dough is covered, often with a clean, damp towel. Proofing is a rest time when yeast makes gas in the dough.
When dough first goes into a hot oven it rises fast, which bakers call oven spring. Yeast dies when it gets too hot. In time, the heat of the oven kills it. Children need a grown-up with them in the kitchen when they bake.
Baking soda and baking powder make gas bubbles that help cakes and pancakes rise. Baking powder has an acid already mixed in with the baking soda. Sourdough bread rises with wild yeast and bacteria instead of yeast from a packet.
Fat in dough makes baked goods tender. A chemical reaction makes the crust of bread dark and toasty. Bread is done baking when it turns golden brown. Baked loaves are cooled on a wire rack so the bottom does not get soggy.
Words to know
- yeast: a living fungus
- gluten: dough net
- kneading: push and stretch
- proofing: rest time
- sourdough: wild yeast bread
