What is Yeast?
It’s a microorganism that exists everywhere: in the air, around us, in grains and wheat as it grows on our hands as well.
Yeast has a crucial role in life based on the mechanism of breaking things down. This is done during the fermentation process where it releases CO2 that is considered the most important factor of rising up bread and giving it a fluffy texture.
How many types of Yeasts are there?
There are many types of yeasts around us. However, it is very important to mention that only one type is used in baking bread, and this type comes in different forms:
Dry Yeast: This type of yeast looks just like small pallets. It needs to be re-activated before using it. It is preferably meted in warm water and a small part of sugar to increase the fermentation process and make sure it is totally melted in the dough.
Instant Yeast: It has smaller particles compared to the dry one. It can be mixed directly with flour pre-activating it and needs less time to start working than the instant one, it’s very important to know that it is not a pure type yeast, as it includes some additives which are something very important to consider when you choose the type of yeast you want to use.
Fresh Yeast: It comes as a stiff paste that is crumbly and contains a big amount of water, it has a short shelf life which does not exceed one month, and has to be stored in the freezer.
Often bought from the bakeries and can’t be found in the supermarkets, at least in Amman.
Naturally Cultured Yeast (Wild Yeast): As mentioned before, yeast is everywhere, we just give it a proper environment and keep feeding it to grow, you may start with a similar amount of flour and water and preferably unbleached flour, rye, or whole wheat.
Some people say five days are enough to build and grow your own yeast, while others prefer to keep it up to 14 days.
How much Yeast must we add to the flour?
As a rule; the amount you need from the dry yeast is 1% of the total amount of flour. The amount of instant yeast is 50%, and the amount of fresh yeast is double. As an example, if you are using 1000 grams of flour, then you need 10 grams of dry yeast and 5 grams of instant, and 20 grams of fresh yeast.
At the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, we mainly use instant yeast, were we create our own naturally cultured yeast which has a name of (AL Baraka) and fresh yeast from time to time to make sure that our students know them and can work with any of them interchangeably.
Finally, we can conclude that yeast is a necessary ingredient that must be present in all types of bread and bakeries. It must be used properly to achieve the desired results and give the bread its unique texture, flavor, and golden look!