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Yeast in Food: Is It Safe and How to Use It Effectively

Bread is a basic food for many people. People love it for its soft and chewy texture.

This texture mainly comes from how the dough ferments. Yeast is crucial in this process. Yeast is important for making many common foods and drinks. These include red wine, beer, rice wine, jam, and some fermented teas.
However, many people have concerns about yeast: Is it an additive? Could regularly consuming yeast-fermented foods be harmful? Let’s explore what yeast truly is and its role in food.

What Is Yeast?

Yeast is a single-celled fungus that acts as a natural leavening agent. It can thrive in both aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions.

4 Key Roles of Yeast in Dough

Strengthens Gluten Structure – Yeast helps form protein chains, improving dough elasticity.

Leavening Agent – Yeast eats sugar in the dough. It makes carbon dioxide and alcohol. This helps the dough rise and become airy.

Enhances Dough Expansion – Besides CO₂, yeast improves gluten development, allowing the dough to trap more gas.

Adds Flavor – The fermentation process creates volatile organic compounds, contributing to the rich aroma of baked goods.

Does Eating Yeast-Fermented Foods Harm the Stomach?

A common myth warns against eating freshly baked bread, claiming it may cause stomach issues because of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced by yeast. However, this concern is unfounded.

Yeast does generate CO₂ during fermentation, but its activity stops at temperatures above 60°C (140°F). Since bakers bake bread at high temperatures, they produce minimal amounts of leftover CO₂. Much less than what is in carbonated drinks. Therefore, freshly baked bread is perfectly safe to eat.

Quick Dough Fermentation Tips

Cold weather can slow down fermentation. Here are two easy tricks to speed up the process:

Add Sugar

Sugar accelerates yeast activity and enhances sweetness.

Use about 3g (½ tsp) of sugar per 250g (½ lb) of flour.

Add Rice Wine (Mijiu)

After kneading, make a small well in the dough. Add a little rice wine (about 50ml for 500g of flour). Then knead again before letting it rise.

For even faster results, use an oven with a fermentation setting or a proofing box.

No previous NEXT：How to Make Vanilla Flavoring

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