1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: rain Stuff, Lauren bogobam here. If you're making a raised 3 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: baked good, there are a few ways you can achieve 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: that height. Quick breads like muffins use chemical leaveners like 5 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,760 Speaker 1: baking powder. Cookies, bars, and cakes often use whipped eggs 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: or creamed butter and sugar with tiny pockets of air 7 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: carefully beaten in. But many breads and rolls use a 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: living ingredient to get that rise. Yeast. This single celled 9 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: organism is integral too many a baking process, transforming a solid, 10 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: dense ball of dough into a soft, risen loaf. But 11 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: not all yeast is the same. There are more than 12 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 1: one thousand, five hundred recognized species of yeast in the world, 13 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: with the first known types dating back hundreds of millions 14 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: of years. Today's primary baking yeast species is Sacchara mices 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: sera vizier. It's responsible for two of the tastiest yeast 16 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: related food products out there, bread and beer. But how 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: can a tiny organism only visible with the microscope create 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: two of the world's most beloved meal time staples, and 19 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: is baking with yeast as intimidating as it seems. Let's 20 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: back up a step. A yeast is a single celled 21 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: fungus related to mushrooms. Yeast used by bakers, s seravisier 22 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: is known as a sugar eating fungus. Simple sugars like sucrose, fructose, glucose, 23 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: and maltose helped the yeast thrive, and once metabolized, the 24 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: sugars ultimately lead to risen bread. The process is known 25 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: as alcoholic fermentation. When you mix flour, water, and yeast together, 26 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: the yeast eats these simple sugars in the flour and 27 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: poops alcohol, carbon dioxide bubbles and molecules that we consider 28 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: flavor into the doughy mix. The carbon dioxide bowls can't 29 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,639 Speaker 1: escape the elastic dough, so instead they cause it to rise. 30 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: When you bake that dough, you're firming up the matrix 31 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: of proteins like gluten in the dough around those air bubbles, 32 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,079 Speaker 1: resulting in what we know as fluffy, tender yeast leavened bread. 33 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: There are two primary types of baker's east on the market. 34 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,239 Speaker 1: Active yeast and instant yeast. Both come to you dried 35 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: and granulated in small packets, but each brings something slightly 36 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: different to the table. Active yeast must be activated with 37 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: warm water before using instant yeast can go straight into 38 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: your dough and get to work. The fermentation process with 39 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: active dry yeast takes longer than with instant yeast. This 40 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: can lead to subtly different flavors and breads made with 41 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: active yeast over instant. For the article this episode is 42 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: based on, has to Work, spoke of Kelly Olson, a 43 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: representative for the company Red Star Yeast. She said, when 44 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: yeast has more time to work the dough, more flavor 45 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: and a better texture is developed, and so there's some 46 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: benefit to the more moderate active dry yeast. But then 47 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: there are other products where instant yeast is very favorable 48 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: as well. Instant east is more shelf stable than active 49 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: yeast and provides more consistent results over time, which is 50 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: great when you're baking in bulk or when you're looking 51 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: for a more mildly flavored baked good. But you don't 52 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: technically have to buy yeast. You can make your own. 53 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: When people made bread in ancient times right up through 54 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: the mid eighteen hundreds, they may not have known what 55 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: they were doing, but they were making their own yeast. 56 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: The same goes for you making a sour dough starter today, 57 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: you simply mix equal parts filtered water and flour and weight. 58 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: If conditions are right, naturally occurring yeasts that live in 59 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: the air around us, we'll get to work and grow 60 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: a colony that you can then use to make bread. 61 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: Often throughout history, bread makers would get a little help 62 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: from beer brewers. Sometimes these workers were one and the same. 63 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: Baker's used balm the frothy east colony left over from 64 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: brewing beer as a starter to raise their breads. Brewers 65 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: at the time we're capturing wild yeasts as well by 66 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: letting their beers ferment in open containers. But these wild 67 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: yeasts are different from the packets of Baker's east available 68 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,840 Speaker 1: in stores. Olsen said. A commercial yeast is made from 69 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 1: a pure strain of Saccaro Mices seravisier. When you try 70 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: to make your own yeast, you're actually getting wild yeast 71 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:38,280 Speaker 1: that's not necessarily from sacaramceas servisier. You're not getting pure yeast, 72 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: and you're not necessarily getting something that's consistent or that 73 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: will perform the same as commercial yeast. That unpredictability, both 74 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: with wild yeast and even with store bought yeast is 75 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: one reason why yeast can intimidate bakers, but Olson, who 76 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: feels numerous calls for Red Stars East customers, says Baker's 77 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: East isn't a scary as it seems. She explained that 78 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,280 Speaker 1: it really comes down to watch in your dough while 79 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: it rises, versus sticking solely to your recipes timetables. She said, 80 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: I always encourage people to go by the look and 81 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: feel of the dough. I use the recipe as a guide, 82 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,119 Speaker 1: but realize that things can vary from batch to batch, 83 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: and so it's best to go by what the dough 84 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 1: is doing. And yes, brewers and winemakers also use s 85 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 1: Seravisier and other yeasts to create alcoholic beverages. In beer, 86 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: yeast eats the sugars in malted barley to create alcohol, 87 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: carbon dioxide bubbles and flavors. S. Sarahvisier is the go 88 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: to for ale style beers, while another species, Sacchara Mices pastorianis, 89 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: is typically used in laggers, and recently brewers began experimenting 90 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: with wild yeasts again. In wine, yeast is already present 91 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: on grape skins, but most winemakers also add a pure 92 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: culture like s seravisier to ensure that their fermentation occurs reliably. 93 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: The yeast is very particular and easy to kill. In 94 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: temperatures of a hundred and twenty degrees fahrenheit or forty 95 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: eight point eight celsius or higher will start killing it, 96 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: but the cultures can go dormant and then be rejuvenated 97 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: down the road, even if that road covers five thousand years. 98 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: One egyptologist uncovered yeast microbes in ceramics from over five 99 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: thousand years ago. He and his team extracted the yeast 100 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 1: then baked bread with it, resulting in a successful sweet 101 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:37,040 Speaker 1: sour dough. Today's episode is based on the article yeast 102 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: is the Magic microbe that makes Bread Rise on how 103 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com, written by Stephanie Vermillion. Brain Stuff 104 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,119 Speaker 1: is production of iHeart Radio in partnership with how stuff 105 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four 106 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 107 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.