I became curious on the history of yeast when Baili made a comment on my cinnamon roll post recently. She was confused about yeast which made me realize how little I knew about it, never having even made bread from yeast.
I have learned that yeast is a fungi like its mushroom relative. There are at least 1500 species of this microorganism. Yeast cells exist in soil, on plants, in the air. They lodge on berries for example and ferment producing alcohol.
Yeast fermentation is used in beer and wine making as well as in bread baking.
Egyptians were making bread using yeast 5000 years ago. Not understanding the science, they thought the resulting baked bread was a miracle! Around the first century AD the Gauls and Iberians made bread using beer foam. In 1680 the microscope was invented by Anton Van Leeuwenhoek. Now they were able to see the yeast at the cell level. In 1857 Louis Pasteur discovered the fermentation process caused by yeast. It feeds on starches in flour producing carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. The dough rises as the carbon monoxide expands inside and the alcohol imparts flavour and aroma.
It is a fascinating study with a lot to learn. Here are the links I used to find this information:
https://redstaryeast.com/science-yeast/story-yeast/
https://www.breadworld.com/education/history-of-yeast/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast
https://www.exploreyeast.com/article/the-history-of-yeast
I have learned that yeast is a fungi like its mushroom relative. There are at least 1500 species of this microorganism. Yeast cells exist in soil, on plants, in the air. They lodge on berries for example and ferment producing alcohol.
Yeast fermentation is used in beer and wine making as well as in bread baking.
Egyptians were making bread using yeast 5000 years ago. Not understanding the science, they thought the resulting baked bread was a miracle! Around the first century AD the Gauls and Iberians made bread using beer foam. In 1680 the microscope was invented by Anton Van Leeuwenhoek. Now they were able to see the yeast at the cell level. In 1857 Louis Pasteur discovered the fermentation process caused by yeast. It feeds on starches in flour producing carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. The dough rises as the carbon monoxide expands inside and the alcohol imparts flavour and aroma.
It is a fascinating study with a lot to learn. Here are the links I used to find this information:
https://redstaryeast.com/science-yeast/story-yeast/
https://www.breadworld.com/education/history-of-yeast/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast
https://www.exploreyeast.com/article/the-history-of-yeast
