Bread. Yeast. The staff of life.

hi, BBB : a/t the book " 6,000 YEARS OF BREAD " by heinrich eduard jacob (i have the german issue of 1954) it was the egyptians who started using yeast about 6,000 years ago. of course they did not know that they were using yeast; it was probably an accidental discovery. they probably forgot that they had made some dough, discovered after a few days that the dough had turned sour and was bubbling - it had started to ferment. the result was that they were able to bake bread ! only wheat and rye can be used to bake bread (you can add other ingredients but you must have wheat or rye to make bread - so the book says). it took a long time before others caught on to the baking of bread, instead they were eating gruel and flat cakes. it was not until the 17 th century that the dutch scientist LEEUWENHOEK discovered yeast using a microscope (this is a condensed version of the 500 page book). hbg

BREAD YEAST
here is a neat little poem about the good old DUTCHMAN MRLEEUWENHOEK

Hamburger
Hamburger, thank you so very much. Yeast is such a fascinating form of life, don't you think? I guess it could feed the entire world.

BBB

BBB : i recall that my mother always used yeastcake from the baker. as kids we used to steal a piece of it and eat it, yummy ! also recall that one could buy granulated brewer's yeast at the pharmacy - it apparently was good for getting rid of boils (you'd put a spoonfool of it into a glass of water and down the hatch ! not nearly as tasty as baker's yeast). i should check to see if it is still used in germany. hbg

Seems to me beer came before whiskey... wouldn't the breadmakers have gotten their yeast from brewers long before distilling was invented?

history of yeast
Wy, you are correct about yeast's ancient history. But.......

"It was not until the invention of the microscope followed by the pioneering scientific work of Louis Pasteur in the late 1860's that yeast was identified as a living organism and the agent responsible for alcoholic fermentation and dough leavening. Shortly following these discoveries, it became possible to isolate yeast in pure culture form. With this new found knowledge that yeast was a living organism and the ability to isolate yeast strains in pure culture form, the stage was set for commercial production of baker's yeast that began around the turn of the 20th century. Since that time, bakers, scientists and yeast manufacturers have been working to find and produce pure strains of yeast that meet the exacting and specialized needs of the baking industry."

"The History of Bread Making

Although people have been making bread for thousands of years, its exact origins are unknown. During the late Stone Age, nomadic tribes probably made a thick gruel from wild grain and baked it into flat cakes on hot stones in their campfires. About 10,000 years ago nomadic tribes settled and began cultivating grains, among them einkorn and emmer, the ancestors of modern domestic wheat. Around 6000 bc Swiss lake dwellers improved on the wild grain-gruel recipe by crushing grains to make a flatbread. Archaeological evidence suggests that yeast-risen wheat breads were developed in Egypt around 4000 years ago. The Egyptians are also believed to be the first to grind wheat flour in a process analogous to modern milling.

Technical advances continued to improve bread-making techniques, among them the use of the yeast-containing residue of the brewing process as a leavening agent. Bread bakers no longer had to rely on wild airborne yeast or sourdough starters, and by the 3rd century bc, yeast was manufactured commercially in Egypt.

Greeks who colonized the Mediterranean between about 700 and 130 bc were avid bakers. They refined flours to eliminate the impurities; seasoned their breads and cakes with honey, sesame, and fruits; and invented a stone oven for baking bread. By the 2nd century ad Roman bakeries produced several different kinds of bread, and the Romans introduced their bread to all the lands they conquered.

During the early half of the Middle Ages, around the 5th century to the 10th century, political conditions caused trade between countries to decline. Wheat crops, grown in warm, dry climates, became less available to bakers in the cool, damp countries of northern Europe. Northern bakers perfected rye, oat, and barley breads, and a tradition of dark, hearty bread making persists in some regions of northern Europe today."

But this still doesn't answer my question re who's experiments resulted in adding yeast to bread. I wonder if a Patent was ever issued for adding yeast to bread?

Fascinating History of bread and yeast:

http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:mwNLaGXJzU4J:58.1911encyclopedia.org/B/BR/BREAD.htm+Patent+history+for+adding+yeast+to+bread&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I'm baking a loaf of honey whole wheat right now, but I'm at work. Bread machines rock.

From http://www.cyberspaceag.com/breadhistory.html :



So I don't think they experimented to get it in there in the first place. They probably turned their backs on their mix of flour and water, came back to find it frothy, and baked it anyhow. The experimentation would come later, to find the best way to make this new, risen, bread...

Bread machines rock, indeed. I think I'll break mine out... egg-and-honey white, I think, slightly sweet and richly yellow...

I also maintain a stash of sourdough starter that is now about eight years old. Sourdough is a pain in its unpredictability, but when you get it right, it's the best. I don't recommend trying to make it in a bread machine.

To make your own starter:

1 pound organic raisins
water to cover
bread flour

Put the raisins in a bowl and cover with lukewarm water. Let it sit about 8 hours or overnight. Strain liquid into another bowl, then add an equal amount of flour. Stir to make a slurry (like pancake batter). Cover lightly and let sit overnight again. It should activate within 12-48 hours. Cover tightly and refridgerate (gladware works great for this).

To use, add half of the starter to your recipe. Take the other half and feed by adding an equal amount of water and flour and letting it sit out overnight in a bowl large enough to prevent it from escaping.

Hmmm.

You know that the old Egyptians used bread for making their beer before they noticed that yeath was even better, do you?

While doing some research, a question aside:

is 'yeast' synonym for ARKADY?

cjhsa, BBB's Limpa Bread
cjhas, the following is my most favorite bread recipe, one that is rarely made commercially. ---BBB

This recipe makes two loaves that will keep well wrapped in a refrigerator or freezer protective wrap. This bread is a lovely moist, dense, easy to slice bread, delicately flavored with orange, that makes wonderful sandwiches or toast.

I've tested this recipe in a bread machine, but it has a texture different than the more desirable hand-kneaded loaves.

FINNISH-STYLE LIMPA BREAD
The Best In The World!
By BumbleBeeBoogie

1- 1/2 cups of warm water
2 packages of active dry yeast
1/4 cup of light or medium molasses
1/4 cup of white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of salt
Finely grated rind of 2 oranges
2 tablespoons soft butter
2-1/2 cups of rye flour, sifted
2-1/2 cups of all-purpose white flour, sifted

Place the warm water in a large warm mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water until dissolved. Mix in the molasses, sugar, salt and orange rind.

Add the soft butter and rye flour to the liquid mixture; mix well. Stir in the all-purpose white flour.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface; knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. If the dough is too sticky, work in a little more of the all-purpose white flour (about 2 tablespoons.) The dough may optionally be kneaded with a power mixer and a dough hook.

FIRST RISING: Grease a large bowl and place the dough in it. Cover it with a clean dry towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until it is double in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.

SECOND RISING: Flour your hands and punch the dough down to deflate it and let it rise again until it is double in bulk, about 1 hour.

THIRD RISING: Flour your hands and punch the dough down again. Divide the dough in half. Shape the dough into two oblong loaves. Place the two loaves on one or two greased baking sheets. Cover the loaves with a warm, damp towel. Let the dough rise again until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Center the oven baking shelf in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. (190 degrres C.) Grease one or two baking sheets.

Uncover the two loaves. Bake them for 35 minutes or until the loaves are a rich brown. Remove the loaves from the oven, brush them with additional melted butter.

I'll have to give it a try. The orange tree is in full production. I wonder what would happen if you replaced the water with orange juice and eliminated the granulated sugar?

cjsha
cjsha, bread baking is a real science, unlike many other types of food preparation.

Perhaps Cavfancier can tell us what the impact of citric acid in orange just would have on kicking the yeast into action. Not being a chemist, I'm not sure, except I'd not be inclined to tinker with that part of the recipe. I suppose you could reduce the amount of water and add it's portion to the orange juice without harm. As to the white sugar, it is beneficial to feeding the yeast. I don't know if honey would work as well because the amount would have to be adjusted.

BTW, I haven't seen much of Cavfancier around A2K lately. Does anyone know if he's OK or just busy?

BBB

yeast and citric acid
While searching for the answer to the question of mixing yeast and citric acid, I came across this interesting side bar.---BBB

http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:jC3uO98pIQUJ:oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Methods/Hayes/YeastWash.shtml+effect+of+citric+acid+on+yeast&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I wondered about that as well. That's why I asked!

Cav said something on another thread about being gone from a2k for a couple of weeks while his computer connection was repaired, or like that... I hope he finds a substitute computer and comes around!

Walter, what's ARKADY?

A bread softener. Invented in 19th century - now a brand, I think:
Arkady Craigmillar

In the Bible-Old Testament it talks about the prohibition of possesing and eating leavened bread and yeast on Passover.They are considered 2 distinct items, 1) leavened bread 2) yeast. According to this it seems that yeast has been around for at least 4 thousand years.
However it may be that the "yeast" mentioned in the Bible is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word "seor". The correct meaning of "seor" may be sourdough which was used to ferment the breads and cakes








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