14.1 Yeast Bread Introduction

Yeast Leavened Products

Yeast bread and pizza finish the bakery section. These recipes will focus on developing gluten and using yeast to leaven the bread and pizza instead of baking powder chemical leavening.

Yeast Bread Standard Method Steps

1. Hydrate Yeast with warm water. Use Rapid Rise Yeast for speed.
2. Warm milk to 81°F
3. Blend shortening, sugar, salt, and milk. The milk is already scalded (a heating process needed to ensure dough and bread quality).
4. Add the hydrated yeast and ½ of the bread flour.
5. Mix until batter falls off a spoon in “sheets.”
6. Add the second half of the bread flour a bit at a time to form a soft dough.
7. Rest the dough for 5 minutes.
8. Knead for 10–15 minutes (manipulation of dough for proper gluten formation).
9. Let rise for 30 minutes somewhere warm in an oiled and covered bowl. The ideal temperature for yeast fermentation: 81–100 degrees Fahrenheit
10. Punch Down, shape, and proof in the pan for 15 minutes.
11. Bake & watch for the Oven Spring.
12. Remove from pan right away and let cool before cutting.

Important terms for the yeast bread standard method

• Yeast Fermentation Temperature: 81°F to 110°F
• Rapid Rise Yeast: Also known as bread machine yeast, comprised of more active yeast strains and may also contain enzymes and other additives to shorten the rising and proofing times by half.
• Scalding: Heating the milk to 180°F before used in bread making.  If this step is skipped, the dough is slack and sticky, and the bread is coarse and has low volume.
• Kneading: Manipulation of bread dough for proper gluten formation, generally done by pressing and folding of dough until a smooth, not sticky dough is formed.
• Oven spring: Large increase in the volume of bread dough when placed in the oven caused by rapid yeast fermentation as the temperature increases in the oven.  After this large increase in volume occurs, the fermentation stops, and the yeast is dead.