Skip to main content

Yeast Bread Unit





Yeast Breads are the bane of my teaching existence!!

How the HECK do I teach all 10 steps to the yeast bread method in ONE 86 min block?

So here is what I do:

  • I mix dough for the entire class the block before. (I HAVE AN INDUSTRIAL BENCH MIXER)
  • Then that class measure for the next class. (Individual batches this time by hand no bench mixer)
  • Then the next class measures dough that we will use to sell to the faculty. (Individual batches this time by hand no bench mixer)
  • Students stay after school with me on yeast bread days to help finish our products.

Unit Plan

Day 1:

What is yeast?



Yeast is: 
  • A living organism, on celled fungus.
  • It feeds on carbohydrates present in starches and sugars in bread dough, converting them to carbon dioxide and ethanol during fermentation.
Yeast+carbohydrates= alcohol+carbon dioxide.

Yeast Basics
  • Carbon dioxide is trapped in the dough made with yeast, leavening the bread while the alcohol evaporates.
  • Yeast is VERY sensitive to temperature and moisture.
  • Salt inhibits the growth of yeast and controls the dough’s rise. 
Temperamental Yeast
Temperature
Yeast Development
34 F
Inactive
60-70 F
Slow Action
75 F- 95 F
Best temperature for yeast activity
85 F-100 F
Best water temperature for hydrating instant yeast
100-110 F
Best water temperature for hydrating active dry yeast.
138 F
Yeast Dies

* Tip to make your notes more interactive have students fill this information in on a thermometer. 

10 Steps to the Yeast Bread Method

  1. Scaling the ingredients
  2. Mixing and kneading the dough
  3. Fermenting the dough
  4. Punching down the dough
  5. Portioning the dough
  6. Rounding the portions
  7. Make-up:Shaping the portions
  8. Proofing the products
  9. Baking the Products
  10. Cooling and storing the finished product
*Tip: Have your students create a visual recipe using the steps to yeast bread method
    Day 2:
    Mixing and Kneading

    Yeast breads are mixed using a few different methods. 
    The first is called the straight dough method. This is where all of the ingredients are added at one time and the ingredients go "straight to dough".
    Then you have a few methods that take several steps. They are the sponge method, old dough and sourdough.
    After mixing you must knead the dough. Kneading the dough is very important because in this step your are developing gluten. *see my other post.
    For more on kneading see my other post. 
Fermentation 

After kneading is fermentation. During fermentation yeast is consuming carbohydrates in the product and producing carbon dioxide which is getting captured in the gluten network that you created with kneading.

Fermentation in bread making is divided into three stages :
  • Bulk, where the entire mass rises before shaping 
  • Proofing, the rise given to shaped yeast just prior to baking 
  • Oven Spring the final rise that happens in the oven 
* See my other post 

Baking
Washes applied before baking effect breads appearance
Scoring (slashing) or docking dough before baking improves bread's appearance.
Steam in the ovens improves bread crust

Learning how to recognize when bread is fully baked is essential

Labs: 
Pizza Dough
White Bread (Shaping Lab)
Focaccia
Blog Post: http://kerrycooks.com/focaccia-bread-recipe-from-the-great-british-bake-off/
Cinnamon Rolls



Websites:


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/how-to-bake-bread.html

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yeast Bread Mixing Methods

Yeast Bread Mixing Methods Straight Dough Method is a one step mixing method in which all the dry ingredients such as flour, sugar, salt and yeast are mixed, and then wet ingredients such water and eggs are added. All the ingredients are then mixed straight to dough. It is the easiest of all yeast bread mixing methods. Sponge and dough is a two-step bread mixing process. The first step in this method is making the sponge which consists of a certain amount of flour, yeast and water. This mixture is allowed to ferment. The second step is adding the sponge to the rest of the ingredients to form the final dough. Old Dough Leavening aka Mother Dough or Preferments is exactly what it sounds like, a piece dough from a previous batch of dough is held back and used to help leaven the new loaf. This type of leavening with give more complex flavors because the old dough has been developing stronger fermenting flavors. Sourdough (Preferment) is a “natural leavener” it is made

First Day of School!!!!

I am so excited to begin school tomorrow!!!!!!!! I decided to have this showing as students walked in the door to get them excited for what they will be able to accomplish this semester :) Lets look back at last year: I have been planning most of the day today trying to get my lessons planned for the nine weeks. I like to start the year with an idea of where I want to go, however;  the most important day of school is the first. It sets the mood for the entire school year. So here we go.... its M arvelous to M eet you I ways start the year with an ice breaker :) Then I teach a little bit about me :) with an intro to the teacher PPT.  Students learn more from someone they know.....and form a relationship with. Remind formally Remind101 is a group texting for the classroom. It helps me remind my students about assignments, projects or club meetings. It also allows students to ask m

Kneading!!!

Kneading Techniques “Working the Dough” Kneading is one of the most known terms in baking, but do you really understand its importance.  Could you recognize if you have a well kneaded product? Do you know the different kneading techniques? Do you know how to test if you have kneaded well enough? When I set out to create my lesson plans over baking, I could answer a few of those questions listed above. I had an idea about what I was looking for, but I did not know half of the information that I kneaded to know. So as I researched, I found information that I think all teachers, students, and aspiring bakers need to know.  Why Knead Kneading develops a gluten network (net) As flour is hydrated gluten strengthens and adds to the structure of the dough. Gluten helps to bind the dough together and helps it keep from falling apart during baking Gluten creates a net in the bread product that captures carbon dioxide produced by yeast. Kneadin