How to use the fermentation function of the electric oven

Many people who have made bread will find that they do not have a deep understanding of the issue of fermentation. They are always confused about the dough and rely entirely on luck and feeling. In fact, fermentation does not mean that you can only rely on luck. This will easily lead to failure. You can learn the essence of fermentation. For example, some people use an electric oven for fermentation. The electric oven also has a fermentation function. How is it used?

Teach you a trick | How to use a bread machine/electric oven to ferment?

For fermentation, we mainly use dry yeast. Often our impression of it remains on "a kind of powder used for fermentation", and we forget that it is also a microorganism, a fungus.

Since it is a fungus, it has life. It’s just that the dry yeast we usually come into contact with is a product that has been compressed and dried. The yeast has been "dormant". When making bread, steamed buns and other leavened foods, the dry yeast will get moisture and suitable temperature, then it will "wake up" and start to grow and reproduce, making the dough rise.

Likewise, if there is life, there will be death. If dry yeast is not stored properly or is out of its shelf life, the yeast will die in large numbers and will no longer have the ability to ferment. Using such yeast to make bread will certainly not produce good results - not only will you waste your energy and time, but watching the dough you have worked so hard to knead simply not rise will also affect your mood.

About Yeast

1. After the yeast is dissolved in warm water, wait for 5-10 minutes. If the yeast is well active, a layer of foam will quickly float on the surface. If no foam appears or the foam is not obvious, it means that the activity of the yeast is not very good and it can no longer be used.

?Key point: The most favorable temperature for yeast reproduction is 30~40 degrees Celsius. Below zero degrees Celsius, yeast loses its activity;

When the temperature exceeds 45 degrees Celsius, the yeast will be scalded to death. Therefore, the best temperature for rising dough is around 30 degrees Celsius.

2. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to warm water to act as nutrients for yeast, allowing the yeast to grow rapidly and facilitate observation.

3. If the dry yeast you purchased is in a large package, it can be stored at room temperature before opening. After opening, please put it in a sealed bottle and refrigerate it in the refrigerator (5°C is best). The sooner you use it up, the better. For home use, it is recommended to buy yeast in small packages to avoid it losing its activity due to long-term unused yeast.

4. If the dough fails to rise, it is not necessarily due to the yeast. The temperature of the dough, the fat content, the amount of salt used, etc. will affect the fermentation speed and effect. But yeast failure is the most common problem.

Therefore, testing whether the yeast is active can prevent us from making the simplest mistakes and prevent us from failing at the starting point.

Yeast fermentation is the process by which yeast absorbs nutrients from the dough to maintain its life activities and produces carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the dough puffy.

Fermentation process

1. Decomposition of starch: The amylase in starch hydrolyzes the starch in flour into maltose at an appropriate temperature, and then hydrolyzes it into glucose, providing nutrients for the reproduction of yeast and the secretion of "enzymes".

2. Yeast reproduction and carbon dioxide production: Yeast undergoes vigorous respiration with the participation of oxygen, decomposing glucose into carbon dioxide and water, while utilizing the heat energy generated by the decomposition of sugars to reproduce. As yeast respiration continues, carbon dioxide gradually increases and the oxygen in the dough decreases accordingly. The yeast ferments under anaerobic conditions to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.