The Nature of Yeast

Yeast is a single-celled fungus, and comes in many species. When baking a loaf of bread, enzymes in the flour break down the starch of the flour into the sugars glucose, fructose, and maltose. The yeast then grows on these sugars, converting them into alcholol and carbon dioxide.

When I explained this to my 8 year old daughter I put it in much simpler terms. I told her yeast is a living thing and like all living things it required food and water to survive. I explained that they ate material in sugar or flour and pooped out alcohol and carbon dioxide. Its the carbon dioxide that makes the little bubbles in the dough that cause it to rise. She was a little grossed out but got it. Of course she got over being grossed out when she smelled the fresh bread baking.

The important thing to remember is that yeast is a living thing and it requires food and water like any other living thing to function as nature intended.