Week 2: All about Yeast

Last week I made banana bread. It turned out pretty good! I have made banana bread a few times before, but I learned a couple of new things this time that I think contributed to how the bread turned out. I started with banana bread, because I knew I had a good recipe, and I was comfortable that I could make it work. I have also had some success in the past with making sweet breads like this before.

My failures in the bread making department have been mostly with breads containing yeast. I think a big part of the reason my breads have not turned out is because I don't really understand how the yeast is supposed to work. So this week, I decided to figure out what yeast is all about and why it is so important. Rather than jumping into a new recipe, this week I just wanted to collect some information to help me feel confident about my next bread making attempt. Plus, my mom is coming in to town this weekend (yay!), so I am going to ask her to walk me through making some homemade rolls for dinner on Sunday.

I just moved into a new house, so I headed to the local library this week to sign up for an account. I got a couple Spiderman books for my son, and some princess books for my daughter, but I also looked at some cooking books. I placed a hold for a copy of "The Bread Bible," by Rose Levy Beranbaum (thanks for the tip Debbie). I am number 1 on the Hold list, so I look forward to reading that next week.

In the mean time, I turned to my BFF, Google, for advice. I found a couple of great articles about yeast, and bread making in general, so I will share what I have learned.

First of all did you know that there is more than one kind of yeast? I am sad to say that I did not! Maybe I have been using the wrong kind of yeast all along. This article from allrecipes.com had some great info on yeast. Basically, there are three kinds of yeast: Active Dry Yeast, Instant Yeast, and Fresh Yeast. It seems that for most of the breads I will be interested in making, the active dry yeast is the right one. Maybe I used Instant Yeast in my failures before? I learned that yeast must be "proofed" before being used as well. To do this, sprinkle the yeast over warm water and a pinch of sugar, and let it stand until creamy and bubbly (this sounds kind of gross to me).

There is also another article on the Better Home & Garden website that goes through the basics of making yeast bread. I have bookmarked this one for future use, because I liked how it went through the specifics of picking and preparing the right yeast, but also what the next steps are. It is also nice to see pictures. I guess if I am having a bad day, making bread and being able to "punch" it will be a good release! :)

Reflection:

I am discovering that my bread-making schema is pretty limited, but I am enjoying learning more every day. This week, my schema was tuned to include different types of yeasts and their uses. I am looking forward to putting these yeast tips to use next week!

As we studied motivation this week, I found it very interesting to think about my learning blog and how it is related. I think that this assignment started with extrinsic motivation (do the assignment, get a good grade), but because we were all able to pick something new to learn, intrinsic motivation has come into play as well. I have really wanted to learn to bake bread for a long time, and this assignment just gave me the push I needed. Now, I am learning how to do this because I want to, not because I am being graded on it. Tasks are much more rewarding when you are intrisicly motivated. If I had not been able to pick what I wanted to learn (for example, everyone in the class had to learn how to sew), I would not be nearly as motivated every week. I am really enjoying learning all about bread-making!