Yeast is a single-celled fungus that produces enzymes capable of breaking down various organic bodies, mainly sugars, into simpler ones.
There are many different types of yeast, and each is used to make a different food. There is baker's yeast, beer yeast (which is used, apart from making the drink, also in bakery) or wine.
Then there is the baking powder, which is a chemical yeast. It is a mixture of substances such as sodium bicarbonate or tartaric acid and an excipient that "makes the flour dough ferment, but only at the time of cooking, as it is activated by the effect of heat." It is the one that is traditionally used in the preparation of cakes, cookies, muffins, cakes.
Both products achieve the same effect of making the doughs grow and fluff due to the effect of carbon dioxide, but there are significant differences between them. For example, natural yeast is slower. You have to let the dough rest for hours so that it rises. And it also leaves a mark in the form of taste and smell that make it ideal for breads (of all kinds), but could seriously affect the taste of a sponge cake.
On the other hand, making bread with chemical yeast can be done, but at the cost of texture and, of course, a significant loss of flavor (which should be provided by natural yeast). The crumb that is obtained is more compact, without the large bubbles that characterize bread.
So it is not advisable to exchange both types of yeast. If you are going to make bread, use the natural one, if you are going to make pastries, use baking powder
Nieto, S.(2021). Levadura vs polvo de hornear, ¿cuál elegir?. Recovered from https://www.elmundo.es/yodona/lifestyle/2021/03/05/6040baacfdddfff6068b45f7.html
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