Question

First, I will sift a cup of flour. Then, I will add a kilo of yeast and mix it. After that, I will leave the dough for an hour. Later, I will put two teaspoons of sugar. What is the next step in the process?

1) Knead the dough
2) Bake the dough
3) Let the dough rise
4) Add water to the dough

Answer 1

After adding sugar to the bread dough, the next step is to let the dough rise. This step is crucial for the yeast to ferment the sugar and produce carbon dioxide, creating a light and fluffy texture in the bread.

Step-by-step explanation:

When baking bread, after adding sugar to the dough, the next step is typically to let the dough rise. This allows the yeast to ferment the sugar and produce carbon dioxide gas, which will cause the dough to expand, creating the light and fluffy texture that makes freshly-baked bread so enjoyable. The process of rising also leads to better flavor and texture of the final product. Therefore, the correct answer to the student's question is to let the dough rise before proceeding to other steps such as baking.

This step is essential because during the rise, the yeast is at work. Through alcoholic fermentation, yeast produces carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide has nowhere to escape to, so it remains inside the dough creating bubbles and making the dough increase in volume. Once the dough has sufficiently risen, it would then be typically punched down to release some of the gases and evenly distribute the yeast, then shaped as desired for the final bake.