Question

Historically, artisanal breads were produced by capturing wild yeasts from the air. Prior to the development of modern yeast strains, the production of artisanal breads was long and laborious because many batches of dough ended up being discarded. Can you explain this fact?

a) Yeasts from the air were not suitable for bread making.
b) Wild yeasts caused contamination in the dough.
c) Consistency in yeast activity was unpredictable.
d) Wild yeasts did not ferment the dough properly.

Answer 1

The unpredictability of wild yeast activity led to many batches of artisanal bread dough being discarded prior to the development of reliable yeast strains like Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Wild yeasts caused inconsistency in fermentation, leading to varied bread quality.

Step-by-step explanation:

The production of artisanal breads using wild yeasts prior to the development of modern strains was long and laborious, mainly due to the fact that consistency in yeast activity was unpredictable. There are several reasons for this: wild yeasts were acquired from the environment and their fermentation abilities varied greatly. Unlike modern strains like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, these wild yeasts could lead to inconsistent leavening and flavor. Additionally, some wild yeasts might not have been suitable for bread making, while others could potentially contaminate the dough with undesirable microorganisms.

Fermentation involves yeasts converting sugars into CO₂ and ethyl alcohol. In artisanal bread making, the CO₂ produced is crucial for creating the air pockets that give bread its texture. Unfortunately, when relying on wild yeasts, the right conditions for fermentation were hard to achieve due to the unpredictable nature of the wild strains, leading to many batches of dough being discarded.