Yeast dough in the process of cooking increases in volume, which is noticeable with the naked eye - it rises in the pan and can even "run away" - go beyond the limits of the occupied container. The reason for this rapid increase in dough volume is the activity of yeast fungi.
To prepare the simplest dough (for example, for baking bread), you need the following ingredients: flour, water, sugar, salt and yeast. All this is thoroughly mixed and placed in a container for several hours in a warm place: the dough must rise, otherwise the bread will turn out hard and tasteless. This is where the yeast begins to work, or rather, yeast fungi. Once in favorable conditions for their development, they begin to multiply. Fungi feed on starch contained in flour and sugar. At the same time, carbon dioxide, alcohol and a number of organic compounds are released - the fermentation process takes place. The resulting bubbles of carbon dioxide create cavities in the dough - pores that loosen the dough. The more of these pores, the more the volume of the dough increases, the faster it rises. During its multiplication, the yeast eats some part of the dough, but the total mass does not decrease due to the increase in the volume of the yeast. Carbon dioxide contained inside the dough tends to escape outward, but gluten, a substance formed when starch comes into contact with water, prevents it from doing so. The viscous and strong gluten traps the bubbles of carbon dioxide in the dough, enveloping them on all sides. And the dough grows and rises more and more rapidly. However, the fermentation process slows down with an excess of carbon dioxide. Therefore, the dough is kneaded - gently mixed. At the same time, excess carbon dioxide comes out of the dough, but it is enriched with oxygen, which stimulates the development of yeast. Finally, the risen dough is placed in a heated oven or oven. In a hot atmosphere, gluten dries up, its elasticity decreases. And each bubble of carbon dioxide tears its shell and goes free. And the cavities (pores) remain, and the baked bread turns out to be loose, porous, airy - the way we like it. Only yeast can provide the "rise" of the dough, therefore, products made from yeast-free dough have a completely different taste and appearance, without pomp and airiness.
