Recently, many buyers are carefully examining the labels of bakery products in search of the coveted word: "Bezdrozhevoy." This interest is caused by active propaganda in the media.
Newspapers and magazines are full of headlines about "bread that kills us"; horror films about thermophilic yeast in the style of "scandals, intrigues, investigations" are broadcast on the Internet and on television channels. Moreover, commentators are often people who do not have a chemical or biotechnological education (actors, historians, publicists, housewives). Let's try to figure out if yeast-free bread and thermophilic yeast exist in nature.
Myth # 1: “But we don’t use baker’s yeast!”
To begin with, the inscription “Unleavened bread” on the product label is just a marketing ploy. Even if yeast is not used in kneading dough, this does not mean that there is no yeast in it. Various kinds of starter cultures are nothing more than a biological loosening agent containing numerous microflora, including yeast. The fact is that sterile flour does not exist in nature. Try to take regular flour and mix it with water. You will see that after some time the resulting mass will begin to "come to life", increase in volume, will acquire a sour taste and aroma. This will happen because bacteria and fungi that are contained in the flour itself begin to multiply in it. Since ancient times, all bakery has been based on this principle of "spontaneous" fermentation. Flour microorganisms are 5–9 types of yeast and 50–80 types of bacteria. It is difficult to predict which of them will prevail in the battle for "feed" resources, so when using such spontaneous fermentation, it is very difficult for manufacturers to monitor the quality of the resulting bread. Whereas when using commercial forms of yeast, the process becomes predictable and manageable. But yeast does not live only in flour. These microorganisms are ubiquitous: they are present in air, soil, on plants, in natural waters, on the skin of humans and animals, and even inside organisms. The favorite habitat of yeast is the surface of fruits and leaves, where they feed on various sugars that make up the juice of plants and nectar of flowers. After all, it is on the vital functions of yeast that live on grapes and hops that winemaking and brewing are based. Therefore, the use of soaked raisins or hop starter cultures as agents for loosening the dough is one of the thoughtful marketing moves when the yeast itself can be omitted, but in fact they are present and are involved in the process of fermentation of the dough.
Myth # 2: "Thermophilic yeast is to blame!"
Another terrible legend is devoted to thermophilic yeast, which as if does not die during baking. This error is very firmly embedded in the minds of fans of the yellow press. Allegedly, when baking bread, heat-resistant yeasts are used that do not die, but live in the body and begin to limit themselves in the intestines, causing digestive upsets, allergies and other dire consequences. Does thermophilic yeast exist in nature? Yes, they exist, but they are quite rare. In addition, their maximum temperature does not exceed + 53 ° C. A special selection of thermophilic yeast strains in the baking industry, firstly, is irrelevant (there is no need for their use), and, secondly, it presents certain difficulties.You can ask any bakery technologist (even a student of the faculty of food technology), and he will say that at a temperature of +55 to + 59 ° C the yeast cells die, while the temperature in the center of the bread crumb at the time of its removal from the oven reaches + 95 ° C. Naturally, all the yeast cells in the baked bread are inactivated, in other words, killed at high temperature. Not so long ago, in the St. Petersburg branch of the GNU GOSNII of the baking industry of the Russian Agricultural Academy, microflora of different varieties of flour and finished bakery products was studied immediately after baking. The results showed that no live yeast and mold cells were found in the finished samples of Darnitsky bread, as well as in wheat bread. Thus, information on the widespread use of thermophilic yeast has no scientific justification. And they are not used in the baking industry.
Myth number 3: "In the production of yeast, toxic substances are used that harm our health!"
In Internet articles and videos they like to refer to the outdated GOST of the times of the USSR from 1981 - GOST 171-81. If you look at the list of ingredients for making pressed yeast in it, many will feel uneasy, especially if a person is far from chemistry or completely ignorant of the technology of growing yeast. Agree, it’s unlikely that someone will be inspired by such ingredients as “formalin technical”, “washing liquid“ Progress ”,“ sulfuric acid technical ”,“ micronutrient fertilizer for agriculture ”or“ building lime. ”At present, a completely different one is used. GOST R 54731−2011, which contains normative references to other GOST standards related to both yeast growing technology and auxiliary and packaging materials, chemical reagents and reagents that are used for laboratory analysis of yeast, and to the analysis methods themselves. of all the listed standards, references to which are given in GOST R 54731−2011, we can distinguish several groups of materials used in the production processes for the production of baking yeast:
- some are used to make yeast substrate;
- the other part is to provide an optimal environment for growing yeast;
- the third part is used exclusively for the sanitization of equipment, facilities, laboratory glassware and hands;
- the fourth part is packaging materials.
Modern technologies make it possible to thoroughly wash the yeast mass before pressing from the nutrient medium in which they were grown, and samples of the final product are examined in laboratories for the absence of any chemical or microbiological hazards in the yeast. So the modern processes of yeast production are very different from the processes of their production since the USSR!
Myth # 4: “Yeast-free bread is healthier than yeast.”
Opponents of yeast bread claim that eating it can lead to dysbiosis and other diseases. Suppose that a person for one reason or another completely refuses to take bakery products for food (although we have already found out that there are no living yeast cells in the finished bread). In his usual diet, there will certainly be vegetables and fruits. What does it mean? That microscopic fungi still get into his body. And there is nothing to worry about! Few people think about how useful the yeast is. They contain a large amount of B vitamins (B1, B2, B3 or PP, B5, B6, B8, B9, B12), minerals that are extremely necessary for the human body (iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium), as well as fiber and proteins. The presence of such indispensable components makes yeast a very interesting product in terms of nutritional value and a positive effect on the health of the skin, hair and nails.The beneficial properties of yeast have long been used not only in home cosmetology, but also in home poultry farming, gardening. Due to their rich vitamin and mineral composition, they are used to feed birds and fertilize soils in the warm season. In Europe, the introduction of additives based on yeast and yeast extracts to human food is very developed. In addition to a valuable set of vitamins, fiber and protein, fractions such as beta-glucans (a structural element of the yeast cell wall that is responsible for the activation of the body's protective functions) and glutathione, which has antioxidant properties, are popular. So, if you do not have food intolerance to gluten protein, gluten, egg or milk protein - use yeast baked goods for health, as it is a source of carbohydrates, vitamins of group B and PP!
And Bon Appetit!
The article used materials provided by the St. Petersburg branch of the GNU GOSNIIHP of the Russian Agricultural Academy, as well as materials from the article of the information and analytical journal PARTNER Confectioner Hlebopek 5 (47) 2013, section "Ingredients", pages 50-54.
