Yeast Experiment

Today we decided to do a Yeast experiment for the letter Yy. We made two batches of rolls, one had yeast and the other did not, other than that they were exactly the same. When Aidman added yeast to the clear bowl, he bent down and said "Yum, that smells like bread".

From the start you could tell there was a difference. The one without was very sticky.

This is after the first rising. The one on the left has yeast.

Lyssy and Ab thought it was so much fun to play in the flour.

Ab was not interested in the rolls because she just wanted to play with flour, so Lyssy and I did all the work. Lyssy kneaded it.

Lyssy cut the rolls into circles.

Here are the rolls getting ready to rise again. The yeast rolls are on the left.

Here they are after the rising.

Now the yeast rolls are on the right. The non yeast rolls spent an extra 5 minutes in the oven and are dark on the bottom and very light on the top.

Visibly, yeast made a BIG difference. Tastefully, yeast made an even BIGGER difference. I wish I would have gotten a picture of Aidman's face when he bit into the non yeast rolls, he was disgusted.

We all LOVED this experiment!! Cooking is one thing, but figuring out why you should add a certain ingredient adds so much to the already awesome cooking experience.

BTW, the yeast rolls were wonderful! Here is the recipe.

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons shortening

1 pack active dry yeast

1 cup water

1 egg

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix dry ingredients, crumble shortening into dry mix. Add egg and yeast water, mix. Place a damp cloth over and rise for 45 minutes. Knead dough, flatten out and cut into circles. Lay on buttered pan touching, lay damp cloth over and rise for another 30- 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.