As a group project we were told that we had to put what we learned to the test. The directions we were given were very vague. There was plenty of room to be creative and add what we wanted. The number one rule was that we must use our knowledge of cellular respiration, fermentation, and how materials react to one another.
We had a goal, to achieve the best bread recipe. We were given a basic recipe of flour, water and yeast. More goes into making bread than you think. There is a scientific reason for each ingredient. As a group we decided to add butter, sugar, and salt. The research we found showed many different ingredients and reasons for using them. We decided to just do a plain white bread even though other groups were adding flavors. We focused on making our bread rise and be fluffy.
Procedure:
Mix all of your dry ingredients in the bag first. This makes it easier to stir in the wet ingredients without clumps. Add ¼ cup flour, ¼ teaspoon yeast, ⅜ teaspoon sugar, and a pinch of salt.
To activate your yeast you must heat your water to 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the water is the right temp. pour 4 tablespoons slowly into the bag while mixing. Once mixed thoroughly let sit for 10min.
While waiting for the yeast to activate melt butter enough to be able to pour into the bag. Once your 10min is up, add in ¼ teaspoon butter and ¼ cup flour. Mix until the flour is no longer lumpy.
Lay out some wax paper and put a thin layer of flour on it as well as your hands. Knead the dough on the wax paper for 1min, then roll into a ball.
Next let is sit near heat for 30min to rise. Our bread began to rise at 10min under a heating lamp. It started at 1 ½ in and expanded ¼ in every 5min.
Our Ingredients:
- Butter- helps inhibit gluten formation, which gives bread the right texture and rise
Sugar- gives the yeast glucose which helps it start cellular respiration
Salt- we added that just for flavor, but it also helps tighten the gluten structure
Water- we added warm water to help activate the dormant yeast
Yeast- the yeast performs cellular respiration which gives off CO₂, making the bread rise
- Flour- has the monomers in gluten that, when kneaded, make gluten which gives bread the right texture and rise
The Science Behind The Bread:
The equation for cellular respiration is C6h12O6+6O2 →6H2O6CO2+ATP and cellular respiration is involved in bread making because yeast goes through cellular respiration and releases CO2 to create the air bubbles in the bread. Cellular respiration happens in the mitochondria. During this process it goes through three steps: glycolysis, citric acid cycle and the electron transport system. Glycolysis breaks down glucose and the citric acid cycle releases the stored energy while the electron transport system produces the ATP used for energy. After that, there is aerobic respiration and anaerobic respiration. For anaerobic respiration, while humans perform lactic acid fermentations plants and yeast proform alcoholic fermentation.
Reflection:
After having our bread baked at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 15min we were finally done. We got to taste our bread the next day. The bread was firm on the outside, but soft and airy on the inside. It had lots of small bubbles from the co2 released during cellular respiration. If we were to try this project again I think we would add spices and flavor to our bread. If i'm being completely honest our bread had a good texture but it kind of tasted like squishy cardboard.
