Application scenarios of high sugar yeast
High-sugar-tolerant yeast is suitable for dough with a sugar content of 8% or more (the proportion of sugar in flour). It does not need to be dissolved in water beforehand. Generally, yeast must be dissolved in water before use. When steaming steamed buns or other Chinese snacks, use high-activity dry yeast if you don’t add sugar, and use high-sugar-resistant yeast if you like sweet and add a lot of sugar.
The relationship between yeast activity and temperature
The temperature range for yeast activity is 4 to 40 degrees, and the most suitable ambient temperature for fermentation is 25 to 35 degrees. If the ambient temperature is lower than 10 degrees or higher than 45 degrees, the vitality of the yeast will decrease, and if the ambient temperature exceeds 55 degrees, the yeast will die. And within 4 degrees, or even subzero ultra-low temperature, the yeast is in a dormant period.
After keeping these in mind, in this way, when we ferment at low temperature, ferment at high temperature, and make refrigerated dough, I think we all have a certain understanding of the temperature control!
Characteristics of dough after fermentation
The fermented dough is generally double the size of the original dough, with cracks on the surface and a honeycomb shape inside. Put the fried dough on the chopping board and knead it slightly to release the gas in the dough. Cut into small doughs of suitable size. Whether it is steamed buns or steamed buns, it needs to be proofed for 20 minutes again, and the boiling water will become popular in the pot. Steaming, Xiaolongbao takes about 17 minutes and steamed buns take about 20 minutes. Do not lift the outer cover immediately after steaming, wait a few minutes before opening it. In this way, it will not shrink due to changes in temperature, and the steamed buns or steamed buns will be soft and chewy.
If there are a lot of steamed buns or steamed buns, there will be leftovers. After cooling, put it in a film bag to seal the mouth and put it in the refrigerator to freeze, so that the surface will not dry out and affect the soft taste. When you want to eat, take it out in advance to defrost it and then steam it in a pot. When people usually use yeast to ferment wheat flour, they often overlook a problem, that is, in the case of adding water to wheat flour, the temperature of the common water is not well controlled, thus causing incomplete fermentation of the dough. Because yeast can breed and grow faster only when the temperature exceeds 30 to 35 degrees, too low water temperature will cause the fermentation time to be too long and the fermentation will not be complete.
If the water temperature is too high, it is easy to scald the yeast and cause the dough to fail to ferment. Therefore, we must control the temperature of the water. We must use warm water within 30 to 35 degrees to ferment the flour. The amount of water required is the amount of yeast used. 50 times that of wheat flour, that is, 500 grams of wheat flour requires 5 grams of baking powder, and 250 grams of warm water is added. The baking powder is immediately poured into the wheat flour. Before using the yeast powder, first dissolve it with warm water, then let it stand for 3-5 minutes, then pour the yeast water into the flour while stirring the flour. If the yeast is poured into the flour directly, the effect will not be good.
FAQ
If sugar is often used to accelerate fermentation, why does the article warn that yeast “cannot touch sugar” directly?
Yeast “cannot touch sugar” means that high concentrations of sugar should not come into direct, unmixed contact with yeast. Sugar is highly hygroscopic (it absorbs moisture rapidly). When yeast is placed directly into a dense pile of sugar, the high osmotic pressure sucks the water right out of the yeast cells, dehydrating and killing them. To avoid this “plasmolysis” effect, sugar and yeast should be dissolved separately in water or mixed thoroughly into the flour first so the sugar concentration is evenly diluted.
How do the effects of low sugar and high sugar concentrations differ when making pastry dough with yeast?
The concentration of sugar changes how yeast behaves dramatically:
Low Sugar (under 7%): At low levels, sugar acts as a nutrient that promotes yeast growth and accelerates fermentation, helping the dough rise faster.
High Sugar (over 7% to 10%): At high levels—common in sweet pastries—the sugar increases the osmotic pressure of the dough, which actually inhibits yeast activity and slows down fermentation. For sweet pastries, bakers must use a specialized “high-sugar tolerant” yeast to withstand this pressure.
