Yeast Fermentation Lab Report

Discussion

In this experiment, we aim to find the best temperature and time in order to make the most spongy and soft bread, which is determined by the amount of CO2 produced by the yeast during anaerobic respiration. This is achieved by simulating the fermentation process of yeast and measuring its rate of expansion at different temperature and time period.

During the experiment, 1g of yeast is mixed with 25mL of tap water, 12mL of boiled water, 1g of sugar and 50g of flour. The mixture is than kneaded until it could pass the windowpane test. Afterwards, the dough is then seperated into three equal halfs and is put in a measuring cylinder with its height measured. Then the three doughs, (namely dough A, B and C) is placed seperately under

As a result, during the separation of the dough into three equal halves, the three doughs may not be exactly identical in terms of its composition and the extend of kneading, which would directly affect the rate of fertilization of yeast.

Limitations:

Firstly, the setup of the experiment only compares the rate of fermentation at three distinct temperatures. Thus, the results can only prove that which temperature is the best among the three, rather than the actual optimal temperature for yeast fermentation, hence the most suitable temperature for rising the dough.

Secondly, even though the doughs have to pass the windowpane test before allowing the dough to rise, there may still be disreepancies regarding the extent of kneading by different experimenters as the test only acts as an approximate indicator in the extent of kneading. Thus, the results of the experiment may vary, making it hard to reach a persuasive conclusion.

Thirdly, the experiment only simulates the step involving the rising of the dough, but not the baking process of it, which could also affect the sponginess of the bread, as overheating may excessively remove the water within the bread, making it dry and hard, hence reduce the sponginess and tenderness of the