Sugar in Bread

[UrbanFool]

I have a great dinner roll recipe that started out with 1/4 cup of sugar and I have that down to 1 tablespoon, but is there any purpose to it? I don't really want to waste a batch by leaving it out altogether and just want to make sure it doesn't have some purpose in the leavening (or other) process.

 

Thanks!

Kelly

[Lois]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast#Baking

Baking

 

Bread showing pockets left by carbon dioxide.

Yeast, specifically Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used in baking as a leavening agent, where it converts the fermentable sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide. This causes the dough to expand or rise as the carbon dioxide forms pockets or bubbles. When the dough is baked it "sets" and the pockets remain, giving the baked product a soft and spongy texture. The use of potatoes, water from potato boiling, eggs, or sugar in a bread dough accelerates the growth of yeasts. Salt and fats such as butter slow down yeast growth. The majority of the yeast used in baking is of the same species common in alcoholic fermentation.

[Cat]

You could try a bit of honey...

[UrbanFool]

Well, I don't think they need any sweetener at all, and their texture hasn't suffered from the reduction of sugar.

 

I do have a great cornbread recipe that uses just honey though

 

Thanks Lois & Cat

[Pixie]

i put honey i my bread.

 

lois, my bread recipe sais that you have to wait 20 minutes rto add the salt. does this harm the final product if io put it in sooner? its just that i always forget to add the salt all together, and i dont like it with no salt. if i can add the salt at the same time i add the lemon juice and molasses and honey etc. it would be a lot easier.

[HSmom]

I always put my salt in with the other stuff.

[HSmom]

I FOUND IT!

 

I found something that said if you are proofing your yeast, by combining it with water and honey/sugar, you should NOT add the salt to that mixture, as the salt will kill the yeast.

 

However, it is fine to add the salt when you add the flour, probably because it's effectively diluted by the large volume of flour.