We all know that when making pasta at home, many people will proof it in advance.
Rising noodles is the most basic step and a very critical link, which will directly affect the taste and texture of pasta.
There are many ways to make dough. Some people will dissolve the yeast in warm water before kneading the dough. Some people will directly put the yeast into the flour and knead the dough with warm water.
So is it better to put baking yeast in warm water or flour?
Let’s take a closer look below!
When making dough, is it better to put the yeast in the water or the dough? When making the dough, put the yeast into the flour or put it in warm water to mix the dough. Both methods are acceptable.
However, in order to ensure the success rate of the dough, allow the yeast to fully ferment, and shorten the dough rising time, it is best to choose the latter, that is, dissolve the yeast in warm water in advance.
According to experience, it really depends on the situation: If the temperature is high, yeast is placed directly in the flour. 1. When the room temperature is around 25 to 30 degrees, it can be added directly to the flour.
But be careful: the yeast should not be in direct contact with sugar or salt (it may affect the activity of the yeast). 2. When the room temperature is above 30 degrees, yeast can be added directly to the flour, but it is recommended to use ice water to knead the dough.
Reason: If the room temperature exceeds 30°C, it is easy for the yeast to ferment excessively and make the dough sour.
In addition, hand kneading/mixing the dough with a chef's machine can easily increase the temperature of the dough, so when the temperature is high in summer, remember to mix the dough with ice water!
When the temperature is low, put the yeast into warm water to dissolve first, and then mix the dough. 1. When the room temperature is below 25 degrees, the activity of the yeast is not high and the fermentation activity is slow.
Therefore, put it in warm water to stimulate the yeast activity first, which can also help the dough rise.
But be careful: the temperature of warm water should be around 35 degrees (roughly the same as the temperature of your fingers), and the water temperature should not exceed 40 degrees to avoid scalding the yeast to death.
2. If the room temperature is below 20 degrees, not only must it be dissolved in warm water first.
When making dough, it is also recommended to use a fermentation box or put it in a steamer to help it ferment.
Steamer fermentation can be done as follows: Boil water in the pot, no need to boil it, as long as steam comes out.
Put the dough into a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, put it into the pot, and let it ferment with steam.
The difference between putting baking yeast in flour and putting yeast in warm water. When mixing dough, if the yeast is placed in flour, then we need to mix the yeast and flour evenly, then add warm water little by little and stir into flocculation.
shape, then knead the dough.
Put the yeast into the flour. When kneading the dough, you need to knead it more carefully to mix the yeast and flour evenly so that the dough can rise better.
When putting yeast in warm water to knead the dough, if you melt the yeast in warm water first, then pour it into the flour and stir it into a flocculent mixture, the yeast and flour will be mixed more evenly, and the yeast will be more likely to be distributed in every corner of the flour.
Make the dough leave better, faster and more even.
Summary: I prefer the latter of the two, which is also my habit since making pasta.
Yeast powder can generally be fully fermented in warm water of 30-35 degrees, which means that the temperature of the warm water is a little lower than the temperature of our human hands. It is most suitable for it to be warm to the touch and not hot to the touch.
So I think melting the yeast with warm water first can maximize the effect of the yeast and make the yeast ferment more fully, so that the pasta can meet expectations.
No matter which method is used, the dough must be fully kneaded to evenly distribute the yeast so that the yeast can work.
If the dough is not kneaded carefully, the dough may not rise sufficiently, part of the dough may easily shrink during the steaming process, or the dough may become dead due to poor fermentation.
Therefore, it is also very important to knead the dough in two ways, so that the dough will be smooth and strong, the dough will rise well, and the pasta will be soft and delicious.
How far should the dough rise? The dough is fermented just right. To touch: Dip your finger in flour and poke the dough. After you pull out your finger, the depression will shrink slightly.
Looks: cut with a knife, the cross-section is in the shape of a uniform honeycomb eye. The dough is overly fermented. Touch: Dip your finger in flour and poke the dough. After the finger is pulled out, it will collapse rapidly from the depression.
Appearance: Cut with a knife, the holes in the section are uneven in size, and sometimes there are larger empty holes.
Smell: A sour smell.
The dough is not fermented enough. Touch it: Dip your finger in flour and poke the dough. After you pull out your finger, the depression will quickly return to its original shape.
Appearance: cut with a knife, the holes are small and the structure is tight.
What should you pay attention to when making dough? 1. You can add 2-3 grams of yeast for every 500 grams of flour. You can increase or decrease it appropriately according to the season. Generally speaking, you can add less yeast when the temperature is high in summer, and you can increase the amount of yeast when the temperature is low in winter.
to shorten the fermentation time.
2. Yeast powder has the best activity at about 30 degrees. Temperature that is too high or too low will have an impact on the activity of yeast, so no matter which dough mixing method is used, pay attention to the water used.
Temperature, the temperature of the surrounding environment when the dough is fermented after mixing.