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Yeast as a leavening agent first appears in the archaeological record in ancient Egypt around 3000 BC, and there are two main theories as to how this practice began.

The first is the good ol' accident theory. Some believe that a dough mixture was left out a little too long before cooking. As a result, wild yeast (and bacteria) got into the mixture and caused it to rise, and when people saw this they attempted to recreate it, using a bit of the original dough in a new batch to help the new batch rise.

The second theory is that it was discovered when someone decided to use ale in a batch of dough. Ale was already widely used at this time (many believe that alcohol production was the impetus that started the agricultural revolution) and yeast is used in the production process. Some favor this theory because they believe that there wouldn't have been enough wild yeast to create a noticeable rise in bread dough, but there would have been plenty available in ale to create a significant change.

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Q: How do historians believe leavening was discovered?
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