what creates the gas in breads like pizza & english muffins?
The gas in breads like pizza and English muffins is created by a process known as fermentation, specifically yeast fermentation. Yeast is a type of fungus that consumes sugar and produces carbon dioxide gas as a byproduct. This process is what causes bread dough to rise and gives it a light and fluffy texture.
To make bread dough, yeast is typically added to a mixture of flour, water, and sometimes sugar. Yeast feeds on the sugar in the dough and converts it into alcohol and carbon dioxide through the process of fermentation. The carbon dioxide gas gets trapped in the dough, causing it to expand and giving the bread its characteristic airy structure.
During baking, the heat causes the gas bubbles to expand further, resulting in the final rise and texture of the bread. The alcohol produced by the yeast also evaporates during baking, leaving behind the delicious aroma and flavor we associate with freshly baked bread.
So, to summarize, the gas in breads like pizza and English muffins is created by yeast fermentation. The yeast consumes the sugar in the dough, producing carbon dioxide gas, which makes the dough rise and gives the bread its light and fluffy texture.