Immigrants and brothers Charlie and Maximillian Fleishchmann arrived in America from Austria-Hungary in the 1860s. Not liking the heavy-textured American breads, they dreamed of the light, airy breads from their homeland. They started a yeast plant in Cincinnati, Ohio where they developed compressed yeast cakes. This yeast made bread lighter and increased its quality and taste. Soon after, compressed yeast was introduced to the world, and now many countries enjoy the light, flavorful bread that the Fleishchmanns made possible.
Yeast is a tiny, one-celled plant. One package of yeast contains billions of these cells. It exists in soil, on plants, in the air, and even on you. Yeast feeds on the starches in flour and then produces carbon dioxide. This gas gets trapped in the gluten strands of the dough and causes the bread to rise.
This Yeast recipe is from the Food Facts and History Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
