When you think of yeast, you probably picture bread, challah, or pizza dough. But did you know that yeast is a living thing — a microscopic fungus organism? It doesn’t do much when it’s in a jar or your hand, but when we mix it into our baking, it eats!
This simple experiment tests what it is that yeast likes to eat!
You will need:
-active dry yeast
-3 empty bottles
-3 balloons
-sugar
-warm water
-flour
-tablespoon
-teaspoon
Label your bottles A, B, and C.
Put 1 tablespoon of yeast and 1 tablespoon of warm water into each of the bottles and swirl to mix.
Bottle A is the control, meaning it will only have yeast and warm water.
In Bottle B, add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the yeast and warm water. Swirl gently to mix.
In Cup C, add 1 teaspoon of flour to the yeast and warm water. Swirl gently to mix.
Quickly stretch the neck of a balloon over each of the three bottles.
What happens next? When yeast eats, it produces a gas called carbon dioxide. What does a gas do when it goes into a balloon? It blows it up!
Leave your experiment alone and check back on it over the course of an hour. Is one balloon bigger than the others? What does this experiment tell us about yeast’s favorite thing to eat?
