Find A Store

Yeast Experiment: Growth #2 – Is Yeast Alive?

QUESTION

IS YEAST ALIVE?

MATERIALS

Two glass measuring cups, 1-cup capacity each
Measuring spoon: teaspoon
Granulated sugar
Thermometer (to measure water temperature)
Warm water (110-115°F)
One packet of Red Star Active Dry Yeast (packet is ¼-ounce or 2 ¼ teaspoons)

PROCEDURE

Make a yeast solution using 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°F), 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 ounce package of Active Dry Yeast.
Each day, transfer 1 teaspoon of original yeast solution to a NEW solution of 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°F) and 1 teaspoon sugar.
Make another sugar solution and add 1 teaspoon water daily.
Keep a record of your progress for five (5) days.

OBSERVATIONS & CONCLUSION

What do you observe happening to each of your containers?
Does the yeast culture continue to multiply even though it becomes diluted by the daily transfer?

Review & Comments

Mathew Crow | 10/4/2022 Reply

Hi, I did an experiment with my daughter where we made a whole jar of starter, starting from a single granule of active yeast mixed with 1/8 teaspoon water and flour and feeding it double its weight each day until it was huge. It worked remarkably well. We wondered- approximately how many yeast cells does a single granule contain? Thank you!

Red Star Yeast | 10/6/2022 Reply

Hi Mathew – Sounds like a fun experiment! One standard packet (0.25oz/7g) contains billions of yeast cells, so one granule probably contains thousands of yeast cells. https://redstaryeast.com/science-of-yeast/#what-is-yeast Naturally occurring yeast is also present in the flour and air, and since you only used 1 granule of yeast, most of the fermentation was from the wild yeast (and lactic acid bacteria).
I hope you will find this information helpful!

Donna marie | 2/27/2022 Reply

Never used yeast..bought RED STAR yesterday I want to make the Mother process for
Sour dough bread. Where do I start. Thanks dmc

Red Star Yeast | 2/28/2022 Reply

Hi Donna Marie – You can find our sourdough starter recipe here, and recipes to use the starter here. If you have further questions, we’d love to help! Contact us here.
Happy baking!