Is it safe to eat warm yeast cake? Debunking an old myth
Who hasn't counted the minutes until taking a cake out of the oven? And then the disappointment when grandma wouldn't let you cut it right away? She was particularly strict with yeast cakes. "Don't eat it warm, or you'll get a stomachache." Sound familiar? Find out if there's any truth to this.
27 July 2024 17:06
Grandma warned against eating warm yeast cake because it was said to cause stomachaches. Where did this belief come from? And should we still be concerned about it?
Important yeast
According to the traditional beliefs of the older generation, warm yeast cake can cause stomach pain due to the yeast. Do these microorganisms really pose a risk? The expert stated that Italians wouldn't recommend eating pizza straight out of the oven if this were true. This is also a popular baked good that cannot be made without yeast. And in Italy, it wouldn't even occur to anyone that these microorganisms could be harmful.
Just a mild heat
The expert assures that eating warm pizza and yeast cake is perfectly fine. Baker's yeast, most often Saccharomyces cerevisiae, "works" under the influence of temperature and makes the dough rise. However, they die when the surrounding temperature exceeds 50 degrees Celsius. They are most active at temperatures close to a mild summer's heat, about 30 degrees Celsius. That's why milk or water used to prepare the starter is only gently warmed. Grandmas, who are masters in preparing yeast dough, often said that yeast must not be "boiled."
Who is right
Yeast simply stops working at high temperatures. However, even when it is active, causing the dough to rise, it does not produce any harmful chemical compounds that could affect the digestive system. Only specific amounts of carbon dioxide are produced, which makes the dough rise. The body quickly removes this gas. Therefore, in this case, Grandmas were not right.
