Is your student abuzz with talk of STEM concepts at school? There are so many ways to bring STEM to life…in the kitchen! One of our favorite recipes to whip up is homemade bread. And one of our favorite ways to engage kids while baking is this yeast experiment.
What’s the yeast experiment for kids?
A great way to get your young scientist thinking! How do you make bread? Why are there tiny holes in bread? Why do we need yeast in bread? What is yeast? What does yeast do?
This experiment is so easy to do with things we already have in the pantry (it’s especially easy if you have your lab notebooks handy). And what’s better, the simple experiment is always a winner with curious young ones.
Why is yeast a lesson in STEM?
It’s food science!
Yeast is a micro-organism (micro = tiny, organism = living thing) that can be found all around us. There are many different kinds of yeasts. Some naturally-occurring yeast can be found on our skin. Other naturally-occurring yeasts can be found on the skins of fruits and vegetables. Some yeasts are used to make industrial products like ethanol (which is used as fuel to make cars run).
However, many of us are most familiar with the type of yeast we use to make bread. The scientific name of this type of yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Baking yeast can be found in the grocery store under names like: “active yeast,” or “instant yeast,” and can be found in packets or jars. Most of us home cooks are familiar with yeast that takes the form of dehydrated granules (your young scientist may think the granules look like sand).
Yeast is fed with a sweetener, like sugar or honey. When the yeast eats sugar, carbon dioxide gas is produced and little bubbles get trapped in the bread. It’s important that the carbon dioxide gas is produced gradually, and not all at once. The gradual process allows the bread to rise, and makes bread fluffy inside. (The gluten network in bread dough also helps contribute to the rise. Air bubbles get trapped the gluten, leaving a nicely leavened loaf.)
When the loaf of bread is baked, the heat ends up killing the yeast. However, the gas bubbles that were trapped in the loaf can enlarge during baking as the entrapped air can expand, and water converts to steam.
Help your student explore yeast in action with our teaching guide and student experiment downloads.
Where to find downloads to the “What is Yeast” student experiment and teaching guide:
Follow the following links for access to your easy downloads:
WHAT IS YEAST? STUDENT EXPERIMENT: CLICK THE ABOVE BUTTON
WHAT IS YEAST? EXPERIMENT TEACHING GUIDE: CLICK THE ABOVE BUTTON
Are you looking to encourage your student’s interest in science at home?
My young scientist is getting to the age where the questions never cease. You know what I mean? Yea. You know. Honestly, as exhausting as the word “why” can be, I love the questions. It gives me some tiny glimpse of all that is going on in that curious mind.
One of my favorite ways to feed a kiddo’s budding curiosity is by engaging them in the kitchen. Questions abound! Plus…there’s usually a snack at the end of the lesson. 🙂 That’s kid science at it’s best.
Find more kid science and Family & Consumer Sciences downloads at our Teachers Pay Teachers location.
