Libby Burgon

Signature Assignment
Chemistry 1010
Terry Roylance
12/12/16

For as long as I can remember, my mothers kitchen has smelled of bread for every
major holiday, life event, and Sunday morning. My Great-Great-Grandma immigrated to
Northern California during the Gold Rush from Switzerland. Her and her sister were the only two
members of her family to make the voyage, and she soon after married a hotel owner in San
Francisco. The numerous new guests hunting for gold came and went, and my Great-GreatGrandmas sourdough bread recipe was a little-known treasure many came back for. My
Grandma owned a bakery famous for her slice-of-heaven cinnamon rolls, and my mom keeps
the baking tradition alive today with her devotion to and study of the perfect sourdough bread
recipe.
My Great-Great-Grandmas original recipe was never written down, and is now lost,
although my mom will often recall the taste of a still-warm, fresh out of the oven loaf she ate
when she was young. As a child, I can remember baking lessons with her. She would pique my
interest by explaining the delicate process, we have to wait for the yeast to eat its sugar, the
more it eats the more the bread will rise. She emphasized the importance by whispering as we
stood over the covered dough, Shhh! she reminded me. Although I am getting older, I have yet
to embrace my mothers passion for bread-making, although I do always enjoy the benefits of
bread-eating. Today, I will delve into the chemistry of bread in homage to my mother, my family
heritage, and my love for Sunday morning sourdough.
My first question was about the ingredient list. What are the chemical formulas for the
components for a good Sourdough recipe? Listed are the ingredients as well as their chemical
formulas.

21/2 cups warm water

H2O (l)

Hydrogen Dioxide

7 cups flour

C6H12O6 (s)

Glucose

2 tsp. salt

NaCl (s)

Sodium Chloride

2 tsp. sugar

C12H22O11 (s)

Sucrose

12 tsp. cornstarch

C27H48O20 (s)

alpha-Maltose

1 cup sourdough starter

2.08% salt, 4.17% yeast*, 18.75%

sugar, 37.5% water, 37.5% flour (aq)

Yeast chemical formula not found, see table for other constituents.

(Sucrose) (Glucose) (Cornstarch)

My second question was What is yeast? Yeast are living, unicellular fungi, which are
very small (about 5) and reproduce asexually, called budding. Yeast can only live in certain
temperatures (Haegens, Nol), which is why old miners of San Francisco slept holding their
yeast to keep it warm at night (Palca, Joe). This is also why baking bread kills the yeast, and
keeping it at room temperature helps it thrive. Yeast metabolizes sugars, excreting ethanol gas
and carbon dioxide gas. Yeast is a crucial component for making bread fluffy instead of hard
and solid, like a brick. This is caused by the gases created which eventually evaporate during
the baking process and leave a spongy consistency. Interestingly, the yeast used for sourdough
bread is called Candida milleri, which pairs with a bacteria called Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis.
This bacteria, named after its birthplace in San Francisco (Gadsby, Patricia, and Eric Weeks), is
unique to sourdough bread, and has a unique symbiotic relationship with Candida milleri. For
instance, Candida milleri is especially tolerant to the high levels of acidity that Lactobacillus
sanfranciscensis creates (3.8-4.0 pH) that would otherwise be unsustainable for other types of
yeast, which prefer an acidity around 4.0-6.0 pH. Also, Candida milleri does not digest maltose,
unusual for yeast, and Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis specifically needs maltose to thrive
(American Society of Microbiology).
One thing that makes sourdough bread unique is that every batch is made from a
former dough, or a starter. Instead of adding yeast to normal bread, sourdough uses wild

yeast that naturally occurs by mixing flour, sugar and water with the lactobacilli bacteria present
in the environment (Palca, Joe). When the flour mixes with water at room temperature, an
enzyme called amylase occurs, breaking down starches into sugars. This process happens
while the starter is left at room temperature overnight, waiting to add salt (sodium chloride) for
later, so as not to disrupt the fermentation process (Haegens, Nol). The wild yeast cannot react
with glucose, as it is too complex, but after it is broken down the yeast can eat the simple
sugars, sucrose and maltose, creating ethanol and carbon dioxide byproducts (Palca, Joe). This
is the fermentation process that is crucial for the bread to rise and give its chewy texture.
Here, we see the chemical equation for fermentation.

C6H12O6 -> 2C2H5OH + 2CO2

yeast (not pictured) breaking glucose into 1 mole ethanol and 2 moles carbon dioxide.

Specifically what gives sourdough bread its tart flavor are the lactobacilli bacteria which
raise the acidity more so than other breads (Gadbsy, Patricia and Eric Weeks). The acidity
increases to 3.8 on the pH scale, which may be why when you taste sourdough it seems similar
to a tart yogurt, which also contains a high concentration of lactobacilli (10 million per gram)
(Haegens, Nol). Depending on the type of flour you have used, the ratio of flour to water, and
the fermentation time, sourdough bread flavors can range from mildly tangy (French levian is an
example of this kind) to mouth-puckeringly tart (German Sauerteig tastes like this).
An autolyse stage in bread making was first introduced by Professor Raymond Calvel.
He noticed that when flour was given a chance to absorb water before adding starter and salt, it
resulted in a superior bread, which was bubblier and higher-rising. When water and flour are
first mixed together, an enzyme called Protease is activated (other enzymes are also activated
as well). Protease is a protein. Protease goes after and breaks down other proteins in the
dough, notably proteins called Glutenin and Gliadin which help to make up the gluten network in

dough. When Protease does its work on these other proteins, it is actually breaking them apart
or breaking them down, digesting them.
The Protease enzyme, breaks apart and realigns protein strands, helping to promote the
formation of newly aligned gluten bonding. At the same time it also weakens the bonds so that
the dough is not too tough/rubbery. Dough needs a certain amount of extensibility which means
it can stretch out. You dont want dough so tough that you cannot handle it or stretch it. It needs
to stretch as well as have a certain amount of bounce back to it (elasticity).
Kneading the dough is another process whose aim is to align protein strands, which
traps the carbon dioxide inside, creating little bubbles that aerate the dough. There is a danger
that excess carbon dioxide will accumulate, interfering with the activity of the yeast. In this case,
instead of kneading, just turning and slapping the dough disperses some of the gas so the
natural yeast can do its job (Chattaman). Kneading also creates a more uniform shape and
evenly distributes the carbon dioxide. The fats also help retain the bubbles, adding a waxy layer
between the carbon dioxide and bread dough (Palca, Joe). Baking the bread for 30 minutes at
400 degrees Fahrenheit (endothermic energy transfer) kills the yeast and bacteria, as their ideal
temperature for growth is 77-80 degrees Fahrenheit (Haegens, Nol), leaving the perfect loaf.
Reflecting on this process, I find it fascinating that such small, seemingly incidental
movements between molecules are the makeup of everything we use, do and see. I understand
especially now why my mom always cared about one-degree differences while baking, or how
one teaspoon or two could ruin a day, sometimes two days, worth of work. Taking chemistry for
the first time this semester has enlarged the scope of how things relate to each other, as I have
never conceptualized anything on a molecular or subatomic level. Not only does it add more
structure to my whole perspective, it also adds a little peace of mind. I think it is one of the most
reassuring things coming from a place that is seemingly random, without meaning or
nonsensical that everything in the world will continue to function the same under the same
circumstances with or without you knowing about it; they already have been. There are physical

laws on a large scale, like gravity, for instance, that I found no special wonder or meaning in.
Maybe this was due to not fully understanding the implications. But, to continue onto a smaller
scale on each level, down to the nucleus and its electrons, and to realize just how connected
the matter in the universe is, feels reassuring and beautiful, like being at home. I especially
enjoyed learning about chemistry this semester because it was a continual reminder that there
is order and reasoning to everything, even the most simple interactions like making morning
coffee. I am also excited to continue chemistry, to fortify and deepen my understanding, to
journey smaller and further into what makes up the world. There is something reassuring about
knowing the Law of Conservation of Matter while doing day-to-day activities, making major life
decisions or even thinking of my Great-Great-Grandma. Its romanticizing in a way to know that
her life, her daily bread, hasnt gone anywhere, that its still around, and that maybe by chance
Ive already found her on a Sunday morning. In the carbon molecules, the recipe, the air.
Sources
Chattman, Lauren. Bread Making - Crafting the Perfect Loaf from Crust to Crumb. Storey
Publishing, 2011.
"Cornstarch | C27H48O20 - PubChem." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National
Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
Gadsby, Patricia, and Eric Weeks. "The Biology of..." Discover Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing Co,
1 Sept. 2003. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
Gnzle, Michael G., and And Michaela Ehmann. "Michael G. Gnzle." Modeling of Growth of
Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis and Candida Milleri in Response to Process Parameters of
Sourdough Fermentation. American Society of Microbiology, 01 July 1998. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
"Glucose | C6H12O6 - PubChem." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National
Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
Haegens, Nol. "Bakery Technology - Yeast and Sourdough." Bakery Technology - Yeast and
Sourdough. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Palca, Joe. "Into The Wild Science Of Sourdough Bread-Making." NPR. NPR, 21 Mar. 2012. Web.
12 Dec. 2016.
"Sucrose." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.