# Does all bread not contain yeast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723 "2018-01-02T00:23:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheUser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/45deac/32.png) [@TheUser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheUser)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/1 "2018-01-02T00:23:51Z")
I’m not very clear on brewer’s yeast vs. baker’s yeast but I was under the impression that all bread contained yeast. Recently I bought a Sourdough rustic loaf from Whole Foods and was surprised that yeast wasn’t mentioned anywhere: Ingredients: Sourdough Bread: - White Flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid) - Water - Wheat Bran - Salt - Cornmeal No yeast. On the other hand, something like English Muffins have yeast mentioned as an ingredient. So yeast isn’t always used in bread? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/2 "2018-01-02T00:29:39Z")
Sourdough bread uses “wild” yeast: > **[Sourdough](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough)** > > Sourdough or sourdough bread is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities. > In the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, Michael Gaenzle writes: "One of the oldest sourdough breads dates from 3700 BCE and was excavated in Switzerland, but the origin of sourdough fermentation likely relates to the origin of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent and Egypt several thousand years earlie... I’m sure the big producers have a ready source of the yeast, but you can make it yourself with yeast spores from the air. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/3 "2018-01-02T00:32:24Z")
Sourdough is raised via a sour, wet ‘starter’, which is kept continually going; portions are removed to add to the dough. Although its power derives from the yeasts in it (these are ‘wild’, not a commercial dried product), in baking language it is not a yeasted bread exactly. If you have a problem with yeasts, yes, sourdough has yeast. Jewish and Catholic rites which require unleavened bread don’t accept sourdough. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/4 "2018-01-02T00:49:27Z")
In addition to the above, there are chemically leavened breads like soda bread. Sourdough technically does have yeast—it’s just a wild yeast, mostly coming from the yeasts in/on the flour more so than what’s in the air, if you’re completely starting from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/5 "2018-01-02T02:10:09Z")
And mechanically risen bread, using compressed gas. Apparently at one time it was enormously big in the UK. No idea why, or what happened to the company that made it. My father was familiar with the concept, so the idea wasn’t entirely restricted to the UK. From both my father and from other people, edible, but not exactly bread. (Around here, sourdough always lists sourdough as an ingredient) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/6 "2018-01-02T02:16:32Z")
I seem to recall hearing about some obscure religious holiday were bread without yeast is consumed. I’m drawing a blank on what it is, though. (Where is that rabbi smiley when you need it!) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/7 "2018-01-02T02:26:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I seem to recall hearing about some obscure religious holiday were bread without yeast is consumed. I’m drawing a blank on what it is, though. (Where is that rabbi smiley when you need it!) I took a Comparative Religions course once but I think the instructor just passed over that one. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/8 "2018-01-02T02:32:26Z")
Wow, that’s weird. Usually when people ask about things like that, they do so just after sundown on a Friday. And in addition to bread leavened in other ways, there’s also bread that’s not leavened at all. This is the sort that’s required for Passover. Without any leavening, a thick piece of bread would be so hard and dense that it’d be inedible, so unleavened bread has to be very thin. Examples include matzo, the communion wafers used by many Christian demoninations (since the Eucharist derives from a Passover meal), and tortillas. Some kinds of pasta could arguably be called “unleavened bread”, too. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/9 "2018-01-02T03:52:14Z")
Shortbreads? Banana and zucchini are two the missus makes. She says she does not use yeast. They may fall into the cake area since pancake mix is her shortcut if time pressed. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/10 "2018-01-02T04:09:00Z")
A proper shortbread is an unleavened biscuit. No yeast. No baking powder or baking soda + acid. If she uses pancake mix, then there is a leavening agent in it–the baking powder. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/11 "2018-01-02T04:27:37Z")
Showing my Appalachian roots, there is [salt-rising](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt-rising_bread) bread which depends on bacteria (Clostridium perfringens) rather than yeast. I wish I could find some as good as my small town baker made. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/12 "2018-01-02T04:34:49Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Shortbreads? Banana and zucchini are two the missus makes. She says she does not use yeast. They may fall into the cake area since pancake mix is her shortcut if time pressed. These are quick breads, which contain baking soda as leavening agent. This includes banana bread, cornbread, and soda bread. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/13 "2018-01-02T04:40:34Z")
Oh, and since a few folks have mentioned baking soda and/or baking powder: Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a base. When it reacts with an acid, it forms (among other things) carbon dioxide. Sometimes a recipe will contain both baking soda and some sort of acid (such as buttermilk, lemon juice, or cream of tatar), and sometimes it’ll contain baking powder. Baking powder is baking soda that’s already mixed with one or more acids, in some sort of inert form so it doesn’t react until it’s supposed to. The two most common sorts are an acid that’ll react when it gets wet and an acid that’ll react when it gets hot; “dual-acting” baking powders use both. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/14 "2018-01-02T05:41:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wow, that’s weird. Usually when people ask about things like that, they do so just after sundown on a Friday. > > And in addition to bread leavened in other ways, there’s also bread that’s not leavened at all… Examples include matzo, the communion wafers used by many Christian demoninations (since the Eucharist derives from a Passover meal), and tortillas. And with so many Christians having Communion all over, the perfect timing would have been just after sundown of Holy Friday\*, but alas! Orthodox (Julian calendar) or Western (Gregorian)? Nice typo there, btw (my underline). Very 30 years’ war. - Depending on denomination, Communion can still be had on Holy Friday and Saturday but it has been pre-consecrated. Some denominations only give Communion on those days as part of the Rites of the Sick. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/15 "2018-01-02T13:31:29Z")
Oh, wow, I didn’t even notice that typo, but if I had, I might have kept it anyway. And while (some) Christians can’t take communion on Good Friday or Holy Saturday, we’re still allowed to talk about it, at least. But Jews (at least from the more conservative sects) aren’t allowed to use electronics (among many other restrictions) from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, and hence are unable to answer questions on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/16 "2018-01-02T13:51:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wow, that’s weird. Usually when people ask about things like that, they do so just after sundown on a Friday. > > And in addition to bread leavened in other ways, there’s also bread that’s not leavened at all. This is the sort that’s required for Passover. **Without any leavening, a thick piece of bread would be so hard and dense that it’d be inedible, so unleavened bread has to be very thin.** Examples include matzo, the communion wafers used by many Christian demoninations (since the Eucharist derives from a Passover meal), and tortillas. Some kinds of pasta could arguably be called “unleavened bread”, too. Not inedible, but certainly challenging to eat - [Hardtack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack) was used as rations for soldiers & sailors for centuries. In part because it lasts for centuries. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/17 "2018-01-02T13:58:19Z")
Just because this is the SDMB and we do love a nitpick, there are things called ‘bread’ that don’t contain anything like yeast, or even flour - for example Laverbread - which is a gelatinous paste made from seaweed. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/18 "2018-01-02T15:07:48Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Just because this is the SDMB and we do love a nitpick, there are things called ‘bread’ that don’t contain anything like yeast, or even flour - for example Laverbread - which is a gelatinous paste made from seaweed. Heck, or sweetbread, neither sweet nor bread! (But since we’re nitpicking, it’s clear the OP is not talking about stuff like this.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/19 "2018-01-02T15:25:33Z")
Hardtack is usually pretty thin, too-- Usually thinner than a slice of normal bread, and certainly thinner than a normal loaf. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723/20 "2018-01-02T16:04:36Z")
Back in the late 80s we stayed in an apartment in rural Turkey. Our milk was delivered each day, fresh from the cow, in a repurposed pop bottle and had to be pasteurised by us. The girl who delivered it (she would have been about nine or ten years old and very shy) asked us, with her very limited English, if we would like some bread, and when we said “Yes please” produced a paper-wrapped package containing several sheets of thin unleavened bread. The children were a bit wary at first - the texture was similar to a hand-towel - but they came to like it, especially spread with honey, also supplied by our milk person. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-bread-not-contain-yeast/805723.md?page=2)