home » Decorative » Mold on mash: cooking errors. All about yeast How to protect yourself from mold

Mold on mash: cooking errors. All about yeast How to protect yourself from mold

All about Yeast

Let's talk about yeast?

The word itself comes from the ancient Greek language, denoting the concept of “restlessness, confusion.” In our Russian language, “yeast” comes from the words “trembling”, “trembling”. In English, "yeast" - yeast - comes from the Old English "gist", "gyst" - "foam, boil, release gas"

Instant yeast (for us it’s Saf-Moment, it says “fast-acting” on the packet) does not
Let's talk about yeast?

Yeast is one of the most ancient household pets. Traces of brewing and baking have been found in Egypt and dated back to 6000 BC!

And only in the 19th century Pasteur proved that fermentation is a biological, “living” process that is caused precisely by these living organisms.

In nature there are so-called “wild” yeasts. You know them very well. in any case, we have seen - a whitish coating on grapes in dry weather - this is yeast. Barley and rye, used in the production of beer and kvass, also contain “wild” yeast, the activity of which increases when this grain is germinated.

Yeast is used in the food industry for making baked goods, brewing beer, etc., in the vitamin industry - vitamins B and D are obtained from it, in medicine - a number of drugs and enzymes are obtained from yeast colonies, in microbiology - nutrient media, etc.

In home cooking, we use yeast when baking baked goods and making drinks - kvass, beer, mash, etc.

What should you remember first?

The fact that yeast is living beings! If you pour boiling water on them or freeze and thaw them repeatedly, they will die. If you put live yeast in an airless environment, it will also die! They live and breathe!

Now we mainly use two types of yeast in our home kitchen - fresh and dry.

Fresh yeast is the most active yeast substance. Such yeast is sold in the form of pressed bars of light brown color, with a characteristic, not pungent, yeasty odor. The surface is dry, not sticky. Darkened areas are already non-living yeast and do not need to be used.

How to use this yeast.

For 1 kg of flour you need to take from 35 to 50 grams of pressed fresh yeast (unless the recipe specifies a different amount, but there is a danger that the finished product will smell like yeast, that is, in some recipes this is taken into account and the technology of fermentation and baking of the product is changed).

If you doubt the quality of fresh yeast, you can try to “revive” it. Grind the yeast in 1-2 tbsp. warm water, add 1 tsp. sugar and place in a warm place. If bubbles appear, then such yeast can be used in the dough, just increase their quantity by one and a half times; if the recipe calls for 50g, you will have to take 70-75g of reconstituted yeast.

The required amount of yeast must be dissolved in a liquid according to the recipe - water, milk, etc. If the dough contains a small amount of baking, “not heavy”, then the dough can be immediately kneaded and set to rise.

If your dough is “heavy”, that is, contains a large amount of sugar and butter, then the yeast should be allowed to rise several times. That is, first put the dough, most often containing the liquid part of the dough, the entire amount of yeast and a little sugar.

After the dough has doubled in size, that is, the yeast has “played”, releasing the required amount of carbon dioxide, the rest of the dough contents are added, after which the yeast must actively work a second time, releasing an even larger amount of gas that loosens the dough.

And the third time the dough should come out already formed.

If you leave the dough to rise again and again, then, in simple terms, it will “peroxidize”, that is, there will be no nutrients left in it to feed the yeast, and the yeast will stop working correctly, reducing the whole process to oxidation. Such pies and rolls will not rise in the oven, they will “crack”, as people say.

If, on the contrary, you do not let the dough rest for enough time and immediately start baking, then the finished product will have an unpleasant smell of yeast. This often happens when baking bread, because according to the recipe, ordinary bread dough takes a long time to prepare, reduce the time - the bread will smell!

The question arises - if these are living beings, how can fresh yeast be stored so that it does not spoil?

Fresh yeast contains a large amount of moisture, so it easily spoils and becomes moldy. You can’t pack them hermetically - they must receive oxygen and “breathe”.

There are two options - either grind a packet of yeast with the same amount of flour with your hands, and then dry the resulting lumps at room temperature (I did this in the 80s, when dry yeast was not yet so common, and fresh ones were sold only in kilogram bars ).

Or immediately divide the entire briquette into 50g pieces and freeze. The yeast will not die, it will seem to go into suspended animation, so that later it can come to life in warm milk and start working. You can’t just freeze it several times, that is, defrost it, break off the desired piece and freeze it again - they’ll die, poor things (((

Now ready-made dry yeast, dried industrially, has appeared on sale.

This yeast is also alive, it's just...sleeping!

Their strength is approximately half that of fresh, undried yeast. Therefore, approximately twice as much is needed to obtain high-quality baked goods. This is taken into account in the recommendations on the packet of dry yeast.

For some products, especially those with a large amount of baked goods, for example, Easter cakes, dry yeast will not be suitable - it simply will not be able to lift such a heavy dough three times, it will “fizzle out.” If you decide to bake Easter cake with dry yeast, then reduce the amount of baking and knead a small portion of the dough.

Of course they are very comfortable! You can always have a supply of flexible yeast on hand to quickly bake anything!

Dry yeast can be either active or instant. They differ in the method and speed of drying, and the technology of dough preparation.

It’s just that active dry yeast needs to be “awakened”, that is, transferred from dormant to active mode. To do this, they must be placed in a warm liquid medium to which a little sugar has been added. Bubbles have appeared, or even a “cap” has grown over the glass with yeast - they have woken up, stretched and are getting ready to work))))
Instant yeast (ours is Saf-Moment, it says “fast-acting” on the packet) does not need to be activated. They are like pioneers - always ready! Mix them with flour, add everything that the recipe calls for, the dough rises quickly, and baking is done much faster than with conventional yeast.

But!!! If you opened a packet of dry yeast a couple of days ago, then I recommend checking the activity of the yeast first. That is, dissolve them in sweetened warm water and wait until bubbles appear. After all, moisture and microorganisms easily get into an open pack that just sits in a kitchen cabinet, which renders the yeast unusable and unnoticeable to the naked eye.

If you bought a large package of dry yeast, after you have collected the required amount of granules, close the package tightly and place it in the freezer - this way they will be better preserved. And picking up the next portion is a matter of a few seconds; before the yeast has time to defrost and die, it will remain in suspended animation until better times.

Well, that's all the brief thing I wanted to tell you...

Mold fungi convert sugar, alcohol and other organic substances into water and carbon dioxide, thereby reducing the yield of moonshine and deteriorating its quality. If action is not taken in time, mold on the mash can destroy the entire batch of drink, so you need to act quickly.

Signs and symptoms of infection: First, the mash is covered with a thin white or colorless film, on which barely noticeable grains appear. Over time, these grains grow into circles, and the ball of mold penetrates deeper into the wort. The film becomes dark, rough and wrinkled. The mash smells like rotten water. At the final stage, the mold sinks to the bottom of the container.

Initial stage. The mold has affected only half the surface, but is already clearly visible

A ball of mold covered the entire surface

The mold has grown greatly

Reasons for appearance

For mold to develop on mash you need:

fungal spores getting into the wort;
oxygen access;
temperature +22-28 °C;
humidity above 85%;
low acidity;
the alcohol concentration in the wort is below 12% vol.

In most cases, mold gets into the wort along with poorly sorted raw materials: spoiled, rotten or moldy, so the problem is more typical for fruit mash. However, grains (especially during “cold” saccharification of raw materials with enzymes) and sugar mashes are susceptible to infection.

With traditional “hot” saccharification, fungal spores are destroyed by cooking at high temperatures. If the starch in the grain is broken down into sugars in a “cold” way (by enzymes), an antibiotic is added to the mash to protect against pathogenic microorganisms.

Mold on sugar mash appears due to fungal infection of the sugar itself.

Mold spores can also be found in poorly washed containers and tools, or on dirty hands.

How to save mash from mold

It is advisable to remove mold only at an early stage of infection, before its ball becomes thick and wrinkled.

If the mash becomes moldy at the end of fermentation and the amount of sugar is minimal, you can only follow the first step of the instructions and immediately distill.

Instructions

Make a hole in the mold film, through which lower the tube to approximately the center of the liquid layer. Pour the mash into another container without sediment and the top layer of mold.
Bring the grain or sugar mash to a boil, remove from heat, cover with a lid and cool to +25-28 °C. To preserve the aroma, fruit and berry mashes are not boiled, but heated to 70-75 °C and boiled for 2-3 minutes.
After cooling, add a new batch of yeast to the mash, install a water seal and leave to ferment.

Attention! Drinking moldy mash is dangerous to your health.

Prevention of mold on mash

Always sterilize equipment and containers with special solutions (10 ml of iodine per 25 liters of water) or at least boiling water. Work with mash only with clean, well-washed hands.
Carefully sort through the raw materials, discarding spoiled berries and fruits.
, introduced into the mash.
Protect the wort from oxygen by installing a water seal.
Maintain normal acidity of the mash (4.0-4.5 pH) with citric acid.
Control the fermentation temperature in the range of +22-28 °C.

By testing different brands of instant yeast, experts found out how long it takes each sample to rise the dough

Traditions do not allow us to do without baking during the holidays. And during Easter week, many housewives bake Easter cakes, pies, and various baked goods. Good baking cannot be made without high-quality yeast - they will loosen the dough and “raise” it, making the finished product porous and tasty. The quality of yeast and the ability to handle it are the key to successful baking. Manufacturers try to keep the quality high, and for ease of handling they produce new types of yeast.

Employees of the Research Center for Independent Consumer Expertise "Test" examined six types of instant yeast.

I bought a package of dry yeast a month ago,” says Kiev resident Inna Safonova. - From the very beginning, the bread did not rise well.

And a month later the nightmare began! I baked a loaf of bread, and on the third day it became moldy. I've been baking for a year and this has never happened before! So it's not a matter of flour.

There are few brands of dry yeast on the market, but there are quite enough to conduct comparative testing,” says Valentin Bezrukiy, president of the Test Research Center for Independent Consumer Expertise. - We assessed the labeling and packaging of six product brands, tested the yeast in the laboratory, and also made test baked goods. In the past, yeast was a stick wrapped in paper weighing up to one kilogram.

However, in this form they contained a lot of moisture and could not be stored for a long time. Hermetically sealed packaging wouldn't help either: without air, the yeast simply dies. To extend the shelf life, the yeast began to dry, transferring the fungi from an actively living state to a passive dormant state. This significantly extended the shelf life - from 12 days to one or two years, which is convenient for both consumers and trade organizations.

The faster the drying process, the higher the quality of dried yeast. Dried yeast takes the form of granules, noodles, grains, powder, or a mixture of these forms and is light yellow or light brown in color. The smell and taste must correspond to dried yeast; it is not allowed to smell rotten or moldy.

Dry yeast is divided into two types: active and instant (fast-acting). They differ in drying modes and - which is important for the consumer! - method of application. To bring active yeast into combat readiness, it must be dissolved in water. Instant ones are immediately mixed with flour. It is important to remember: yeast is living organisms! Therefore, you cannot pour boiling water over them (above 45-50 degrees) or freeze them repeatedly - they will die.

Yeast is “workable” for no more than five months. But manufacturers indicate a shelf life of 12-24 months. The packaging of the packet of Haas yeast indicates the date of manufacture and packaging: “11. 01. 2009”, and the sample was purchased in March 2008! If this is the expiration date, then you need to write “use before the date indicated on the package.” After all, as soon as January 11, 2009 passes, consumers may think that the numbers on the bag of yeast indicate the production date!

Yeast is added to flour to lift the dough by leaving it loose. Their “lifting force” is determined by the time it takes the dough to rise to a level of 70 millimeters. According to GOST, premium yeast should cope with this task in no more than 70 minutes. It took Lvivski Drizhdzhi, SAF-Moment and Haas to rise the dough in 20 minutes; it took 23 minutes for Dr. Oetker”, “Eco” - 28 minutes, and the “ZIKO-INSTANT” yeast had to “work” for 65 minutes. The volumetric yield of bread is the most visual way to compare the quality of yeast: the dough is kneaded using the same flour, salt and water, but each time with different yeast, and is aged and baked under the same conditions. The lowest yield of bread by volume was shown by yeast of the ZIKO-INSTANT brand, the highest by SAF-Moment.

Yeast is grown on special nutrient media, which other microorganisms are not averse to “feasting on” - especially the so-called “wild” yeast. These microorganisms slow down fermentation - the dough will turn out vague, and unpleasant foreign odors and tastes will appear in the bread.

By the way, popular brands of yeast are often counterfeited, so manufacturers are introducing additional protection measures for their products and warning consumers to be vigilant. Homemade bags can contain anything from colored sugar to an unhealthy product. It is especially dangerous to use yeast that has mold on it, so experts advise housewives: smell the yeast before mixing it with flour.

Mold produces a special substance - aflatoxin, explains nutritionist, doctor of medical sciences Galina Anokhina. - This carcinogen provokes the development of cancer. Even if you remove a layer of mold from a product, you should not eat moldy food. After all, an invisible mycelium remains inside the product - the “roots” of mold. This chemical is not destroyed by heat treatment, so it is useless to digest, say, moldy jam - toxins will still remain in it. It is better to throw away moldy food immediately - you cannot cook or bake with it!

My bread very rarely gets moldy; if there is a small piece left, it is more likely to simply dry out than to become moldy. Although my father’s white “brick”, which is regularly bought because my father does not recognize any other bread, and is stored in the same bread bin as mine, from time to time becomes covered with thick blue-green moldy thickets. It should be noted that the bread bin in my parents’ kitchen is a large wooden one, and losing a piece or two of yesterday’s bread, carefully wrapped in plastic, in its vastness is nothing to do. At any time of the day or night you can look into the bread bin and you will definitely find such a piece. But, in fact, no one is looking for it, so it lies there and grows moldy. Despite this, my sourdough bread practically does not spoil. Although no, I’m lying, there was one time when homemade rye bread, Borodinsky, went moldy quite quickly, literally on the third day, and for a long time I wondered why? And recently, I once again threw out a piece of moldy bread and decided to dig into the topic of spoilage of ready-made bread in order to figure it out. Moreover, for some, even sourdough bread becomes moldy on the third or fourth day, even rye bread.

The photo is not mine, I stole it from the Internet, this has never happened to me in my life! But as an illustration, it’s very revealing :)

How mold gets on bread

Until recently, I thought that the most common cause of mold on bread was contaminated flour/grain or sourdough, but it turns out that bread most often becomes moldy after it comes out of the oven. Mold gets onto bread through people and objects that the bread has come into contact with, or even through the air. Imagine, in one cubic meter of air, especially in rooms where they regularly work with flour and dough, in industrial premises, up to 50-100 thousand mold spores live (representatives of Aspergillus, Mukor, Penicillium, Rizopus, Geotrichum, Oospora, Monilia) , which, when placed on hot bread, find themselves in almost ideal conditions. Most molds are very tenacious and survive even when heated above 120 degrees, which means that they do not die when baking bread. Heat and moisture only contribute to the proliferation of fungus, and therefore the development of mold. Therefore, after baking, bread should not be placed too tightly together (plus a hardening may form and the crust will become damp), it should not be packed while still warm in plastic bags, and in general it is better to avoid PET packaging altogether, and cool it on a wire rack in a well-ventilated area. Mold is found in flour dust, which is abundant in any bakery, and if it does not develop under normal humidity and sanitary standards, then as soon as it becomes warm and humid enough, mold begins to germinate. Before the visual appearance of mold, you can already feel a characteristic musty smell, which unmistakably indicates that mycelium will soon appear.

mycelium rampant on the crust of bread

Mold is insidious and can be very difficult to get rid of because it can survive in almost any environment for up to 15 years! It is unpretentious in nutrition, can grow anywhere, and the most ideal conditions for it are very close to human ones: temperature 25-35 degrees Celsius, humidity 70-80% and acidity 4.5-5.5. Therefore, by packing bread that has not yet cooled down in plastic, we practically give the go-ahead for mold to grow and multiply with our own hands. Bakeries can be guilty of this, so do not buy bread in a closed package, it may have been packaged and sealed in a bag while still warm, which means that on the second day you will smell mold, and on the third you will see it. Mold most readily grows on the surface, forming small fluffy islands, however, this does not guarantee that there is no mold inside: you can cut off a slightly moldy crust of bread, but not get rid of the mold inside, because it often grows inside the bread. Mold not only grows, but actually eats your bread, because it has a powerful enzyme system that can break down proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other nutrients, releasing its waste products, which are sometimes toxic and very harmful to health.

Why does yeast bread go moldy so quickly?

daddy's "brick"

This is not surprising: yeast bread has low acidity and in itself is an ideal food for mold, especially if not stored correctly. The technologies themselves, which are now used in most bakery enterprises, contribute to the appearance of mold on yeast bread. Most often, sponge dough is not used there, and in long-term fermentation dough, if you remember, acids accumulate, which then not only participate in the formation of the taste, aroma and structure of the crumb, but also protect the bread from spoilage. Moreover, the dough is kneaded with a huge amount of yeast and is not even fermented, immediately after kneading it goes through the cutting and shaping stages. Many modern bakeries are guilty of such “technologies”, especially in supermarkets, where quantity is more important than quality. Accordingly, at the bakery's output they have bread and rolls of very dubious quality, low acidity, which dry out very quickly and by the evening of the second day they begin to smell moldy.

Why sourdough bread gets moldy

At the same time, sourdough bread also becomes moldy and sometimes the reasons are not so easy to guess. I will not talk now about bread spoilage caused by pathogenic flora of sourdough or potato disease; more on that next time, but I will consider the most common, “ordinary” causes, when the source of infection is from the outside, and not inside.

The first of these reasons is improper packaging and improper storage for a long time, improper cooling of the bread, and tight packing immediately after baking.
The second is the source of infection directly in the bread bin or on other surfaces with which the bread comes into contact: see if you have a piece of moldy bread lying around, are there any old moldy crumbs at the bottom of the bread bin?
The third is unbaked bread. The moisture inside the bread, which did not have time to evaporate during baking, causes the development of rapid activity of mold fungi. This applies to both wheat and rye sourdough bread - both types become perfectly moldy already on the fourth day.
The fourth is very large loaves. Large loaves take a long time to sit around and take a long time to eat, which increases the risk of mold growing on the crust. In addition, larger loaves are more difficult to bake and may remain soggy, greatly increasing the likelihood of mold.

How to protect yourself from mold?

I took it out of the bread bin: a stub of my rye, a label from the packaging of a sliced loaf and crumbs

Cool the bread on wire racks after baking, do not place the bread too close to each other, ventilate the room during this time, and generally ventilate it more often.
Do not pack warm bread in gas-tight packaging. Simply put, forget about plastic bags, buy or sew them, where you can also pack warm bread. These bags, of course, need to be washed periodically, but they are environmentally friendly, clean and mold-free. It may seem that bread in fabric packaging loses moisture faster, that is, it becomes stale, but in reality, if you store it in a bread bin and not on the table, you will not notice the difference.
Bake the bread well. Pay attention to how quickly or how long your bread bakes. For me it’s usually like this: 15 minutes with steam, and 20 minutes without - that’s it, the bread is baked, relative to the blush, the bottom always burns more than I want, but I’ve resigned myself. Despite the fact that I don’t bake large loaves, it’s usually bread weighing 500-600 grams, that is, standard loaves. After taking the bread out of the oven, tap the bottom; it should sound empty, ringing, almost like a watermelon. Bread made from white flour should generally be almost weightless, but if you feel heaviness or if you tap it, it makes a sound, it’s most likely that the bread is not baked well.
Regularly clean the bread bin, clean it of old crumbs, you can even wipe it with vinegar, mold is afraid of acid.

In production, the fight against mold is much more radical, and not everyone decides to follow the path of improving quality and complicating the technology and include sourdough in the recipe, as a proven and effective remedy for mold. Still, the flow of products is more important for production, so preservatives are added to bread, it and the packaging are treated with alcohol vapor, acids, preservatives like sorbic acid (derived from rowan), and sterilized with high-frequency currents or ionizing radiation. Moreover, this may not be written on the packaging.

Where is the best place to store?

My parents now have a large wooden bread bin, convenient because it was nailed to the wall by my dad, and it turns out that it doesn’t take up any useful space in the kitchen and seems to hang in the air on the wall. But this is probably her only advantage. The cat also likes to lie there. But in reality it’s not convenient: it’s big and there’s always something in it lying in the corner and getting spoiled, but you can’t get around to cleaning it, it’s nailed high and, again, it’s big - until you clean it...

It is best to pack bread in clean natural fabric, ideally linen, and store it in a ceramic bread box or enamel pan. A saucepan is the simplest option, of course, but I prefer the idea of a beautiful ceramic bread box. He uses this one Masha Pinkas, which many know from bread-making master classes, she has a bread box Roemertopf and this is what she says about her:

“Friends, those who have problems storing bread, I want to share my joy. This bread box has been living in my kitchen for two years now and I forgot that bread can spoil, become moldy or go stale. The container itself is made of ceramic and covered with glaze, there are holes in it, and the lid is also made of ceramic, but covered with glaze only on the outside, and inside there is pure clay, because of this, a suitable microclimate is created in it and the bread is stored for a long time, does not mold and remains fresh "

Here is a beautiful breadbox machine:

And next time we'll talk about the terrible organisms that can live in spontaneously fermented sourdough. Yes, yes, we all know that there can be not only our best friends lactobacteria and good natural yeast, but also various harmful bacteria that can disrupt the normal life of the sourdough, and cause spoilage of bread, and even make it hazardous to health !

Mold means the appearance of white deposits or flakes on the surface of the mash. It can easily be distinguished with the naked eye from the usual release of foam during fermentation. In some cases, the mash can be saved, but there is still a certain risk of product damage. If you are ready to take risks for the product and your health, then get ready for the “battle” for the future moonshine.

It should be understood that investments in mash are much cheaper than your health, so we definitely do not recommend using the instructions described below. If we are talking about 20–30 liters of wort, then there should be no talk of any serious losses. It is much easier to deliver a new product by analyzing past mistakes.

Mold can look different, the above is a grid version

Failure to comply with basic hygiene requirements and mash production technology in most cases leads to the appearance of mold or souring. Try to take into account all the requirements described below during your next “call”.

Glass jar with tap and water seal (from 3 to 20 liters). Thanks to transparency, you can quickly respond to infection

Lack of water seal and tightness. During contact with the environment, the mash is saturated not only with air, but also with foreign bodies, dust and small insects contained in it. This leads to the rapid appearance and further proliferation of mold fungi.
Rotten raw materials. Most often, it is fruit mash that grows moldy, which is made from second-grade fruits. Probably, one apple or a couple of plums with the beginnings of rotting were missed, as a result of which it continued directly in the wort and led to sad consequences.
Dirty fermentation tank. Food-grade plastic is much more difficult to wash, so some particles of past liquids may remain on it, which can direct the fermentation process in the wrong direction.
High indoor humidity. Fungi form most often where it is damp, so high humidity can provoke the activity of these unpleasant organisms. This is especially true for deep cellars and garages.

If you use clean raw materials, sealed equipment and a normal water seal, then in 99% of cases mold can be avoided.

Fermentation in itself is a rather dirty reaction, why provoke it with additional factors for the growth of fungal colonies?

How can you save your mash from mold?

There are two tactics that will help you save your mash from the influence of these harmful fungi. They can only be used at the initial stage of molding, when the fungi did not penetrate into the thickness of the foam and did not come into contact with the liquid. If this happens, then it is better to refuse resuscitation and go to the store for new raw materials.

The thermometer will be an indispensable device for complying with all technology

Pouring mash into another container through a straw. It is important to carefully lower the tube to the bottom without pressing the mold into the water column. After this, slowly pour all the liquid until the level reaches foam and mold. After this, continue fermentation and watch carefully for re-spoilage.
Pasteurization. Heat the wort to 70 degrees and cook for 2-3 minutes. Cool to room temperature, re-add yeast and resume fermentation. The mold dies and is then filtered through cheesecloth, but the mash still changes its taste and is no longer considered to be of such quality.

Truth be told, both methods are pretty bad. In the first case, there is a huge probability of mold re-entering the wort, and in the second, you have to subject the mash to such temperature changes that there is nothing left of the fruit and alcohol.

Despite the fact that fruit mash is primarily infected, the author of the channel on Youtube Distillarus mold appeared in the malt wort.

The video clearly shows large colonies of mushrooms that have formed a whole white network on the surface of the wort. The author decided to definitely throw this whole thing away so as not to risk his health.

Type