What does yeast mean?
Word: Yeast
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Yeast means a substance made of tiny living cells that is mixed into dough to make bread light and soft.
How do you spell yeast?
Syllables: yeast
Tricky part: The long 'ee' sound is spelt ea. Children often write it as ee (yeest) or ie (yiest).
Watch out for: yeest, yiest, yeist
Memory tip: Bread made with it rises so that you can EAt it: the 'ee' sound is the same e and a that begin eat.
Yeast in a sentence
Example 1: Mum stirred a spoonful of yeast into warm water before making the pizza base.
Example 2: Our cookery club learnt how to measure yeast for soft dinner rolls.
Example 3: The baker keeps his yeast in the fridge so that it stays fresh.
Fun Fact
A single gram of baker's yeast holds billions of living cells, each far too small to see without a microscope.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
Which option has letters that you can rearrange to form the name of something used in baking?
a) sayte
b) rugap
c) lofrt
d) ghoun
Show answer
a) sayte. Those five letters make yeast; each of the other sets has one letter wrong for flour, sugar or dough.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with yeast?
a) least
b) released
c) feast
d) pleased
Show answer
d) pleased. Pleased ends with a buzzing z and a d, PLEEZD; the other three end in the same 'eest' as yeast.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its meaning:
1. yeast 2. dough 3. crust a. the hard outer layer of a loaf b. something living that gives off gas bubbles in a bowl of dough c. flour mixed with water, ready to be shaped
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
c) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. The bubbles come from yeast, the soft mixture is dough, and the crust is the hard outside of the loaf.
Word Champ
Read the three statements and choose the correct option:
1. Yeast is a kind of fungus. 2. A wisk is a kitchen tool used to beat eggs and cream. 3. A rolling pin is used to flatten dough.
a) only 3 is correct
b) only 1 and 3 are correct
c) only 2 and 3 are correct
d) all three are correct
Show answer
b) only 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 has a misspelling: the tool is a whisk, with an h after the w. The other two are true.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Of these foods, the one usually made with yeast is ___.
a) shortbread
b) popcorn
c) an omelette
d) a bagel
Show answer
d) a bagel
2. Bakers usually mix yeast with a little warm water and sugar first, because ___.
a) warmth and food wake the cells up
b) it turns the dough bright yellow
c) it stops the loaf from rising
d) it makes the bread taste salty
Show answer
a) warmth and food wake the cells up
