Barb at King Arthur

April 2, 2023 at 4:07pm

In reply to by Kate Rakow (not verified)

Hi Kate, the yeast in bread dough doesn't actually require sugar because the starch in the flour is converted to sugar by enzyme activity. However, sugar does add other properties to baked goods besides sweetness and food for the yeast. For example, sugar is hygroscopic, which means it attracts and holds water. This property can make for moister baked goods, but in the case of yeast breads a large percentage of sugar (weight of the sugar is 10% or more as compared to the weight of the flour) this also tends to slow down the yeast. We've definitely used our Baking Sugar Alternative in sweet bread recipes, but in much smaller quantities. We suggest using at least 1/2 cup sugar, and making up the remaining sugar content with our BSA. Because the BSA will make the bread brown up and bake a bit faster, you may need to keep an eye on it during baking and tent it lightly with foil if it's browning up too quickly. Look for an internal temperature of at least 190°F on a digital read thermometer as a good sign of doneness. 

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