Chemistry · Why bread rises

Why does bread rise?

Name: Why does bread rise?
Uploaded: 2026-10-25
Duration: 22 s
Description: Mix flour, water, salt and a pinch of yeast. Yeast is a tiny living fungus. It eats the sugars in the flour and gives off carbon dioxide. Kneading builds a stretchy web of gluten that traps the gas in millions of bubbles, so the dough swells. In the oven, the bubbles expand once more, the web sets, and bread is born.

What you’ll see

Mix flour, water, salt and a pinch of yeast. Yeast is a tiny living fungus. It eats the sugars in the flour and gives off carbon dioxide. Kneading builds a stretchy web of gluten that traps the gas in millions of bubbles, so the dough swells. In the oven, the bubbles expand once more, the web sets, and bread is born.