Should we eat warm yeast cake? Debunking a grandma's myth

Grandma warned against eating warm yeast cake because it was said to cause stomachaches. Where did this belief come from? And should we still be concerned about it? Tomasz Rożek, a science journalist, spoke about this topic on the air of Radio Three.

According to the traditional beliefs of the older generation, warm yeast cake can cause stomach pain due to the yeast. Do these microorganisms pose a risk? The expert stated that Italians wouldn't recommend eating pizza straight out of the oven if this were true. This is also a widespread baked good that cannot be made without yeast. And in Italy, it wouldn't even occur to anyone that these microorganisms could be harmful.

The expert assures that eating warm pizza and yeast cake is perfectly fine. Baker's yeast, most often Saccharomyces cerevisiae, "works" under the influence of temperature and makes the dough rise. However, they die when the surrounding temperature exceeds 50 degrees Celsius. They are most active at temperatures close to a mild summer heat, which is about 30 degrees Celsius. That's why milk or water used to prepare the starter is only gently warmed. Grandmas, who are masters in preparing yeast dough, often said that yeast must not be "boiled."

Yeast at high temperatures simply stops working. However, even when they are active, which results in the dough rising, they do not produce harmful chemical compounds that could affect the digestive system. In this process, only specific amounts of carbon dioxide are produced, which makes the dough rise. The body quickly removes this gas. Therefore, in this case, grandmas were not right.