Sugar can be added to bread doughs to create delicious treats such as cinnamon buns, Chelsea Buns, brioche and many more. All in part relying on the sugar in the recipe to create their mouthwatering flavour.
But what about more simple doughs, often made using just flour, water, yeast and salt? These recipes may also call for a teaspoon or two of sugar in the dough.
So do you really need to add sugar to your bread doughs? And what may happen if you don’t?
Read on to find out more about why sugar isn’t usually necessary in most of the breads you bake at home.
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What does sugar do in your bread dough?
So sugar, in larger amounts, is used to create sweet dough. You definitely need some sugar for these!
But if your recipe only calls for a couple of teaspoons of sugar, this is unlikely to add to the flavour.
Instead, this small amount of sugar acts as a quick food source for your yeast. This will activate your yeast more quickly and the yeast will start producing gas. This boosts the initial rise of your bread dough.
The yeast in your bread dough don’t need added sugar
Without sugar, yeast will instead begin to break down the starch in the bread flour, converting it to sugars.
The yeast then feed on these sugars and begin to produce gas in your dough.
Your dough will still rise through this process – even if you don’t add any sugar.
Use this instead of sugar in your dough making process
Give your dough plenty of time to rise if you’re not adding sugar. The yeast will need longer to activate and begin to break down the starches in the flour to create sugars.
In a warm kitchen that’s around 16 – 20C air temperature, 800g dough will take about 1 – 1.5 hours to rise well.
Cooler temperatures will further slow your dough rising.
But taking your time is a good thing when baking bread.
The yeast break down the starch to sugars and other carbohydrates, adding plenty of flavours to your dough and final bread.
All without the need of those few teaspoons of added sugar.
What are the benefits of not adding sugar to your bread dough?
So you can see that there are some good reasons not to add that little bit of sugar to your dough:
- A deeper flavour to your final loaf. With time, the yeast can create a depth of flavour that isn’t usually found in quickly risen loaves.
- Skipping the sugar. If you’d rather avoid added sugar, for personal or health reasons, then you can. You can create a simple loaf without the need for those few extra teaspoons of sugar.
- More time for you. Without added sugar, your dough may need longer to rise well. Great! You’ve got more time to get on with other things that you’d like to be doing – enjoy!
So why not try this out? Make your next simple loaf without adding any sugar. Leave plenty of time for the rising process and enjoy a loaf that’s full of flavour. Let me know how your bread turns out!
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Hi
Is sugar added to unleavened tortilla dough?
Hello, thanks for your comment. I don’t usually add sugar to savoury unleavened flatbreads but you certainly could if you wished to. If you’d like, you can get more bread making tips when you sign up for my newsletter at the following link. As a thank you, you’ll also get three quick and simple bread recipes that you can make at home in minutes, including a flatbread recipe. https://theepsombakehouse.co.uk/signup/ .
Se puede sustituir el azúcar. Por stevia al hacer pan? Gracias
I have not tried Stevia or other sugar alternatives in bread but it might work in small quantities as it’s only there to make the dough a little sweeter. Have you tried it?
I had a Panasonic breadmaking for years and there was rarely sugar listed as an ingredient. My brand new model lists a good bit of sugar (occasionally honey) in every recipe! I find that shocking and irresponsible. It’s one of the most harmful substances for our health and loaded in ultra processed food.
Thanks for commenting! I don’t think many breads need sugar in them, as I say in this blog, as the yeast will use the starch in the flour for food. You can just add it in if you’re intending to make a sweet bread. Not sure on breadmakers though, however you could certainly test the recipe without the sugar to see how it turns out.