Is Bread Halal?

In making bread, yeast is required so that the dough can expand. Yeast is usually added after the flour is mixed with water and then stirred evenly. After that, the dough is left for a few hours. Yeast itself is a microorganism, a small living creature, and usually of the type of Saccharomyces cerevisiae used in making bread. Under adequate water and food conditions for the yeast, especially sugar, the yeast will grow by converting sugars into carbon dioxide gas and aromatic compounds. The carbon dioxide gas formed is then retained by the dough, so the dough expands.

Yeast can be obtained commercially in three forms, namely compressed yeast (yeast liquid with a solid content), active dry yeast (yeast dry form, need to be activated before use), and instant active dry yeast (instant yeast, a dry form which can be used directly without the need to be activated again). Yeast that is available in the supermarket is usually instant active dry yeast (instant yeast), which can be directly used, just put into the dough.

Whatever yeast we use, it is not only the yeast that we are concerned about its halalness but also its additives. Several ingredients are intentionally added for particular purposes in the making of yeast, for example, ingredients deliberately added for the purpose of increasing stability during storage as no clumping. Yeast also contains fillers. In addition, yeast also contains an ingredient derived from the remaining media (food is required by the yeast at the time of propagation of yeast). These additives need to be observed for their halal status.