SYB students invited to visit Lesaffre Yeast Factory in Mingguang!
On April the 13th, Shanghai Young Bakers students took the bus to the sunny province of Anhui where they were kindly invited to visit the Yeast Factory of Lesaffre in Mingguang.
Lesaffre is the world leader of Yeast and Yeast extract, and has been a strong partner of SYB since the inception of the program. The content of the training was developed thanks to the support of the baking experts of Lesaffre, who taught the three first batches of SYB students. Lesaffre then continued to support us through in-kind and financial sponsorship, and by sharing its expertise with SYB bakery teachers. ! They also provide unique opportunities to our students to discover behind-the-scenes of the baking world, by organizing a visit to their yeast factory for instance!
As future bakers, it is important for SYB students to be familiar with the products they use. Thanks to Lesaffre, if you ask them what exactly is yeast they will now be able to answer your question in details! After a warm welcome and lunch at the factory, all students were invited to listen to a very clear presentation of Lesaffre and its products by Mr Wu, production manager at the factory. Mr Wu’s humor and enthusiastic explanations lead the way to a more complicated science lesson that captivated everyone’s attention for over an hour ! With easy words and amusing comparisons, Mr Wu explained that yeast is a microorganism able to multiply quickly if given the right food : nutrients, water and a lot of sugar ! Most of these ingredients can be found in Molasses, a dark thick juice extracted from sugar cane or sugar beets that has a considerable amount of fermentable sugar. It all begins in the laboratory where yeast seeds are cultivated and controlled before they are allowed to grow. After growing a few hundreds of kilograms, scientists are able to feed the yeast with Molasses. According to Lesaffre employees at the factory, it takes 5 tons of molasses to make 1 ton of yeast !
After the presentation, SYB students happily put on their white lab coat and the visit started ! Mr Wu’s interesting scientific explanations had excited their curiosity and all of them had a great time discovering the factory’s laboratories. The visit went on through the factory’s galleries, from the imposing tanks containing the fermenting molasses to the separator, a machine separating molasses and newly produced yeast. Seeing the off-white « cream yeast » coming out from the separator was a very special moment for SYB students who couldn’t keep their eyes out of it !
The next step in yeast production depends on the type of yeast desired : active dry yeast, liquid yeast or instant yeast.
After taking a look at the packing procedure, the students also visited the factory’s warehouse that need to be kept under 18°C for a better conservation of the yeast. Talking about conservation, did you know instant yeast could be kept for 2 years and still be alive ?
If they had to make a conclusion on the visit, most students would probably say that there are many things a Baker must know to become a better Baker and knowing how to make a leavening agent as important as yeast is surely one of them ! Thanks to Lesaffre and its employees from the Mingguang Factory, SYB students had the opportunity to discover something only a few bakers experienced. A precious knowledge that will guide and help them through their future career !
Many thanks to Lesaffre and its employees for their refreshing welcome in their factory and for their long-standing contribution to our program !
Marion, Partnerships Development
海上青焙坊学员受邀参观位于安徽明光的乐斯福酵母生产工厂！
4月13日，海上青焙坊的学员们坐着大巴踏上了出发前往位于安徽明光的乐斯福酵母工厂参观的旅途。
乐斯福是全球领先的酵母和酵母提取物生产商，同时也是海上青焙坊从成立以来长期的合作伙伴。来自乐斯福公司的烘焙界大师们是我们前三届学生的老师，正是因为他们的支持，海上青焙坊的培训才得以发展。 之后乐斯福公司也继续在物资和资金方面给予我们很大的支持，并慷慨地为我们目前的老师提供专业技术支持。不仅是这些，乐斯福还特地为我们的学员安排了一次去乐斯福明光工厂的参观活动，以帮助他们更清楚地了解烘焙舞台幕后的故事。
作为未来的烘焙师，能够清楚了解他们所使用的产品对海上青焙坊的学员们来说至关重要。多亏了乐斯福公司安排的这次参观，现在学员们都能够详细地说出什么才是酵母。在热情的欢迎仪式和丰盛的午餐之后，学员们被邀请去听了由乐斯福生产经理吴先生主讲的讲座，该讲座主要围绕着乐斯福和他们的产品展开。吴先生的演讲既幽默又热情，这让这节科学理论知识课也变得生动起来，大家都聚精会神地听了一个多小时！通过简单的用词和有趣的比喻，吴先生向大家解释说酵母其实就是一种在正确的食物（例如养分、水分和糖分）喂养下能够迅速繁衍的微生物。大多数的原料包含在在黑色粘稠的糖蜜中。这种糖蜜大量存在于甘蔗和甜菜之中，因为这两种之物都含有丰富的可发酵糖。酵母种子在用于繁衍之前都是在实验室中培育，当酵母长到足足有几百斤重时，科学家就可以喂这些酵母糖蜜来帮助其生长。据乐斯福公司的工作人员说，生产一吨的酵母需要消耗5吨的糖蜜！
演讲结束之后，海上青焙坊的学员们就兴奋地披上了白色的实验室专用服装。是的，参观开始啦！吴先生引人入胜的科学解释勾起了所有人的好奇心，大家在工厂的实验室里度过了愉快的探索时光。整个工厂就像一个艺术品展览，从装有发酵糖蜜的巨大储蓄桶到用来分离糖蜜和酵母的分离器，学员们一一参观。当大家看到白色的“奶油酵母”从分离器中出来时，他们都非常兴奋，目不转睛地研究起这个过程。
酵母生产的下一步取决于所需制成的酵母种类：活性干酵母、酵母液或是速溶酵母。
在参观了包装流程之后，学员们又去了工厂的储藏室。储藏室常年保持着18摄氏度以下的低温以保证酵母的良好品质。
说到保存，你知道其实速溶酵母就算被储存了2年但还是可以存活吗？
如果让学生们就这次参观给出一个总结，相信大部分同学都会觉得要做一个更好的烘焙师真是有太多东西要去学习，而如何生产像酵母一样重要的膨松剂显然就是其中之一！感谢乐斯福公司以及在明光工厂的工作人员们，正是因为他们，海上青焙坊的学生们才能获得这样一个难得的机会去了解能够帮助他们未来职业生涯的重要知识！
再次感谢乐斯福公司和他的工作人员！感谢他们在工厂对我们热情的欢迎和他们对我们长期以来大力的贡献！
玛丽安，伙伴关系建立