On 14 Mar 2006 15:57:11 -0800, "djs0302" > wrote:

>
>Abe wrote:
>> Alton brown said in a show that table sugar is not good for using in a
>> yeast dough because of its structure. Supposedly the yeast can't
>> utilize it well. He recommended using something else instead - I can't
>> remember what.
>>
>> Is this true about using table sugar? If so, what's a better
>> alternative?
>
>Alton Brown is full of it.

Not really.

Peter Reinhardt, who has been a baker for a long time, and who has
written some highly regarded books on bread baking has this to say in
his book The Bread Baker's Apprentice:

"During yeast fermentation, the yeast can feed properly ONLY on the
most simple sugars like glucose, and to a lesser extent, on
fructose...."

Later on in the same section on yeast fermentation:

"the yeast can't feed on sucrose, or table sugar, because it is a
two-chain sugar and thus too complex for the yeast."

Christine