Is There Gluten In Yeast?

[Claire]

All gluten free breads and rolls list yeast as an ingredient - label usually specifies 'fresh yeast'. Isn't yeast derived from grains? Wouldn't that be a problem. Innernet searches non productive on this issue - so far.

If anyone has had a definitive answer to this question please respond. Thanks.

I am new here so probably will get some part of this posting process wrong. Claire

[mstrain]

Yeast is a unicellular fungus. We associate it with grains because it is their byproduct of carbon dioxide that allows breads to rise. It does not contain gluten.

[KaitiUSA]

Plain yeast is fine...no gluten

[Claire]

Many thanks for the replies regarding yeast. I have researched celiac and related problems for quite a long time but this stumped me. My first post here and I have an answer in less than 24 hours. Not at all shabby!

[GlutenFreeGirlie]

Hi! If you want an active dry yeast or nutritional yeast that are produced gluten-free, I use bob's red mill yeast. They sell it in my local grocery stores and it is safe!

[JLK]

Gotta say I am still confused about this yeast question. So I did some internet research and I am currently reading The Gluten Free Bible by Jax Peters Lowell and I'll quote first from the gluten-free Bible: "But an accident is just that and they happen to all of us. Many years ago, before I had the hang of the diet and knew better, I decided it would be healthy for me to add brewer's yeast to my morning tonic. I know what you're thinking. Jax! We all make honest mistakes in the beginning. There's no shame in it. At first I felt fine, then I noticed, to put it as gracefully as possible, that bathroom visits were increasing while the rest of me was decreasing at an allarming rate of four pounds in five days. It wasn't long before I realized the morning drink was the culprit. I tell you this not to be indelicate but to illustrate how symptoms of gluten ingestion are different for everyone." p275

One recipe in the book lists dry yeast as an ingredient, so dry is OK. I have seen Torula yeast used in gluten-free products. Baker's yeast is gluten-free according to Open Original Shared Link while yeast extract including Promite, Vegemite and Bonox are not. Brewer's yeast is not gluten-free, leaving nutritional yeast up in the air.

from Open Original Shared Link

"Another concern is the yeast. I fear even the slightest contamination of gluten could harm a Celiac. The ‘smack-pack’ liquid yeast that I have become accustomed to using is out of the question. Well, not exactly. A ‘smack-pack’ yeast starter is a small bag that contains a pure liquid yeast culture, and inside that is an even smaller pouch, which contains a barley based growth medium. When squeezed, or smacked, the inner pouch ruptures into the outer, allowing the yeast to meet the growth medium. The growth medium is the problem here, because it contains gluten. If you cut open the pack without smacking it first, you can pour off the pure yeast culture in the outer pack and grow it into a starter batch using extract from a non-gluten source. A simpler method than this is to use a dry yeast. Several good dry yeasts made specifically for homebrewers are available. Dry yeasts are propagated in a molasses based growth medium, making them ideal for gluten-free beers." Definitely thinking of brewing my own

Bottom line, stay away from Brewer's yeast, yeast extracts, and for me, "nutritional" yeast is to avoid unless the package also says "Gluten free"!

Judi