leaven
/ˈlɛvən/
verb
- To add a substance to dough or batter to make it rise.
- They learned how to leaven bread using natural starters.
- You need to leaven the dough with yeast before baking.
- The recipe says to leaven the mixture with baking powder.
- To lighten, enliven, or improve something, especially by adding a positive or interesting element.
- Music can leaven the atmosphere of a dull party.
- The speaker leavened her serious talk with funny stories.
- He tried to leaven the tense conversation with a joke.
noun
- A substance, such as yeast, that is added to dough to make it rise.
- Without leaven, the flatbread remained dense and hard.
- The baker added leaven to the bread dough to help it rise.
- She used a sourdough starter as a natural leaven.
- A quality or influence that lightens, enlivens, or changes something.
- Her humor was the leaven that made the long meeting bearable.
- The new teacher brought a leaven of fresh ideas to the school.
- A little bit of optimism can be the leaven for a gloomy day.