leaven

If Ms. Gage wanted some celebratory leaven, she could have visited Dayton, Ohio’s many sites devoted to the Wright Brothers and their world-changing invention.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

There was gloss and sass to leaven the tough stuff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024

I also used to leaven the proceedings with humor.

From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2024

An hour or two each week grappling with wood planks or mixing batter can leaven a long and monotonous school day.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

A leaven of love was left, it is true— Lancelot, Gareth, Aglovale and a few old dodderers like Sir Grummore and Sir Palomides: but the tone was set elsewhere.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

A doleful tale, but Mr. Ogilvy also leavens it with humor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Whether the songs are presented in their orchestral splendor or as frenetic electronica, each needle drop leavens the natural comedy of John’s frantic awkwardness or captures his chronic sorrow.

From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2025

The yeast is tolerant of this acidic environment, and it ferments carbohydrates other than maltose to produce the carbon dioxide that leavens the bread.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 1, 2023

Pépin leavens his memoir with dozens of chicken and egg recipes, offhandedly told and casually inserted into the text.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2022

I believe because faith is the great want of the age, and it shall remove mountains; I believe because belief is like the pinch of yeast which, being dropped into the dough, leavens the whole.

From A Second Coming by Richard Marsh

To begin with, there’s its ingratiating style, leisurely but leavened with wit and chutzpah, as well as Fiedler’s pervasive disdain for the sentimental and ersatz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

This produced an effect of narcissism leavened by good-heartedness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

But the greatest difficulty proved to be activating yeast — a tricky yet crucial step when making leavened bread and similar baked goods.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2025

Arturo Enciso is known for the naturally leavened sourdough breads and pastries at his Long Beach bakery Gusto, including his hueso baguettes and conchas de cacao.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2024

All the same, a little more fear leavened his exhilaration as he returned his attention to the sword reposing upon the bottom of the frozen pool.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

The film’s comedy won’t appeal to all tastes, but some will welcome the leavening effect it has on the movie’s more frightening aspects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025

They are also what make it rise in the absence of other leavening agents.

From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2024

You would think all the leavening would make it light, but the weight of the other ingredients created 4-pound pancakes, which were so thick that the inside could only cook if the outside was burnt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2023

The leavening gives the brownies a little lift, which helps them hold their swirl while baking.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2022

Made without salt, spices, leavening, or preservatives, masa must be cooked within a few hours of being ground, and the tortilla should be eaten soon after it is cooked.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann