Tell me about Yeast...

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WhateverYouWant

Sous Chef
Joined
Oct 29, 2019
Messages
609
OK, so I am not a big baker, but for breads and pizza dough I have always used Fleischmanns ActiveDry Yeast. But I have a number of recipes that specify other yeast products, including "instant dry" and "rapid rise". Some say proofing is necessary, others don't.

My question is are they all the same? If not what is the difference, and can they be substituted?

Confused,

-SiP
 
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You can pretty much use them interchangeably. The big difference is that with RR it instant yeast, you just mix the ingredients together and go rather than blooming the AD yeast with liquid and sugar first.

I used to use AD yeast for most things. With the pandemic and quarantine, the shortage of yeast, I could on get a jar of Instant bread machine yeast. It works fine in all my recipes.
 
I've been using the Instant Yeast because that's all they had in stock when we when shopping at the Amish bulk food store last year when we were in OH. I've found out that I had to adjust my playing with the dough when I make bread. With Active Dry, I would take the dough from the bread machine after the "Dough" setting was complete, knead the dough for a few minutes before forming it and putting it into the bread pan, and then letting it do its second rise. Now, with the Instant Yeast, I only shape it nicely before putting it in the bread pan. It seemed that kneading took some of the rising power away from the yeast.
 
Thanks for all of your comments.

I took a little pandemic time to perform some research on the matter and there is indeed a fair amount of confusion out there. Not the least of which was a Chef John video on hamburger buns where he says add "Active Dry Yeast" and proofs it, but in the ingredients listed on the blog post he states he used a packet of Fleischmann's Rapid Rise (which is an instant yeast)???

However, the consensus is that the two can be used interchangeably... although there are numerous comments about differences in flavor and best quantities used (25% less instant if substituting for active dry). America's Test Kitchen confirmed that instant is in fact about 25% more potent than active dry. The difference is evidently due to the high heat dehydrating/drying process used for active dry yeast where many of the outer cells are killed. Since these dead cells encapsulate the live inner cells, the yeast must be proofed to dissolve that outer layer. Instant yeasts are evidently subject to a much gentler drying process that ensures every bit of it is alive, not only making the proofing process unnecessary, but also making it far more stable than active dry yeast. King Arthur states it can be stored in the freezer for up to a year or more, and there is no need to thaw before using.

So ATK prefers the instant variety along with two more sources I trust (Helen Rennie's Cooking School and King Arthur Flour), both of which recommend SAF Red instant as there go to brand, and I spoke with a couple of local bakeries that echoed that recommendation. I also reached out to John Mitzewich to ask if he in fact uses instant yeast in his recipes instead of the active dry he is telling people it is... we'll see if he gets back to me on that.

So there you have it... Yeast 101. Hope this covers the how and why for most of you. I am now gonna order a big bag of SAF Red from Webstaurant.com (among a boat load of other things).

Cheers,

-SiP
 
SIP, I have tried a number brands of the instant yeasts, through the years, and the SAF red is my favorite. I got some Bob Mills yeast early this year, only because I was getting some deals on some whole grains from wherever it was I got that, and they had a deal on that, too. I was down to about 1/4 c of the last pound of SAF I got, which was about a year and a half old, which I keep in a jar in the fridge. So I checked it, next to the new yeast - I proofed a small amount of each, with an equal amount of sugar in water, and the old yeast foamed up faster, though both eventually about the same. So it doesn't seem to loose much of its strength, when refrigerated.

I only use 2/3 of the instant yeast, when making recipes from old books, that call for active dry. In my early days, some of the books or articles would say to use fresh yeast, instead of active dry - that it would taste better, so use it, if you could find it! I actually tried it (it was actually in supermarkets back then!), and didn't really get any better flavor from it. When instant yeast became the norm, we were hearing similar things about that, as far as having better flavor, but that was probably because the instant yeast was being substituted 1:1, so there is more live yeast, and the faster the bread is made, the less the flavor develops.

BTW, wasn't Webstaurant where you said you were placing an order? It's cheaper than $6 there.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/le...&utm_term=99915909&utm_campaign=food_beverage
 
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LOL... Not really.

In follow-up to my Q posted last week about Webstaurant.com, I emailed them about frozen/refrigerated item delivery. They responded promptly that they used insulated containers with cold packs.

So I thought I'd grab some yeast and a few frozen items... about a hundred dollar order that would weigh a little over 20 pounds. Then clicked the Checkout button and YIKES!!! Cheapest shipping option was over $150 additional! That makes Omaha Steaks seem like a BARGAIN. Even just ordering only the pound of yeast the shipping was something like 3 times the price of the yeast.

So while the food and bev section "seems" like a real bargain, the shipping puts it in the stratosphere. My guess is you'd have to order the better part of a truckload to break even.

So I went to Walmart.com and picked it up with a few other pantry items that will also all weigh about 20 pounds... it will be here day after tomorrow with free shipping.
 
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