Having trouble with some yeast (insert bad joke here)

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Comprox

Assistant Cook
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
2
Hey, I am just getting into the whole cooking thing and seems I tried to jump too far ahead. I was trying to make a cinnamon roll recepie and, well, had trouble at step 1 :(

The pertinant ingredients were:
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

And the step was:
In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

I tried this as best I could, but I lack a scale or anything so my research told me that 0.25 ounces of dry yeast was anywhere from 1.5 - 3 tsp depending on the source I found. My results, regardless of the amount of yeast I used was a frothy mixture on top with runny luquid under it. More yeast just meant more froth. Nothing even remotely close to this "creamy" it called for. I decided to hit the brakes and check before I wasted food making this. Am I doing something wrong, or is that you kids call creamy these days? :P

Thanks!
 
Don't pay any attention to the "creamy" remark. That can vary from brand to brand of packaged yeast. Just be sure to give the yeast time to really bloom (foam). Ten minutes, in my opinion, is a minimum amount of time. Twenty to thirty minutes would not be uncommon depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Temperature is what significantly effects bloom rate. And the longer the time, the more active yeast is developed, which is what you want.

Account for the amount of liquid you use to bloom your yeast when you add it to your flour, but pay no attention to its looks. Before I began using a "poolish" to develop my yeast, I did it just as you are describing. More often than not, it looked like tan dishwater.
 
Thanks for clearing that up (and the speedy reply). I shall have to give this a go when I have free time next week again.
 
Selkie: I found your post educational, as I knew the foam part was good, and this usually happened for me in as short as a minute's time. For some reason, I always figured at this step that my yeast would get "used up" if I did not rush to use it. As a result, my cinnamon rolls have been okay, but really not anywhere near what I would like them to be like. (To the annoyance of my gf, I usually say "nothing like my Mom's".) I've got a vegetarian brunch coming up and I think I am going to try letting my yeast sit a bit and see if they don't turn out awesomely thick, perhaps even fluffy.
 
I dissolved my instant yeast in some warm water for some 20 minutes now. Still no blooming happening in my warm kitchen! Does that mean I have to throw it out? Expiry is still 2011. Please help. I don't want to waste the rest of my baking ingredients...

By the way, brand is Pakmaya Instant Yeast (made in Turkey). Manufactured 3/2009, Expiry 3/2011.
 
Chopstix, more than just warm water is sometimes needed. Try adding a tablespoon of sugar, honey or flour to the warm water for the yeast to feed upon. You should notice some bubbling or foaming beginning to appear within 30 minutes. If you don't the yeast is bad and you will need to purchase fresh yeast.
 
I dissolved my instant yeast in some warm water for some 20 minutes now. Still no blooming happening in my warm kitchen! Does that mean I have to throw it out? Expiry is still 2011. Please help. I don't want to waste the rest of my baking ingredients...

By the way, brand is Pakmaya Instant Yeast (made in Turkey). Manufactured 3/2009, Expiry 3/2011.

usually instant yeast is not dissolved, I use instant yeast in bread machine recipes and it is mixed with all the other ingredients. It is only active dry yeast that is dissolved prior to using, in my experience..
 
The most important reason for proofing yeast of any kind is to test it before adding it to the dough mixture and then wasting time and ingredients if it should be bad.
 
Thanks, Selkie. To Beth's point, the recipe does call for active dry yeast while I'm using instant yeast. I didn't know there was a big difference! So can instant yeast be used like active dry yeast (dissolved in water)? And if so, would it still be good then if it doesn't foam up? Thanks!
 
You can use ANY yeast in a "starter" (warm water, sugar) and test its ability to bloom, particularly if you have any doubts about the quality. If it doesn't bloom, it's bad. It's that simple. If the recipe calls for the yeast to be added directly to the dough mixture but you want to proof it first, then simply subtract the amount of water that you use for your yeast proofing from the water to be used into the dough mixture. That way you won't be using more water than the recipe calls for.

Enjoy your bread making!!! It really can be fun and rewarding once a few principles are understood. :chef:
 
...I tried this as best I could, but I lack a scale or anything so my research told me that 0.25 ounces of dry yeast was anywhere from 1.5 - 3 tsp depending on the source I found...


As others have said, that frothy mixture is just what you need.

A single packet of Active Dry Yeast is 0.25 ounces. That equals 2.25 teaspoons. These measures are from the yeast packet.
 
''I used was a frothy mixture on top with runny luquid under it.''

That sounds about right. It is how my yeast mixture looks, before I add it to the rest of the bread ingredients.
 
I get good results usually mixing the dry yeast in with the flour, but yesterday that didn't work too well when I made a whole grain loaf. The second proofing was not very satisfying- maybe I should have kneaded it more, and the loaf was doughy.
Would like to make a sour dough. Tried last week to set up the starter, but somehow it just didn't start. I heard that one should not use tap water as it kills the yeasts. Any truth in that?
 
I had some yeast issues too, Selkie you were a huge help and the yeast and I have come to an understanding. I can bake bread now no problem and the poolish was excellent advice.
 

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