Yeast help

[AllenOK]

I just acquired a quantity of Saf-Instant yeast. Can I use this, teaspoon for teaspoon, in place of Active Dry Yeast?

TIA

[jasonr]

No. Use 2/3 as much instant as active dry.

[oldcoot]

That answer poses another qestion: What is the result of sing "too much" east? And how much is "too much"?

[subfuscpersona]

Originally Posted by oldcoot

That answer poses another qestion: What is the result of sing "too much" east? And how much is "too much"?

I bet this was a rhetorical question on your part, oldcoot :!: It depends on the kind of bread you're making, right? More yeast gives a faster rise but time develops flavor.

A sweet dough with butter/milk/sugar is getting flavor from those ingredients plus the dough is suppposed to be on the sticky side and not heavily kneaded so "more" yeast is appropriate.

If you're using the "artisan" slow rise approach a lot less yeast than is typically seen in bread recipes is called for.

Recipes geared to beginning bakers (especially the ones you see on flour sacks or in mixer manuals) frequently call for too much yeast b/c the authors don't trust the experience and intelligence of their readers. Plus they assume the baker is always in a hurry and doesn't want the whole process to take a long time. IMHO, a lot of bread recipes from older cookbooks plus many found on the 'net call for "too much" yeast, possibly for these very reasons.

Experience + experimentation right? And, of course, the feedback from bakers who've already done that (like I find here!) No reason not to "stand on the shoulders of giants" :D

[subfuscpersona]

Originally Posted by AllenMI

I just acquired a quantity of Saf-Instant yeast. Can I use this, teaspoon for teaspoon, in place of Active Dry Yeast?
TIA

most likely you already know this but, unlike AD yeast, instant can be added directly to ingredients without having to be dissolved first

[Audeo]

Saf-Instant is the yeast I always use and with great results, Allen. You've received some great advice already, so allow me only to add this accurate table for future reference on yeast substitutions.

http://breaddaily.tripod.com/yeast.htm

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by oldcoot

That answer poses another qestion: What is the result of sing "too much" east? And how much is "too much"?

I'm with you sub - knowing oldcoot - it sounds like someone is setting out a mine field ....

Depending on the type of dough and the type of flour(s) and other ingredients - the weight of dry yeast to the total batch weight can range from 0.7% to 3% - with 1.5% being about average for most breads.

Too much yeast? It's not listed in the "ordinary bread faults and their causes" in my bakers textbook ("The Bakers' Manual" by Joseph Amendola - 1987 edition - instructor at the CIA) ... but guessing, less yeast flavor, coarser grain, and all of the other problems associated with "overproofing" or proofing at too high a temp.

Actually, sub - you CAN mix active dry yeast with the dry ingredients just the same as instant yeast ... it's called the "Straight", "Rapid Mix", or "Dump" method depending on which book you are reading. Proofing the yeast first (in warm water) is called the "traditional" method - apparently used mainly before expiration dates to make sure the yeast was still active before spending all that time to hand mix and knead dough only to find out the yeast was dead.

[jasonr]

I'm pretty sure active dry yeast needs to be "activated" in warm water, or it will not work.

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by jasonr

I'm pretty sure active dry yeast needs to be "activated" in warm water, or it will not work.

Yeast falls into one of two catagories - active or dead. If it's dead, nothing will activate it - if it's active, all it takes is for it to get wet. True, proofing the yeast before adding to the dry ingredients might make it behave differently than just adding it to the dry ingredients and then adding the wet .... but, I've got 5 books here that all say you can do it either way.

[jasonr]

I have two books that say otherwise. My Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking states that active dry needs to be hydrated in warm water to function. My Professional Pastry Chef (Bo Friberg) does not say it outright, but does say that if you are using active dry yeast in place of fresh compressed in a recipe calling for cold liquid, you should warm a portion of the liquid and dissolve the yeast in it before mixing in the rest of the cold liquid. I am positive that I have read elsewhere that active dry explicitly requires warm liquid to function, as opposed to instant, which can work in liquid of any temperature.