Bejay, both my husband and I so enjoy the crunch of my sauerkraut, that I have no desire to can it, and lose the texture as I am sure I would. I can't imagine that spoilage will be a problem, since my last batch is still very crisp and tasty and I've discovered several friends that like sauerkraut...my last batch I used 10 pounds of cabbage...made much more sauerkraut than I and my husband will eat before Fall, and certainly takes up more room in my fridge than I'm willing to deal with. Cabbage is cheap, now that I know how, I can always make more! :D Now, as someone who has misty memories of my Nana buying corned beef at the local market, which had a barrel in a dark, cool corner...grey and not particularly tasty looking, but my, once it was cooked (YUM!)...learning to corn my own beef is high on my list!

Oh Renee, I couldn't agree more. I'm tired of being bullied because my view is stated in a different way than another poster's. There is a very small minority who think their recipes or techniques are the be-all/ end-all, "ubiquitous, know-it-all approach with narrow-minded views" of the culinary world. That is when unpleasantness rears its ugly head. When that happens, it is unfair to the whole forum. I for one would have left this thread a few posts ago, especially when I realized that one particular member refused to see the passive/ aggressive nature of their posts, then devolving into personal attacks to other posters. It's difficult to not defend one's integrity when it's called into question. Imagine how you would feel if someone referred to you as condescending, superior, a liar, a know-it-all. I believe that everyone but one person in this thread has agreed to disagree. I, for one, appreciate the beautiful photos many of our talented contributors generously post. It certainly takes additional time on their behalf to photograph the food, choose the appropriate photo for their post, then to share it with everyone. I learn how to plate food to make it look more appealing. I don't find it competitive, I find it encouraging. I think it has given a lot of us in this digital age the impetus to become more artistic, not only in our food preparation, but also in the art of presentation. How is that ever a bad thing? I think the main spirit of this forum is quite pleasant - these kinds of threads are very few and far between. I think that there will be a few of us that will be checking back to make sure no one else is being treated unfairly. Lori

It sounds like you have moved from one type of yeast to another and you my not realize the difference between the two. "Big bag of yeast" - was probably ACTIVE DRY YEAST. If you are now using an INSTANT yeast and substituting it in a recipe that calls for an active dry yeast, you need to reduce the amount by 25%, otherwise it will rise too fast. Active Dry Yeast - The most common yeast used in recipes. Fleishmann's active dry yeast was developed in 1943. This type of yeast is most commonly proofed in water/sweetener before using. Instant & Fast-Rising Yeast - It comes in many brands, and each is a little different. SAF-Instant, Red Star Quick-Rise, Fleishmann's Rapid-Rise, and Bread Machine Yeast are all a type of Instant & Fast-Rising Yeast. SAF-Instant is a product of genetic engineering and are made from "super" yeast. This yeast looks like tiny worms. The others are made into smaller particles to hydrate quickly and work faster - but all work faster than active dry yeast. These types of yeast products were designed to mix directly with dry ingredients for quicker mixing (no proofing in water/sweetener necessary). When using an instant/fast-rising yeast, you can mix the yeast in with a portion of the flour and then add the liquid. You need to increase the temperature of the liquid to 125°-130°F to add it to this mixture. The reason the temperature needs to be higher is because it quickly cools in that much bulk of ingredients. You can also use a rapid method and eliminate the first rise. After you knead the dough, you cover it (I use the bowl I used for mixing) and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Then it's ready to form/pan, allowed to rise, then bake. As Linda mentioned, slower rises yield more flavor - but "flavor" is subjective. Most people don't consume homemade bread often enough, nor from different mixing techniques, to notice the differences in "flavor". If you treat your family with a loaf of bread made in 1-hour in a bread machine, I'm going to bet they won't complain about flavor loss from using an instant type of yeast and fast method. Back to the subject... If you wish to go ahead and proof an Instant/Fast-Rising yeast in water and sweetener, that can also be done. Just remember to reduce the amount by 25%, if you are substituting it in a recipe that calls for ACTIVE DRY YEAST, and keep the proofing liquid temperature 100°-110°F. BTW - I have several recipes where I use 1 T. active dry yeast for 2# of dough (4 cups flour). If I use SAF-Instant instead of active dry yeast, I reduce the amount by 25%. -Grainlady

Happyday, I agree that you are overproofing your bread, probably. If you let it rise too high it will collapse on itself and you'll get that sunken lump. Ask me how I know. (grin) Ann T, I do bread dough overnight and it's good, I've done it up to two days in the fridge and it's good, but I keep it more than that I it seems to develop a flavor that I find similar to mild sourdough. Elery loves it, so he's always hoping that I don't have time to bake that dough, LOL. jasdip, you won't find a consistent yeast amount in bread recipes. Some have more and some have less, depending on the flavor the originator of the recipe was shooting for and liked. As has been mentioned, bread is simple and forgiving, you can use more yeast or less, you can use whole wheat or white or off brand flour, oil or butter or none, milk, water, coffee, whatever and it will usually come out just fine. I just made a loaf for Elery that took a cup of liquid, I used 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of Sriracha sauce, along with a bit of dry mustard and some black pepper. White whole wheat in place of all purpose. He loved it, I'm not even tempted to try it! I had seen a similar recipe on the internet, but I didn't feel like looking it up, so I made it from what passes for my memory and it was still just fine and an absolutely beautiful color. Annie