Hi Lars,

I can't speak from experience 'cause a l lb. bag only lasts me a few months but I've always heard/read that yeast kept frozen & unopened can last over a decade. I'm sure your yeast is still viable as long as you had the package folded down tight & well sealed.

The expiration dates on yeast are assuming it's stored in a cupboard out of direct sunlight & are marked at one year from the date of packaging.

I love pumpernickel!

/tricia

If you want to be sure, just check it by placing about 1/2 t. in a small bowl with a little warm water and a pinch of sugar. Dissolve yeast well by stirring, then let it sit for 5-10 minutes to see if it starts growing and blooming up in a frothy mass.

If the yeast is rising no need to toss it out. It probably wouldn't last as long in the fridge though because there's too much humidity.
Have you tried grinding the flax seeds, makes them more "digestible"

Teresa, I did test it before I made the pizza dough. It takes longer than 5-10 minutes to get frothy because it's coming from a frozen state, but it still gets there.

Tricia, you must be baking professionally to use that much yeast! I do remember your bread making threads. I did have the package sealed as you said, and so I won't worry about it now. I'll see how long it will take me to use it up.

I love pumpernickel too, and I had really good pumpernickel in Texas, but it's not as easy to find here - at least not of the quality that I found in Texas. Some bakeries make it, but they don't always have it in stock, and I have all the ingredients anyway. I'll post the recipe I used if it turns out good.

Thanks!

Lars

FWIW, I keep my instant yeast in the refrigerator in a pint glass canning jar with a good tight lid on it. Any excess from a large package I keep in the original foil bag with the top rolled down and held in place with a rubberband then the whole thing sealed in a Food Saver bag and kept in the freezer. Whatever the age, I've never had the yeast go stale/bad on me. It keeps on working just fine.

There's lots of Germans in Texas...that's probably why you can get such great pumpernickel there. There's also lots of Germans in the San Joaquin Valley (especially around Fresno).

Yep, except for since I broke my jaw I was going through LOTS of yeast but not professionally. Bread baking was a hobby that I've gotten out of the habit of doing & other things have filled the time that I used to spend striving for that illusive 'perfect' loaf of bread (whatever that is?) lol

So glad to hear you're enjoying your new range!

/tricia

Lars, I go through a pound of yeast in a couple of months, but I bake bread two or three times a week, I never buy bread other than that spongy white fake bread Ashley requires. Ick.

Anyway, I buy yeast packaged in two bags, one pound per bag. One goes into a quart canning jar in the refrigerator, the other goes in the freezer. I use about a pound every three or four months and I've never had any go bad.

I did give a package to my stepmom, who kept it in the freezer for four years before finding it, and it was still fine when she used it.

Annie

Glad to know about the yeast storage - it makes me feel more comfortable with how I've stored it and continued use of what I have on hand.

I looked at the small packets of active dry yeast in the grocery store and was shocked at the price. Six packets would cost as much as the one pound bag I bought! It's hardly economical to buy the small packets.

My bread's in the oven now, and it smells great, but the dough looked a bit funny before I put it in - it had a small rupture on top, and I think the dough was too dry, even though I used much less flour than was in the recipe. I might increase the water next time. I might also try grinding the flax seeds.

There are indeed a lot of Germans in Texas, especially where I grew up, and they've kept a fair number of traditions, although not quite as much as the Czechs, who came more recently - mostly since 1930. The town where I grew up has one of the largest Czech populations in Texas, and it has a Czech bakery that sells good kolaches. Some of my high school teachers had such strong Czech accents that I could barely understand them.

Lars

I am certainly no expert on bread baking Lars, but I am wondering if it just developed a dry skin as it rose and the rupture was to release the pressure? Did you slash the bread before you put it in the oven?

I'm sure it will be wonderful, I love pumpernickel too. Please come back and tell us about it - and maybe show us. it's great that you are using and enjoying your new stove.

Lee

Lars the last of what I just used was atleast that old..and performed fine every time..I keep it in a canning jar in the freezer. I have a new bag I opened last week..I have to go find some quart jars in the garage..I was using a wide mouth pint for the last 2 years..LOL But a whole bag won't fit in the pint jar.
I go through mine very very slowly too..

1. Freezing keeps yeast the longest, refrigeration the next longest amount of time.

2. A refrigerator is actually a very dry environment. Many powdered foods will keep free-flowing when kept in a refrigerator, rather than on a pantry shelf, due to the constant dry condition of the refrigerator or freezer (it's the frost-free function that keeps it dry).

Leaving a jar of yeast open in a hot, humid kitchen will actually start activating the surface yeast, so measure the amount you need and close the jar and put it back into the refrigerator or freezer. The enemies of yeast are heat, humidity, and light. Like some of the others, I vacuum-seal the 1# bags in a FoodSaver bag and keep it in the freezer. I keep a user-friendly amount in an old brown glass jar (originally had yeast in it) in the refrigerator.

3. As others mentioned, do a test to see if it's still active.

YEAST TEST: Use a 1 c. glass measuring cup. Fill it to the 1/4 c. line with warm water and add 1 t. sugar. Then add 1-1/2 t. yeast and wait 10 minutes. It should be up to the 1/2 c. line if the yeast is still active.

4. Your bread forming a crack on the top is usually from excessive flour, as you suspected.

The amount of flour in the recipe is just a good guess - add the flour slowly to the liquid ingredients until it's the right texture (feel) without regard to the amount called for in the recipe - it may take more and it may take less flour than the recipe calls for.

The amount of the liquid should remain the same, the flour is the item that varies. Flour varies in protein level from brand to brand and bag to bag. The protein (gluten) amount and how much moisture is already in the flour from storage is what determins how much flour is needed - you shouldn't need to alter the liquid. The higher the protein/gluten of the flour, the more liquid it soaks up.

So if your recipe calls for all-purpose flour (or the author of the recipe used all-purpose flour) and you have used bread flour, you will throw off the hydration if you use the amount of flour called for in the recipe because of the extra gluten in bread flour.

5. Whole flax seeds are essentially a laxative. Only when the seeds are ground/milled into a flour can you get all the goodness from them. A few whole seeds are okay for decoration, but you'll get more nutrition from them if they are ground.

-Grainlady

The last thing I need is a laxative. I didn't use that much of them (I think), but I will try grinding them in the future. I guess I shouldn't have added gluten to the flour - that might have been part of the problem. Anyway, it tastes great!

Thanks for the info. I did slit the top and posted pics.

Lars

FWIW - I've been buying yeast in bulk and freezing it since the early 90s. My first 1 lb package from Price Club lasted me at least 5 years and was still going strong when I finally used it all up. The current supply was from a jar of bread machine yeast, which I dumped into a zippered freezer bag, rolled all the air out, and zipped it tight before popping it into the freezer. That was at least 3 years ago - before my oldest went off to college. I made a loaf of bread with it on Saturday which turned out beautifully.

With all of the discussion about a month ago about some manufacturer reformulating yeast (!), I'm glad I don't have to buy any, currently.

DonnaR/CA

Lars, I have some in my freezer from several years ago. Just bring it to room temperature before using it. It works great. In fact, it got stored in the cupboard instead of the freezer about 2 months ago when I made my first sour dough starter. I killed that, forgetting to feed it, so made another. That's when I found out the yeast was in the cupboard instead of the freezer. It's the best sour dough starter I've had in several years!!!!!! I usually take it out, measure the yeast I'm going to need, refreeze the rest, and let the measured yeast come up to temp, as that way, it warms faster.

Tami

Lars, I keep my yeast in a glass jar in the fridge. I usually buy it in one pound packages. But like Annie I go through it quick enough that I never have to worry about it dying. I never bother to proof my yeast because I know it is still active.

Ann