Lpink, I've never used a bread machine, but I've made a lot of bread. Someone else can help with machine advice; I'll start by telling you about yeast.
Bread machine yeast is faster acting. Different companies have different yeast strains, and that accounts for some variation, but generally the point is that instant yeast, rapid-rise, and bread machine yeast 1)has finer granules, and 2)has fewer dead yeast cells. The reason you get a too-yeasty taste with the instant is that you don't have to use as much. You can use about a third less yeast in a recipe that calls for regular.
You can also use less of any kind of yeast and let it take more time rising. I always do that, and it improves the flavor a lot.
My experience is that the dates on the packages have to be far, far in the future. If it says it will expire two months from now, don't buy it. By the way, yeast is sold in the baking isle with the flours and mixes, and/or in the dairy department, suspended above the case that holds butter,refrigerated biscuits, etc. Fresh yeast would have to be refrigerated, but if you find it in a store around here, chances are it will be no good. I used to seek it out, but gave up long ago.
You can store the packets in the freezer, in the fridge, or in the cupboard, depending on how soon you are going to use them.

I buy my yeast at Sam's club in 2 one pound packages....and it the freezer it keeps well long past the expiration dare....I am currently using yeast that shoule have expired a year and a half ago.
I find that 99.44% of yeast failure is due to too hot water that it's mixed with.
Linda C

I meant the baking aisle, not isle. I must have been unconsciously wishing I were in SharonCB's island paradise instead of cold, rainy Pennsylvania.

I too have had yeast that was purchased in the two pound packages and it lasted me years. I was given another two pound package and then I got rid of the first package. It was still good though. I keep it in the dark, in a tin canister in my refrigerator. Right now I have a double batch of yeast refrigerator dough raising. I will add the rest of the ingredients after it has raised and put it in my refrigerator and then this weekend shape, let raise and bake for a pitch in dinner on Sunday.

I'm another who buys the 2 pound packages from Sam's Club, just plain old yeast, not the bread machine stuff. I keep one package in the freezer and the other in the refrigerator in a quart canning jar with a lid.

I bake all my own bread, I never buy any. Hamburger buns and dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls and pita, I'm spoiled, I like my homemade stuff.

I do all of my dough in the bread machine on dough cycle then form it, let it rise and bake it in the oven, so I can't help on baking in the machine.

I haven't had any trouble at all with my yeast and it lasts a long time. I agree with LindaC, if your yeast isn't outdated, carefully check the temperature of your liquid.

L, send me your address and I'll send you a package of yeast. A BIG package, LOL.

I had that address and lost it in the great (and recent) computer crash.

Annie

Needless to say, you've got to have active yeast to make bread, so if you purchase it in bulk amounts, it pays to test yeast occasionally, especially after it's been in storage or is close to it's "use-by" date. An easy test for yeast activity:

Use a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Fill it to the 1/4 c. line with warm water and add 1 t. of sugar. Then add 1-1/2 t. yeast and wait 10 minutes. If the yeast is good and active, the contents should be up to the 1/2 c. line.

I keep a 4-oz. jar of yeast in the refrigerator (I've reused these jars for years and always purchase yeast in bulk amounts) and the rest of the bulk amount in the freezer. I bake bread once or twice a week. I also keep 2 types of yeast on-hand, SAF-Instant and Active Dry Yeast.

The type of yeast you need to purchase depends on what the recipe calls for.

ACTIVE DRY YEAST is the most common yeast and many recipes in bread machines use this type of yeast. It comes in 3-pak envelopes, 4-oz. brown glass jars (which is equal to 16 envelopes) and bulk amounts. The large 1-pound or larger amounts are available at Sam's Club and restaurant supply stores, and occasionally at grocery stores.

INSTANT and FAST-ACTING yeast go by several different names. SAF-Instant (my favorite), Red Star Quick-Rise, Fleishmann's Rapid Rise, and Bread Machine yeast are all fast-acting types of yeast. They work much faster than active dry yeast. When they are substituted for active dry yeast in a recipe, you reduce the amount of fast-acting yeast by 25% what the recipe calls for.

If you make a recipe in the bread machine that uses the QUICK (1-hour) cycle, you MUST use a fast-acting yeast. Active Dry Yeast doesn't work fast enough for this process.

Personally, I never bake in the bread machine and only use it as a tool for kneading and making dough. I don't even let dough rise in the bread machine, but use a dough rising bucket so that I can be sure when dough has risen enough - not some timer on a machine. Dough rises according to the strength of the yeast, the hydration of the dough, and the ambient temperature and the amount of humidity in the air. NOT a timer.

There are many things that cause bread failures in a bread machine - not just the yeast. Do you carefully check the hydration of the dough and adjust it until the dough is a nice soft ball of dough? Correct hydration is as critical as the yeast. Check your bread machine manual for a Troubleshooting Guide for more information.

-Grainlady

BTW, L, I was going to suggest acidophilus, until I realized you were talking about bread. (grin)

Oh, and I use the same yeast for everything, just like Grandma did and her Grandma before her. It works for me.

Annie

I've made some very fine loaves in the bread machine, the last one being the maple oatmeal bread that Annie sent me a recipe for. That was with a new package of yeast. If I'm going to do bread at all it will have to be in the machine. I watched the dough, it looked great, nice and smooth and elastic. It just never rose worth a darn. That's why I fault the yeast. I was wondering if it wasn't a good thing to take the yeast right out of the freezer and put it in with the flour, etc.

Also, if anything, the water I added was too cold. I just added it right out of the tap. The recipe was for Cherry Yogurt bread that I got from Annie. It tasted great, but was all gummy on the inside, I had to toss it. I used 2/3 white bread flour and 1/3 whole wheat.

I have been looking in the baking aisle for the yeast, but when I go grocery shopping I will have to check the fridge section. Maybe that's why I can't ever find yeast in the grocery store.

Any brands better than others? I've seen Fleischman's and Hodgsen Mills and Red Starr. I'm not sure if there is a Sam's Club in Allentown. I'm wondering where else to look.

So does the freezer yeast have to come to room temp before using? Maybe I should have turned off the bread machine when I realized the dough wasn't rising very fast. I'm going to try and make the loaf again next weekend.

Ah, the yeast was still freezing cold! That explains a lot. And the water was cold tap water. You'd be waiting a while for that dough to rise.
The water should be warm to mildly hot. I don't worry about the actual temperature. The yeast package tell you the temp range. I go for warm rather than hot, but if I had to use yeast straight from the freezer, I'd use hot water. A;though just letting the yeast sit out in room air for a little while should warm it up; after all, it's tiny particles.
If you think of it as a bunch of living cells, you'll see that its multiplication rate wil vary with temperature. Too warm, and you get the over-yeasted effect. Too cold, no action.
There are bread techniques that use a slow cold rise, but even then you don't start with freezing yeast and cold water.

Lpink, I'd recommend going up to the Echo Hill Country Store in Fleetwood for yeast. My DD uses her bread machine constantly and I buy bulk yeast for it there and then send it down to Florida. It's less expensive than in the grocery stores too.

I'm planning on going to Echo Hill on Saturday, May 17th for a general stock-up trip and you're welcome to ride along.

I use yeast straight out of the freezer. No problems, except perhaps a slower rise, which I prefer anyway.

Carol

Cold yeast and cold water makes for a slower rise. If you did the whole cycle of the bread machine, tiw asn't long enough for the dough to rise.
That was a heavy dough, takes a while to rise....you didn't wait long enough.
Try just using the maching to knead the dough, then let it rise once, shape, rise again and bake it outside of the machine.
Linda C

I also use the yeast, right out of the refrigerator though, I've never tried it right out of the freezer.

I put cold water into my bread machine, but it has a "pre heat" cycle, which warms everything, then starts mixing, so I don't get the "hot water/cold water" issue.

Definitely try that cherry yogurt bread again, L, it was very, very good. I'm glad you liked the maple oatmeal, I knew you would, being a Michigan girl at heart you'd have to love maple. LOL.

Annie

Lpink, I'm new to making bread in a machine so don't take my word as gospel... To begin with I should tell you that my 'new' bread maker was bought second hand... They stopped making them in 1999 so it probably has a few years on your machine... I have no idea how it's supposed to work, only what I see happening... I came close to panicking when I noticed that it was heating up as it mixed the ingredients... I thought, for sure, I had wasted the whole $4.50 I paid for it... lol

I've only made a few loves but they all turned out to be a bit gummy in the center, especially the one I baked in it... I don't think it's the fault of your yeast... As long as you keep it in a completely air tight container it should be good for a very long time... But back to the machine... I think my machine kneads the dough much too long and too vigorously, at least for the 1 pound loaves ( haven't tried anything larger yet )... And I *think* that's what causes it to be a bit gummy... But all my bread rises well enough ( better than when I do it by hand )...

This is just a thought but perhaps the pre-heat on your machine is a tad too high and it's killing the yeast???

Rita

Kneading the bread won't cause it to be gummy....but under baking will.
I use yeast out of the freezer and cold water in my Cuisinart, the action of kneading heats the dough enough to wake up the yeast.
If you wait long enough 1 teaspoonful of yeast is enough to raise a simple white dough containing 5 cups of flour.
Since you didn't kill the yeast in hot water, I suspect you didn't allow long enough for it to rise.
I have never seen a grocery store that doesn't carry yeast. Ask someone which aisle it's in.
Linda C

I always buy the two Lbs. bulk Fleischman's from B.J's. 1 pkg. is kept in the freezer and the other in a pint jar in the frig and a small container in the cupboard. I believe it is best to use yeast at room temperature. I see no difference in brand names.

Do you know for sure it didn't rise at all before baking?

Because when I used to use my bread machine, I found my yeast was TOO active and the bread rose too high in the machine, which caused it to COLLAPSE! Basically, the timing of the machine for that recipe was too long and over-rising the bread.

You can try switching to a smaller loaf size if you are going for the largest for your machine. Or you can allow the machine to do the mixing and kneading then take it out and shape it yourself.

I buy the 2-pound bags of yeast from Costco and use it straight from the fridge. I use it in my bread machine, too, and it seems to work as well as bread machine yeast.

Truly, it doesn't make any difference if you bring dry yeast to room temperature or not. (I'm referring to the viability of the yeast, not the rising time.)

And, as Annie said, if it's going in a bread machine with a pre-heat cyle, it doesn't matter.

Fresh yeast, if frozen, would need to be defrosted in the fridge and then brought to room temp, but fresh yeast doesn't do that well in the freezer anyway.

I keep bulk yeast in a gasket-ed stainless canister with a lock-down lid. Exposure to moisture is the thing to avoid. As long as it's well-sealed and dry, frozen yeast should last almost indefinitely. The longest I've heard of is 11 years (either a very infrequent baker or a very disorganized freezer, LOL).

Carol

The whole loaf was gummy. The good loaf I made rose properly and then baked properly. I could tell this loaf wasn't raised enough. I think I should have turned off the bread machine and let it rise longer. Also, I think the yeast I used was old, so it was kinda iffy even before I put it in the freezer.

I know it's weird that a grocery doesn't carry yeast, it seemed weird to me, but this is the urban NE. But I think the reason I can't find the yeast is because I am only looking in the baking aisle. I am going shopping tonight and will look in the fridge section and report back.

I don't know of a Sam's Club or Costco in my area--Allentown PA. Thanks for the generous offer Ruthanna! Unfortunately I will be on vacation that weekend in May. I would love to get together sometime and go farm market hopping! :)

Our Wal-Mart, which is NOT a SuperWalMart or Sam's, has the bread machine yeast in jars right near the bread machines themselves. So you might check there.

I keep mine in the freezer and use it straight from there. However, I read once not to use your flour straight from the freezer - give that a chance to come to room temperature. (But I don't remember the reason the book gave for that instruction.)

If you have more than one grocery store, check it, too. When I can't find something at one store, I try another one. Stater Bros might not carry something that the more upscale Vons (Safeway) has. That was the case of both parchment paper and the non-stick Reynolds Wrap - Vons carried them both, and neither Stater nor Wal-Mart carried either. (Now Staters carries the Reynolds Wrap, and Wal-Mart carries BOTH.)

DonnaR/CA

If you strike out at your store, does your area have any places like Smart and Final or Cash and Carry - non-membership stores that serve as restaurant and small businesses supply?

Another option would be to order from King Arthur - the one pound is about $5 and the 2 pound ~$10 but I don't know what shipping would be. Possibly even with shipping it is cheaper to buy it in the bulk pack than getting the 4 oz jars or packets at the grocery store.

to take the yeast right out of the freezer and put it in with the flour

I take it right out of the freezer to use in the bread machine, mixer or by hand and it rises fine for me. The yeast mass is small enough compared to the water mass that I doubt it makes much difference to the temperature of the two when combined if the yeast starts out at room or freezer temp.

Did you really mean that you put it in at the same time you add the flour? When I'm using the bread machine, the first thing I do is to add the water and then sprinkle the yeast on it. That gives the yeast a few moments to start dissolving while I get out the flour and anything else I'll use. I'm not sure that is necessary but possibly if you add the yeast and flour at the same time, the flour is grabbing too much of the water and the yeast isn't dissolving so it can start working.

What kind of water are you adding? I always use the filtered water tap so there isn't chlorine which might interfere with the yeast. I don't know if that is as important for non-sourdough breads, but it might help.

To get warm water for bread in the bread machine, I use about 1/4 to 1/2 from the instahot tap and the rest from the filtered water tap (depending on the time of year - I always check that it is not to hot - i.e. comfortably warm to the touch because one time my bread didn't rise and I think it was due to the water being too hot). It is probably better to err on the side of too cool than too hot for the water - especially in the bread machine which will heat things up anyway.

I never cook the dough in the machine (or almost never - one time I forgot to select dough cycle and it cooked in the machine by accident). I prefer to form the loaves myself and cook in the oven. But depending on your machine, it may have different cycles or let you set up a custom cycle to allow for a longer time between kneading and baking to allow for a type of bread that needs longer to rise.

Cloudswift, my bread machine says to add all liquid ingredients, then dry on top, and yeast on top of that. I make two little indentations on top of the dry stuff, one for yeast and one at the other "end" for salt, because the salt can affect the yeast (although I can't say that I've ever experienced that).

Annie

I use my yeast right from the freezer, and my flour right from the fridge. I measure all the ingredients out seperately first then add them to the machine. I also use warm water from the tap. I would suggest buying some Bread Machine yeast if you can find it. The granuals are a bit smaller so it dissolves faster when mixed in. By the way, if you can't find yeast in the store you can purchase it online. I bought mine from King Arthur for years until it became available in bulk in my area.

Joanne

Well, after asking, I finally found where they keep the yeast at Wegman's. It was above the commercial cheese case! But then, I must have forgotten/left one of my grocery bags in the cart, because I am missing some groceries. I went grocery shopping after class last night and didn't get home until 11:30 PM. Then after unloading, and grabbing something to eat, yada, yada, I started to realize I was missing a bag. By then it was about 12:30. I should have gone back for it but I was so tired and really didn't want to go out that late at night. I'm really regretting it today, since there was about 15 bucks worth of food or more in that bag. So I'm kind of bummed overall.

All my ingredients were cold, which may have contributed something, but I think the big problem was old yeast. I haven't had any problems like this when I have used fresh yeast from the store. This was some I'd had sitting around for a while. Now I know where to find it, at least at one store.

This hasn't been a very good week so far, and it's only Tues.

So sorry 1pinkmountain that you didn't get your bag of groceries. Hopefully the store will give you what you are missing. Most stores do. I have several bread machines and do use more than one at a time when I want to make dough that requires kneading. My oven hasn't worked for a long time and when I bake, most of the time I use two toaster ovens. They really work great, they have the convection feature in them. I bought them at Aldi's. Good luck with the groceries and also with your baking with the fresh yeast. I always put a bit of sugar in with my yeast and water when not using the bread machine to make sure the yeast is fresh, but the bread machine, no, I just do the liquid first then the dry and the yeast last. That is how all my bread machines are. I think I have 4, all bought at rummage sales except the first one.

Sue

Sorry things aren't going well. Do call Wegman's. Someone probably found the bag in your cart and turned it to the store.

Hey Marilyn Sue, a bit THANK YOU for encouraging me to call Wegman's. I can hardly believe it, but they DID HAVE MY GROCERIES. They even kept them in their fridge for me. I'm picking them up tonight after work. This even more convinces me that Wegman's is a great place to shop. It's a little farther for me than another local grocery, but they have been so unhelpful at that other place that I just decided to stop shopping there. This experiences even more cements my decision that Wegman's is the best grocery store in my area. They don't have quite the selection in regular groceries, but they more than make up for it in good service and other ammenities. I haven't noticed significant price differences although I am tempted more at Wegman's to purchase some of their fancier items. But with a little discipline I can usually minimize that. So things are looking up! Now maybe I can get my yeast and try that cherry yogurt bread again!
Thanks again for the support!
Lpink

Good News Lpink So glad you are getting your missing groceries. I thought your store would. Most stores want to have you come back as a happy customer! Now let us hear how the yeast bread turns out. I especially like the bread machine for the kneading and in a pinch the baking.

Sue