Yeast questions

16 years ago

So I've been trying a loaf or two of French bread, finally used up the last of the big bag of yeast I had and purchased a new one, which got me to wondering:

Does the brand and amount of yeast used affect the flavor of the bread? This new yeast (Red Star active instant) is much smaller particles than the Fleischmans I had previously.

My recipe called for 2 T of yeast, whearas 2 pkgs of yeast would be slight more than 1 T. Can I use less and get the same result?

I've learned so much about flours from reading the tutorials from Tricia and Grainlady, now it's time to learn all about yeast.

Lisa

Comments (6)

lindac
16 years ago
Wow! What a question! So many variables!
The slower the rise the more flavor of the bread....
Yes you can use less and get "similar" results.....you can make bread with as little as 1/4 tsp of yeast...if you allow a long enough time for the rise.
Do a search for "no knead bread".
Linda C
cloudy_christine
16 years ago
Two tablespoons of yeast is an enormous amount. I'd never use that much in any recipe.
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A couple of points. First of all, a packet of yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoons. Yeast actually doesn't have to be precisely measured. You can use more--if you like a yeasty taste to your baked goods and want a shorter rising time. You can use less, and let your dough rise longer. As to the instant/regular yeast. I've seen experts on both sides of the fence--I've seen bread baking experts say they're the same, and you can use them 1 for 1; I've also seen that they're a little different. In practice? I've used both, and measured the same, and haven't seen any difference in my bread, so go ahead and use the amount the recipe calls for. More importantly, if you're using a bread machine, keep an eye on the process. Monitor the mixing stage so that you know the dough is achieving the proper consistency (so many things affect bread baking, that it's pretty hard to get perfect results UNLESS you adapt the recipe to the conditions of the weather, ingredients, etc.)
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What allows yeast to grow to abnormal amounts on the skin and ears, or other parts of the body is due to an off pH balance. An ear canal that is irritated from food or airborne allergies the dog starts scratching bacteria gets in with ear wax then attracts yeast spores to germinate. This whole process usually starts with allergies either atopy or food and until you get to the cause it usually becomes a vicious cycle. First you need to have the ear debris cultured, apply the meds given than try and work on the cause. From a diet perspective which is also the easiest fix is to try eliminating as may grains from the diet as possible starting with wheat. In fact finding a grainless diet is the most productive with ruling out food allergies. Second is atopy reasons which is the hardest to fix. Dogs that have allergies to grasses, pollens, molds etc. need to avoid these things as best possible and need some xtra care in treating the problems as well. Antihistamines, fish oil, desensitizing treatments are all that's available but not all work.When ever I am helping with a yeast problem I always try the diet route first and many times that's all it takes, but there are alot of hard core atopy allergies that require more treatments. Just remember not all ear problems are yeast and not all are bacterial, sometimes they are one or the other many times both and need to be cultured to treat both correctly.
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When to add salt… Not only does salt control the yeast and add flavor, it also strengthens and tightens gluten. If you wait to add salt after the gluten has been well-developed, the dough is easier to knead and the gluten develops faster. Once the salt is added, the dough will literally tighten. Adding salt early or late is a choice. It’s usually added early when using the direct dough method just to keep things simple and make dough quickly. If you tend to be forgetful, add it early because bread/pizza crust without salt is at best, insipid. If you want to develop the gluten quickly, add it late during the last minutes of kneading to strengthen the dough, just before it’s set to rise. Just don't add the salt to the proofing water with the yeast/sweetener. That's a place where salt can kill the yeast. If you are using a bread machine you can still choose to add the salt late – wait to add it at the add-in beep. It will be easier on your bread machine since the dough will be less “tight” during kneading. Depending on the type of crumb I want to achieve, I may wait to add the fat AND the salt at the add-in beep. If you add fat early in the mixing it “shortens” the gluten strands and you will get a close, even crumb (better for sandwich-type bread when you need the bread to hold a spread like mayo). By waiting to add fat late in the kneading, you will get a more open and irregular crumb (better for toasting – butter and jam setteling in all those nooks and crannies). You can make the same enriched recipe and add the fat early on one loaf and add the fat late on another loaf, and get different results in the crumb structure and the size of the loaves. The one where it is added early will be smaller/shorter than the loaf where it is added late. Tip if you are adding salt late. The type of salt can make a difference in how well it gets mixed in. If you are adding salt late, DON’T use regular table salt because it doesn’t mix in quickly and won’t get distributed throughout the dough. Choose flaky sea salt or Diamond Crystal kosher salt because they blend in faster. Another tip, or rule of thumb: If you are reducing the salt in yeast bread, be sure to reduce the yeast by the same amount. Example: If you reduce the salt by 50%, then reduce the yeast by 50%. If you don’t, you’ll find the dough will proof too rapidly and you could easily over-proof it, especially if you normally use a timer rather than checking the dough. Use a dough-rising bucket so you know by looking when the dough has doubled in bulk. If the dough comes up to the 1-quart line in the dough-rising bucket when you pat it in, when it reaches the 2-quart line you will know it has doubled in bulk. Dough can’t tell time…. It’s more about the strength of the yeast, hydration of the dough, and the ambient temperature that determines how quickly or slowly it takes to rise.
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lindac
16 years ago
Why not? If you are in a hurry it works just fine. You don't get that "old dough" flavor, but it's fresh bread in a hurry.
Linda C
grainlady_ks
16 years ago
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 125Â°-130Â°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 100Â°-110Â°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
sprout26
Original Author
16 years ago
As always, a wealth of info. Thanks for that, it explains why this recipe works for me. I haven't gotten anything else to come out yet besides the "quickie" bread, so wish I could have gone to panny camp. I'll keep at it and hopefully expand my bread horizons.
Terrapots
16 years ago
That was very interesting for me. I usually follow the instructions in recipes regarding yeast. Few of them that i remember don't instruct to mix with water and when they do some have mentioned to make sure yeast is active, and not all require sugar. I usually use fresh enough yeast and bread has usually risen well, more or less. Wasn't sure if all the instant, fast, and bread machine yeasts were similar or not. Most of the time I've just depended on my sourdough starter which is the fall guy for my bread failures, LOL. Thanks for the lesson.

Yeast questions

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lindac

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Yeast questions

Comments (6)

lindac

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sprout26Original Author

Terrapots

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