I have looked for fresh yeast and haven't found it for many years now. LUCKY YOU!!! Wal-Mart used to stock it during the holidays, but alas....

Nothing takes me back to my mother's kitchen like the smell of bread made with fresh yeast. It's entirely different and can't be duplicated with dried yeast or sourdough.

BTW - your Walnut Coffee Cake is beautiful!!!

-Grainlady

i hope i won't cause you to keel over nancy, but i spotted some at the grocery store the other day and i actually brought it home! now what the heck was i thinking of? lol, LOL!

Go for it, san. After that pie crust, I hereby deem you an (almost) pro!

Nancy how dare you post that fabulous looking piece of carbohydrate and NOT the recipe?

I'll look for fresh yeast in my market, what the bleep section would it be in?!?!

Hey I made oatmeal buttermilk bread yesterday in the machine, had it this morning with {{!gwi}} I made last week....

Nancy,
Your Walnut Coffee Cake looks divine! YUMMO!!

My Mom would always get fresh yeast from a local pizzeria that would sell to her, she was never w/o it. That might be an option???

Lucy

Wow! Your cake looks really delicous!

What is the difference when using fresh yeast? I've come across a few recipes that call for it but have never come across any in the stores.

Lucy, I never thought to call the pizza places around here to see if they use fresh yeast that I might be able to buy. I'll have to check that out.

Khandi, I guess the main difference is in the flavor, I just like it better. I think the dry yeasts were developed mainly because the shelf life of fresh yeast is short. So they found a yeast strain that could be dried and brought back to life. BTW, my dough rose very fast using the fresh.

Jessy, I'll post the recipe that I used as a guide. I made the dough pretty much as written but after I rolled it out I just spread with soft unsalted butter, sprinkled with brown sugar and finely chopped walnuts...oh, and I had some of the new caramel chips from Kraft that I scattered around too. Rolled it up as directed in the recipe and made cuts that I turned side ways. Drizzle just powdered sugar, vanilla and enough cream to make the right consistency. I'm sure you can adapt...

Caramel Apple Ring

Dough:
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 envelope FLEISCHMANN'S RapidRise Yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup prepared caramel toppingApple Cinnamon

Filling:
3 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup KARO Light Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions
For Dough:
In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt. Heat water, milk and butter until very warm (120° to 130° F). Gradually add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electic mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

Roll dough to 20 X 12-inch rectangle; spread evenly with Apple Cinnamon Filling (see below).

Beginning at long end, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seam to seal; join ends together to form a ring. Place, seam side down, on greased baking sheet. Cut 2/3 through ring at 1-inch intervals. Twist each section sideways to expose filling. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Remove from sheet; cool slightly on wire rack. Drizzle with caramel topping; serve warm.

For Apple Cinnamon Filling:
Combine apples, flour, brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick. Stir in cinnamon. Cool completely.

Nancy

LOL san......what were you thinking?

Nancy that looks sooooo good! Sure wish I had the baking gene but then again I'd be obese instead of just fat!

I can get fresh yeast all the time. But I never bake breads. There are so many brick and wood oven bakeries here making amazing breads; I have to stop myself from buying. But they keep the fresh yeast over by the European butters and those little squares remind me of my grandmother. I have her beautiful yellow ware "roll bowl".

I used to make sweet breads and wreaths for Thanksgiving and Xmas morning but there's no one here now to eat them except the 2 of us. And we'd be quite capable of eating the whole thing!