ksrogers: I am going to try the yeast my friend gave me -- just as an experiment. I think I'll try using your suggested amounts. I also asked this question on the Cooking Forum and Grainlady gave an historical answer that I'm sure is the correct one: Posted by grainlady (My Page) on Sun, Jan 18, 09 at 9:24 SAF-Instant Yeast is a "superyeast". It's a product of genetic engineering. It's air dried instead of oven dried, and looks like tiny worms, compared to the much larger granuals of active dry yeast because of this process. It's a stronger type of yeast, fast-acting, and can be added directly to the dry ingredients rather than being proofed in liquid. The first generation instant yeast was produced to mix directly with dry ingredients for quicker mixing (no proofing necessary). Because the home-users were accustomed to proofing their active dry yeast (which is what I think you are calling "regular yeast"), instant yeast was a failure in home use. They proofed it anyway, which reduced the strength of the yeast, and it didn't perform as well if proofed. The second generation of this product COULD be proofed, OR added directly to the dry ingredients, and is basically what instant yeast is today. Instant yeast was used for many years in Europe before it was introduced in the United States and was first used in commercial application - by being able to add the dry yeast directly to the dry ingredients they were able to save time/money by eliminating yeast that required proofing. If you substitute SAF-Instant yeast for active dry yeast, you need to use 25% less. The "cousin" to the genetically modified "superyeast" Instant Yeast is fast (or quick)-rising yeast. These were reformulated from active dry yeast to preform in "instant" applications. For instance, one brand was simply made into smaller particles to dissolve rapidly and work faster than active dry yeast, rather than a genetic modification. In the 1980's the Automated Bread Machine was developed for home use. Yeast companies begen to develop fast-acting yeast (Quick-Rise, Rapid-Rise and Bread Machine Yeast) for use in Bread Machines. These types were essential for the fast rise needed for the 1-hour cycle. As the name implies, fast-acting yeast shortens the rising time for dough. It is also reduced by 25% if you are substituting it in a recipe calling for active dry yeast. When fast-acting yeast were originally introduced to the home baker, they were developed to make bread faster. You could eliminate proofing in water (add directly to the flour mixture - which saves 10 minutes) and eliminate one rise. After kneading, you cover the dough and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Form dough, pan, and rise as usual for the final proofing. For both Instant and Fast-Rising Yeast types (which are generally used in the same applications), they are commonly added directly to a portion of dry ingredients. The liquid added to this mixture needs to be 125-130°F to produce a quick rising dough. The warmer temperature is needed because when adding the warm water to a large bulk of ingredients, it quickly cools. Active dry yeast (incorrectly called "regular" yeast) was developed during WWII to replace Cake Yeast. Fleishmann's, the first brand of active dry yeast was developed in 1943. Cake yeast has 70% moisture content, requires refrigeration, has a short life of about 3-weeks, and was difficult to use during the war. Active Dry Yeast is 8% moisture. The development of active dry yeast made it easier to transport (no refrigeration needed) and use. It also had a longer shelf-life. There is one more type of dry yeast - Osmotolerant Instant Active Dry Yeast. This type of yeast is recommended for dough characterized as sweet, salty or low absorption. It's beneficial in certain types of recipes because osmotic tolerance is called for because the amount of available water in these doughs is limited. Fermipan markets osmotolerant instant active dry yeast as Fermipan Brown, and SAF markets osmotolerant instant active dry yeast as SAF Gold. -Grainlady

I use both Active Dry Yeast and a Fast-Rising Yeast (SAF-Instant) in the bread machine and for recipes I make by-hand. These yeast products are, and they are NOT, interchangeable, depending on it's application - just to complicate the issue for you. I tend to respect the type of yeast called for in a recipe. I also know when a recipe calls for Active Dry Yeast and I use a Fast-Rising Yeast, I should also reduce the amount by 25% or it will rise too quickly. This is especially important in a bread machine because the rise is TIMED, and you can find your bread dough pushing the lid off the bread machine because you've actually added TOO much yeast. The Fast-Rising Yeast products were originally used to make bread quicker by: -Omitting proofing the yeast in water/sweetener. You can cut 10-minutes off right there. You can add the yeast directly to a portion of the dry ingredients. (Don't forget you need the liquid to be warmer than when you proof yeast in water). The water cools quickly when it's added to a bulk amount of dry ingredients, so the warmer temperature is necessary to activate the yeast because it cools during the mixing. Side note... Because yeast has developed over the years, you can also add active dry yeast directly to the dry ingredients, you'll find many recipes that do so. You don't ALWAYS have to proof the yeast first. It's just another option in the world of bread-making. Just remember the temperature of the liquid will need to be higher (125-130-degrees F) than when you proof the yeast in water (100-110-degrees F). -Using a fast-rising yeast you can also omit the first rise. After kneading, you cover the dough and allow it to rest for 10-minutes before forming the dough. After your dough is formed, you allow it to proof to "double" as usual. If you happen to have a Zojirushi Bread Machine, you'll notice in the recipes in the user's manual they suggest one amount of yeast if you use Active Dry Yeast, and another (smaller) amount if you use a Fast-Rising Yeast, when you use the regular cycle. The same information is included in Beth Hensperger's book, "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook". As the others have shared, a fast-rise is a destination to get bread done quicker, but not necessarily BETTER bread. I have an old recipe for 30-Minute Hamburger Buns and they literally take only 30-minutes from start to baked burger buns. It's enormous amount of yeast in ratio to the amount of flour (6-tablespoons to 10-1/2 cups whole wheat flour = 4 dozen hamburger buns) is what makes it work in 30-minutes. While I've used this recipe when time was an issue, I wouldn't have put the finished product in the County Fair because they just wouldn't stand up to Judging Standards. But the recipe works well for a huge bunch of teenagers over for Sloppy Joes on the spur of the moment. Heck, they'll eat ANYTHING!!!(LOL) For bread in a bread machine that is made on the Quick Cycle in one hour, you MUST use the fast-rising yeast (SAF-Instant, Quick-Rise, Rapid-Rise, or Bread Machine Yeast - which are all fast-rising yeast products), in order to get a loaf in 1-hour. Active Dry Yeast won't work properly on the Quick Cycle. If you ever need to test your yeast (especially if you buy in bulk and don't use it all that often): Use a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Fill it to the 1/4-cup line with warm water and add 1 t. sugar and 1-1/2 t. yeast. Wait 10-minutes. If your yeast is active it should be up to the 1/2-cup line. And always remember... Your bread dough rises according to the strength of the yeast, ambient temperature, and moisture --- NOT according to a clock. The bread dough that rises in 25-minutes in the summer in my kitchen can take 45-minutes in a cold winter kitchen. -Grainlady

King Arthur Flour pretty much sums up what I've heard. That is that you definitely can substitute (after all, yeast is yeast) and although some suggest you need to use a different amount, KA says what I've heard from a number of sources. It's not really worth changing the amounts. Experiment if you want to though. Don't let me stop you! Here's an excerpt: "You may substitute active dry yeast for the instant yeast called for in our recipes without making any changes in the amount; if the recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of instant yeast, use 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast. (The official word on instant yeast is that you can use 75% the amount of instant yeast to replace active dry yeast in a recipe, but we never bother with the conversion; we find it all tends to even out in the end.)" Did you know yeast will keep birds from nesting in horses' manes? "Yeast is yeast and nest is nest and never the mane shall tweet". (Oh go groan somewhere else!)

The great thing about all purpose flour is that you can use it for all purposes. There are a few different kinds of wheat that are our main supply. Other forms are usually given a separate name, such as einkorn, spelt, emmer, farro (which can actually be three different ones, but is usually used for the one with the biggest berry). For the full explanation of the wheat varieties, search on Grainlady and read her posts. Basically, however, there are some that have 12-14% protein, from which gluten is developed, 8-10%, and 6%-ish. AP flour is a blend of high and low protein flours to make one that's around 10.5%, with some variation by company. KA AP is higher in protein than most other APs and very appropriate for many breads, but not so great for cake. Some bread flour is very high protein, and most is a percent or two more than the AP from the same company. Cake flour is usually about 8% protein and pastry flour is 6%. You don't want to develop gluten for cakes and pastries! That's why you're warned not to overbeat them. You can't tell the protein content based on the nutrition label. It gets lost in the rounding error. KA and some others label their bags with the actual protein content. So, the point of bread flour is that the higher protein content develops more gluten, making for a stronger rise. That's not necessarily a higher rise. For that, they often put malted barley in the flour, more often AP, because it's already a blend, as well as enriched (vitamins and minerals) if it's bleached. The stronger gluten will show in the crumb structure and texture. Bread is whatever you want it to be. If you're making bread you like with the flour you have, then it's good! If someone else prefers another, that's good too. Some people prefer a stronger cake from AP, some like a flyaway light cake crumb from cake flour. Some people mix their own to get it just right. Unless you're in a competition with a particular standard sheet that it's being judged to, none of this matters so long as you and those you're feeding like what you're making, so don't let it get to you.