December 1, 2016 - 10:53am
Rapid rise instant yeast
Sorry people for all the questions. I have never baked before until recently. Somewhere on the King Arthur website, while reading some reviews, I noticed someone talking about NOT to use rapid rise instant yeast. I can't find it again. However, my wife purchased some of that yeast a couple of weeks ago. Is it OK to use in bread baking?
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Its use is supported in Hamelman's and Reinhart's books, just to name two authorities. Each of them gives conversion factors from one type of yeast to the others.
Instant yeast is fine, as is active dry yeast or fresh yeast. Do check the conversion rates though. Active dry yeast has a coating of dead yeast cells on the outside of each grain so first, it needs moisture to dissolve this coating, and second you use a bit more active dry yeast than instant yeast in a given recipe. It doesn't matter that much though. You can just let the dough ferment for a bit longer to compensate rather than using more yeast!
A lot of people think that Rapid Rise is different from Instant Yeast, but really they are the same thing. Often in forums people will perpetuate this rumor. Bread machine yeast is the same thing as well. I only use instant yeast since all the big authors say there is no advantage to simple active dry yeast.
Edit: Is this where you read that?...http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2016/01/29/yeast-use/
FWIW, I have used instant yeast for refrigerated dough all the time and it works fine.
a great conversion site for any type of yeast:
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/yeast_converter.html
The reason that some discourage its use is because the directions suggest that because the yeast is so effective, you can skip the first rise. This is bad advice, because long, multiple fermentations add great flavor to the bread.
As long as you ignore that advice, the yeast is fine to use.
is basically the same thing as regular active dry yeast but with a dough conditioner in it to make it seem like it works better. From all the research I have done online (including manufacturer's websites) and in person, it appears that the most common dough modifier is Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), which makes the dough softer, resulting in a bit more rise if your dough has enough gluten to stretch that far. I bake 10% Einkorn exclusively, which has a very weak structure and Rapid Rise yeast makes my loaves worse, flatter and denser. It seems that for most people there is not much different as long as the compensate using a conversion chart, in which case you're not really changing your outcome anyway. LOL
There are other differences besides the addition of ascorbic acid between instant and active dry yeast. This includes moisture level and particle size (possibly a different strain too, depending on manufacturer). This allows for full activation without the need to proof in water. This makes it more convenient to use. If used 1:1 then the instant will be faster, but like said above, faster isn't always better. Yes, if you use a conversion chart the timing and outcome will be the same, but you save the step of proofing. You can skip proofing active dry most of the time, but it will not fully activate. Given how small an amount of yeast I normally use, I prefer instant.
I am curious if your 10% Einkorn (or is that supposed to be 100% Einkorn?) still comes out worse if you use the conversion chart? I ask because it would be interesting to know if einkorn and ascorbic acid don't play well together versus it being just a speed thing.
Thanks to all for taking the time to reply. Very helpful to a newbie.