The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Best yeast for refrigerator rise?

reptilegrrl's picture
reptilegrrl

Best yeast for refrigerator rise?

Which yeasts do you think are best and worst for refrigerator fermentation?

I bake GF and I like to ferment my breads overnight in the fridge for several reasons (better flavor, less grittiness, more cohesive dough.) I typically use instant yeast.

When I first started out I bought a jar of Fleishman's instant yeast (maybe it was "rapid rise" or something) and it was working pretty well. Then I moved and bought a jar of Kroger brand instant yeast, still had great results. Recently I needed yeast so I bought SAF red and SAF gold. I've had ONE bread turn out well with SAF gold, a sweet potato yeast bread. Everything else has no oven spring at all.

I'm going to go buy different yeast tomorrow and hope for better rise and oven spring.

Norcalbaker's picture
Norcalbaker

I use either/or SAF Red and Fleishman's Rapid Rise in GF.

I find GF requires more yeast and some sugar.  I typically use between 10g- 12g for every 500g GF in my recipe.  And if you are using xanthan gum, it needs to be pretty fresh.  If it's a year old, it just doesn't work.  Personally, I try to use as little xanthan gum as possible.

 

i store my yeast in the freezer.

reptilegrrl's picture
reptilegrrl

I'm using GF recipes, not converting. They do have a little sugar and use a little more yeast than a regular bread recipe. I've used these same recipes before without this same problem. I will admit that the author of this book does not like instant yeast and says not to use it, but realistically I can't think of any reason not to.

I also try to use very little xanthan gum, but this recipe calls for it so I am using it. Right now I am also experimenting with a basic white bread recipe and seeing how small recipe changes affect it. This includes trying different binders. My xanthan gum is about a year old, though it's inside the expiration date. I might pick up a new jar to compare when I am out.

I bought the SAF yeasts in the one pound packs. I keep a small amount in a jar in the fridge and the rest is vacuum-sealed in the freezer.

 

Do you notice a performance difference in the SAF red and Fleischmann's?

 

Norcalbaker's picture
Norcalbaker

Yes I too bake using gluten-free specific recipes rather than converting gluten recipes to eat gluten-free.

But I also bake a ton of gluten products for family and friends. When I bake with gluten then I much prefer active dry, especially for long ferment. But in GF baking, I stock and use both.

Right now I'm trying to change over to all wild yeast (no boosters or commercial yeast) sourdough starter and eliminate all the xanthan gum as well. Challenging to say the least.

But to answer your question regarding whether or not I see a difference in performance between the two brands SAF/Red Star and Fleischmanns, the performance differences are in the types, not brands.

Instant (rapid rise) yeast is designed for immediate activation; dry active is slow and steady.

Most likely the reason the cookbook author insists on dry yeast is that instant yeast is not recommended for cold for fermentation. That said, bakers use instant yeast in cold fermentation all the time.

Since instant yeast is designed for fast activation and short rise time, less is required in any given recipe. That burst of yeast activity means a faster rate of starch to sugar conversion by the yeast. So in long fermentation, there's the chance that the yeast develops too much, too fast and depletes the sugar supply.

Once the sugar supply is depleted, your dough is over-fermented. If the recipe calls for dry yeast, and you are using instant yeast, you have to reduce the amount of instant yeast by 20% - 25%. If you haven't been adjusting, you are most likely over-fermenting. Over-fermented dough has poor rise and oven spring.

If these are recipes that were successful in the past, then I would look at the following as possible causes:

1. Too much instant yeast

2. Over-fermenting/proofing

3. Over mixing

4. Temperature of your refrigerator. Above 40°F harmful bacteria will grow; 36°F-38°F food is safe and yeast activity slowed, but not stopped; below 36°F and yeast will be very inactive.

5. Humidity is too low in refrigerator. Dough needs humidity. Refrigerators are designed with evaporators to remove moisture. Consider placing your wrapped dough in the vegetable crisper. The way the crisper works is all closed windows on the draw hold in humidity. All open drawers dries is out.

6. Brand of xanthan gum; not all perform well. I prefer Bob's Red Mill. I mentioned earlier that xanthan has a self life. I just bought fresh xanthan gum today as the supply I had was nearing the 12 month mark.

7. Temperature of dry ingredients--they should all be at the least, 70 degrees or higher.

8. Yeast: If you store your yeast in the refrigerator or freezer, make sure it sits out for 45 - 60 min before you use it.

And despite what a lot of bakers believe, you do NOT have to dissolve dry yeast in liquid before using. Red Star even states that fact on their website. You just need to use the correct liquid temperature when adding directly to dry ingredients.

9. Temperature of liquids:
* Liquid, if adding yeast DIRECTLY TO DRY INGREDIENTS, 120°F-130°F.
* If DISSOLVING IN LIQUID 110°F-115°F.

10. Temperature of you dough. Check the temperature after you mix. Aside from the starting temperature of ingredients, there's the friction factor to consider: mixing = friction; friction = heat. Final dough temperature (after mixing) should be between 70°F - 82°F.

11. Mixing method: is yeast coming in direct contact with sugar or salt?

12. Ratio of whole grain flours to starches; starches (including white rice flour) should not be more than 60%. Starches absorb a ton of liquid, inhibiting both rise and oven spring

13. Age of flours and storage conditions; gluten free flours have a very short self life. Unrefrigerated, they only last about 3 months; refrigerated or in freezer, they last 6-9 months. I transfer my flours to air tight canisters and store in the freezer. I label the containers with brand, type of flour, and date opened.

14. Using too much bench flour during shaping; additional flour reduces the hydration of the dough, inhibiting rise and oven spring

15. Storage condition of yeast. Once the yeast container is opened it should be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer, and used within six months.

kendalm's picture
kendalm

I'm hooked on fresh yeast which I get in 1 pound blocks from a local bakery. I will typically put about 3/4 in the freezer and one quarter in the refrigerator. For cold fermentation it seems to do a great job. One drawback is that frozen fresh yeast is the hardest substance on the planet and almost requires power tools to chip apart !

Norcalbaker's picture
Norcalbaker

"One drawback is that frozen fresh yeast is the hardest substance on the planet and almost requires power tools to chip apart !"

What we will do for want of a great bake!

Norcalbaker's picture
Norcalbaker

The reason the sweet potato recipe was the only successful bread with the SAF Gold was probably due to the additIonal carbohydrates in the sweet potato. SAF Gold is not a lean dough yeast. It has about 20% more activity that regular dry yeast. In a lean dough, Gold will exhaust the sugar supply very quickly.

Gold is specifically designed for doughs with a sugar content of 10% - 30%.  Sugar is a double edge sword: it supplies food for yeast, but it's hygroscopic, so draws water.  Yeast needs water as its a living organism. when regular yeast is used in a high sugar application, the lack of available water for the yeast results in slow yeast development. So the sweet dough will rise extremely slow.

Gold is also a warm fermentation yeast.  

The high sugar and warm temperature specifications allow commercial bakeries to get sweet yeast doughs, like cinnamon rolls and yeast doughnuts, produced about 20% - 30% faster than it would if they used regular dry yeast.