April 8, 2020 - 7:09am
Rejuvinating expired yeast
I have half of a two-pound bag of Red Star Dry Active Yeast that expired in 11/19, and it's no longer proofing as it once did. (Sadly, I had the unctioning to buy another bag in January but didn't. Big mistake.)
Is there any way I can rejuvenate the yeast I have so that it proofs again? Or am I out of luck?
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Paraphrasing Miracle Max in the Princess bride movie... is it partially dead or totally dead? ;-)
If it's only partially dead, use more of it per recipe. Or let the ferment go longer. Maybe stir the bag well to evenly distribute whatever live cells are left.
If it's totally dead, then I bet Mini Oven (Macgyver) knows some other uses for it.
It's partially dead. Will try your suggestions and see what happens!
This what the yeast used to do. Now it looks more like pound cake.
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Next time you buy bulk yeast remove a small portion to be used for baking and place in a ZipLok bag. The rest can be vacuum sealed. Store both of them in the freezer. It will last for years. I have some for September 2014 that works great.
To test your yeast put some in warm water with a bit of sugar. If it foams it is good.
Danny
Last week I pulled a package of Lesaffre Perfect Rise out of the freezer. It was dated 2011, and it worked well.
Thanks everyone for your input. Next time I buy yeast, I'll take some out and vacuum-seal the rest. I had been storing it in the freezer, maybe the vacuum-seal is the trick.
Make raisin water ;)
Revive starter by feeding it for 5 days with a bit of sugar and honey on top of usual flour and water, removing the dead top layer before you begin.
Dont keep it in the fridge.
If it has gone red or black, just discard it and start again.
Was going to bake some bread, when I noticed a partial gallon of spring water on the kitchen counter. On a lark, I used it instead of my usual tap water to proof my "expired" yeast. Was pleasantly surprised to see the yeast proof as it formerly did. Resulting bread is nicely doming again.
So, learned another lesson: Don't use city tap water as it has too much chlorine in it.
I have heard tell, NYC water is some of the best in the world! I always have a couple of bottles that sit at room temperature. Plain old chorine dissipates rapidly in standing water. Now if you municipality uses something like chloramine, that is a new ball game. Chloramine is not so easily separated from the water.
That's good to know. I will put some tap water aside this morning and try proofing some yeast this afternoon. Will comment later with results.
You may find something of interest HERE.
Yes, it was MOST helpful! I will be proofing some yeast using bottled water this morning, using this technique.
Thanks again!
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Are you using Instant Dry Yeast or Active Dry Yeast?
Red Star Active Dry Yeast, 32-oz bag.