The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Yeast

granny627's picture
granny627

Yeast

I noticed in a lot of the recipes instant dry yeast is called for .  I have the dry yeast that I bought in quantity.  Can I use that?  Why do you call for the instant ?

Thanks, Granny

granny627's picture
granny627

Why do the recipes that I've looked at so far on the Fresh Loaf use instant yeast?  I have a large bag of instant yeast, can Iuse it?

Thanks, Granny

cranbo's picture
cranbo

Instant dry yeast (IDY)  is typically slightly stronger due to its formulation, and does not require re-hydration ("blooming") in water prior to adding dry ingredients. 

So, because you can use less of it and combine it with the dry ingredients prior to adding liquids, IDY is preferred over active dry yeast (ADY). 

If you're using ADY where IDY is called for, increase the amount of ADY by 25% to get the same results. 

Floydm's picture
Floydm

A pretty good answer to your question is here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/faqs/baking/yeast

Happy baking!

-Floyd

sphealey's picture
sphealey

All modern yeasts will work fine in all bread receipes using basic techniques.  If you get out to the extremes (very high-sugar breads, formulas with very long fermentation (rising) time and microscopic amounts of yeast, etc) the exact yeast type might matter, but since about 1990 the yeast companies have perfected dried yeast and it all just works.  Don't worry about it.

sPh