Has anyone else been receiving notification of new content for old blog entries?  I just received an email listing blog entries (78 new posts) the majority of which do not have current entries.  For example, there is an entry from zolablue about Clear Flour where the most recent post to it is March 18, 2010 (the posts range from May 9, 2007 to March 18, 2010).

Spätzli is a speciality in Switzerland. It is a type of dumpling that is almost always served with game. The hunting season starts in a few weeks for about 3 weeks and restaurants and those of us who love game will be preparting a lot of Spätzli.

http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/spatzli-and-game-a-swiss-specialty/

This is mostly for amusement's sake.

Every so often, I want to make a recipe that calls for fresh yeast and I don't have fresh yeast. Of course, I have nothing against using fresh yeast. It's just not that easily found around here. Instead, I use the active dry yeast we always have on hand. (Why do I always choose active dry yeast? Because that’s what my mother always uses.)

In the past and quite recently, I have gone through various books and the internet looking for this conversion information. Here are some of the various formulae I have come across in my travels:

for every cup of flour in the recipe, use either of

    3 grams compressed fresh yeast
    2 grams active dry yeast
    1 gram instant active dry yeast

-Maggie Glezer, "Artisan Baking Across America"

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Substitute twice as much (by weight) fresh yeast for the amount of dry yeast called for in the recipe.

-Daniel Leader, "Local Breads"

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1 g fresh = 0.5 g active dry = 0.4 g instant

-Susan (Wild Yeast), wildyeastblog.com

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2+1/2 tsp (one package) active dry yeast = 18 gm cake fresh yeast

-Carol Field, "The Italian Baker"

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A .6-oz [17gm] cube of cake yeast is roughly equivalent to 1½ to 2 tsp. instant yeast or 2 to 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast.

-Sydny Carter, Yeast: The Basics, allrecipes.com

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One .6 ounce [17 grams] cake is equivalent to 1 envelope [.25 ounce/7 grams] of dry yeast.

-Fleischmann's Yeast FAQ, breadworld.com

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yeast, compressed . . . . 1 cake, 3/5 oz . . . . 1 package active dry yeast

-Irma S. Rombauer, Know your ingredients, Joy of Cooking

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1 packed tablespoon of fresh or cake yeast=21 grams which=2-1/2 [8gm] teaspoons active dry (so for 100 grams fresh yeast use 1/4 cup + 1/2 teaspoon or 40 grams active dry)

-Rose Levy Beranbaum, realbakingwithrose.com

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If you are substituting active dry yeast for instant yeast in a recipe, [...] add about 20 percent more yeast to the recipe than what is called for. [...] If you encounter a recipe that uses fresh yeast, divide the weight by 3 to calculate the proper amount of instant yeast to use.

-Yeast FAQ, thefreshloaf.com

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Some years ago, with mixed up logic, I managed to work out the following formula. Remarkably, the bread I made rose beautifully.

2½ tsp (8gm) active dry yeast = 50gm fresh yeast

-me, my house

Depending on whose formula I use, to replace 50gm fresh yeast, I should use anywhere from 8 to 32.5 gm active dry yeast. (I think I have the arithmetic right with the various formulae: 32.5gm, 25gm, 22.5gm, 20gm, 17.5-20gm, 17gm, 8.3 OR 8gm active dry in place of 50 gm fresh yeast)

So. After all these contortions? I've decided that I'll use the higher amount of active dry to replace fresh yeast if there's lots of sugar in the recipe, but the lower amount if there's little sugar in the recipe.

-Elizabeth

Here is a nifty javascript that one of my sisters created after hearing about this:

• javascript conversion chart (this is a link)

edit: Ooops!!! I hit "save" by mistake. I MEANT to hit "preview". I think I've finished fixing things now. Have fun with the conversion chart!

Also may be of interest:

• Fresh Loaf: Yeast FAQ
• Fresh Loaf Forum: Fresh Yeast Question
• Fresh Loaf Forum: Using Fresh Yeast?

This is the same Wholewheat Multigrain bread baked from Hamelman's BREAD, only this time i chose to roll back to my old steaming technique. Furthermore, i increased the hydration from Hamelman's 75% to 90%! the grains are very thirsty!

Adhering to Hamelman's Final Proof of 1 hour doesn't seem to cut it. I always underproof when i follow hamelman's guidelines. 70 to 90 minutes will be the final proof from now on.

Khalid

I make a variation of this bread each Sunday; I've done so for the last several months. The result has steadily improved.

      My goal is a whole-grain bread that stands on its own. I don't eat many sandwiches, but enjoy slices of bread for lunch or breakfast. I have practical demands from the bread I make: long shelf-life, versatile, and relatively easy to produce.

      I've experimented a lot (pumpkin seeds in one week's loaf, not a success), but none of it has mattered much. I'm such a novice that I think the bread has improved through practice. I had hoped to eventually post with an absolutely perfect formula and method. I realize that I'm not going to achieve this, so I'd rather just post and ask for feedback.

Levain Build

100% Hydration Rye Starter       5%

Whole Rye Flour                          100%

Water                                          60%

1.) Mix, aerate well, and let sit for 12-18 hours.

Final Dough

WW Flour                                     66%

Whole Rye                                   14%

Whole Spelt                                 20%

Water                                          67%

Levain                                          20%

Salt                                              4.5%

Molasses                                     5.6%

Olive Oil                                       3.5%

1.) Mix flours, water, molasses, and oil. Let rest for 45 minutes at room temp.

2.) Mix in salt and starter.

3.) Knead well, moderate gluten development. It's wet, but comes together eventually. By hand, it takes around 20 minutes with a resting period.

4.) Bulk ferment 2 hours @ room temp, stretch and fold, ferment another hour, stretch and fold.

5.) Shape, place into fridge for 18 hours.

6.)  Bake straight from fridge in 475F oven for 15 minutes under regular steam. Lower temp to 425 and bake until done. (It darkens quickly in my oven, so I place a piece of tinfoil on top to prevent too dark a crust.)

Notes: I live in Arizona, which is very dry. My flour is thirsty! I'd adjust the hydration in a normal climate. Also, some of the rye flour can be replaced with rye meal. This improves the rye flavor and provides an interesting texture.

The result is a sour loaf with a complex rye/wheat flavor; spelt adds a sweet hint. It toasts well, dips well in soup, and stands up to Dijon. 

Cheers.