It's been a long time since I made white bread. This one's called Vienna Style Bread from the book Old World Breads by Charel Scheele. I felt like I was making paste for a while. It's in the rising stage right now. Hope it's good.
I had an envelope of Red Star yeast I got a long time ago at a King Arthur Flour bread making seminar. It was still a year within the expiration date. I used that along with 3/4 tsp of Fleischmans to bring it up to the amount I needed for the recipe. It's rising slowly, but it's cool here. I understand a slow rise make the bread taste better. ??
I'll need to check if Red Star sells yeast in a jar like Fleischmans does. I like to buy the jars because I use it fast enough to do so. I don't bake enough to use fresh yeast. Honestly, I don't know where to go for fresh yeast anyway. What is your preferred brand of yeast? Do you use fast rise, active dry, or fresh most often?
I'll post a follow up later to let you know how the bread turned out.
Sam's Club has Fleishmann's Instant (same as Rapid Rise) in 2 1 lb vacuum packed foil bags. Once open I freeze the bag after filling one of the old small jars that I keep in the fridge. Lasts a very long time. You don't need to freeze the unopened bag.
At http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=164800 it shows the price less than $5 Can't beat it!
wayne
duplex packs. i am presently using a pack with a feb 2010 date on it . I keep the top rolled down tightly and held with a rubber band in the freezer.
The loaves are out of the oven. They have a good flavor. Nice crispy crust and soft crumb.
Costco sells a two pound, vacuum packed bag of ADY for less than $4. I keep mine in a freezer. It's still working 18 months after purchase. By using a pre-ferment, I need less than a teaspoon of ADY for a 1.5 pound loaf.
King Arthur's web site has Red Star in 1 lb. ($6.95) and 2 lb. ($9.95) packages. There are no Costco's in my neck of the woods. We do have Sam's, but I have a strong aversion to that company.
Made a loaf last weekend. White, oblong shape. Delicious. I think I'll finally be able to make a good baguette. That's been my unattainable goal ever since I started baking bread.