The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Saf yeast, gold or red

Springtime84's picture
Springtime84

Saf yeast, gold or red

Hello, first time here. I have been baking bread for quite a few years, just got around to buying saf yeasts, haven't tried it out yet. My question is do I need to alter the amount I use from any given recipe, from regular yeast? I use a bit of sugar to help it proof, and I know I dont have to use it in the saf, so do I need to adjust the sugar,if any, called for the rest of the recipe? Thanks!

 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

THIS LINK will help with your conversions.

SAF is Instant Dry Yeast (IDY) Red is for doughs without a lot of sugars, Gold is for sweet doughs. Red is perfectly fine for yeast that is proofed with sugar. It takes a lot before you need the Gold. In the gread majority of breads SAF Red is a super great choice.

Danny

PeterS's picture
PeterS

DanAyo was right, I confused the yeast types and their brands & packaging. I am going to edit my post instead of leaving incorrect & confusing information up in this thread.  When buying dry yeast it makes sense to buy by type not by package color since there is no standard packaging spec for yeast products.

As far as I know and have experienced:
- There are three major yeast products: fresh yeast, active dry yeast and instant dry yeast.
- They are all the same yeast species (proprietary strains from each mfr), and differentiated by their production processes and water content.
-  Fresh yeast (obviously) contains the most water followed by Active Dry Yeast, then Instant Dry Yeast.
- Within these classes there may be modified products, e.g. osmotolerant (SAF Gold) and so called premium products (e.g. RED STAR Platinum--instant yeast mixed with ascorbic acid and some other additives including soy flour, sorbitan monostearate, wheat flour, and enzymes.
- All commercial and retail yeast products of a certain type are essentially interchangeable, e.g. Fleischmanns IDY is interchangeable with SAF IDY.
- Active Dry Yeast must be hydrated (mixed with water) before using; Instant Dry Yeast can be incorporated with the dry ingredients, there is no need to hydrate or proof it.

If you can get your hands on it, SAF GOLD IDY makes a good all around baking yeast.  Otherwise, I would recommend Instant Dry Yeast over Active Dry Yeast simply because it eliminates one possibility for error. 

Dry yeasts can be stored in the fridge and freezer in their original unopened packages or well sealed containers and last for years.  They may lose some of their efficacy over time, but if one is baking enough, it's easy to monitor and tweak the amount to compensate.  

FWIW, fresh yeast is also good for sweet doughs.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Peter, are you sure SAF Red isn’t Instant Dry Yeast? Here is another informative link.

If it isn’t I’ve been using the wrong yeast for years. Although I seldom use commercial yeast.

Here is the product line at SAF. I don’t see Yellow Yeast. https://lesaffreyeast.com/products/dry-yeast/

Springtime84's picture
Springtime84

Thanks to all of you. I live in Minnesota,  and my house, well my kitchen is quite chilly, so when it starts to warm up a bit, I will make up some sourdough,  I used to make it, but lost interest in baking for awhile,  now I am back, and happy I have the urge again. 

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Amazon lists the red label under the "Active Dry Yeast" product category.  But, nothing on the label says "active dry".  The red label package only says "Instant."  The red label package, in spanish, says to mix it in with the flour in the initial mix.

Breadtopia says the red label is instant too: www.breadtopia.com/store/saf-instant-yeast/

Amazon, Saf, and Breadtopia agree that Gold label is  osmotolerant, for breads with sugar.

Amazon has a "Premium" Saf yeast, which is claimed to be "more powerful" and has a 2 year unopened shelf life.

That Dan's a smart one to go right to the manufacturer!   Premium looks like the way to go for short fermentation, according to Le Saffre and the reviews on Amazon.

PeterS's picture
PeterS

and sorbitan monostearate (stabilizer), cellulose gum (thickener and water retention aid). I think the key additive in this product is the Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), an oxidizer, that is commonly used in large commercial bakeries to shorten the fermentation process.  It is good for quick time loaf breads, and not necessary, possibly detrimental, for long fermented hearth breads.  I am going to speculate that the sorbitan monostearate and cellulose gum are for the yeast and do not affect the dough in any significant way.

I think a survey of the bakers here and their formulas will show that Premium yeast is not really necessary.  For my needs the additional cost is not justified.    

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

I use active dry yeast like instant yeast and just mix it in with the flour without activating it in water. I see no difference in the results. Just make sure the water is over 80 degrees when added to the flour. I buy a large bag of Red Star Active dry yeast from Costco and keep it in the freezer. I have kept it for over two years and it still works just like new. 

I read somewhere that sugar or honey isn't necessary to feed the yeast and that the flour is a better source of the sugars that yeast need.

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Just curiuous, What is your hydration % when you start the bulk ferment?

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

I use ADY for pizza crust with 70% being water.  A 1/4 teaspoon in 600 grams of flour. An hour or two at room temp then 24 hours in the fridge. Ball it up then back in the fridge for another 24 hours.

I have found no difference no matter the hydration. I think they recommend proving the yeast to assure it is viable but I figure if it worked last week then it's probably fine.

PeterS's picture
PeterS

I think proving the yeast is an anachronism going back to the days before dried yeast and then thereafter when people did not necessarily refrigerate their dried yeast or kept a little open packet on the shelf for eons.  I can imagine the complaints;  Betty Crocker and the yeast companies responded accordingly...

MTloaf: I notice you're in MT, do you know of (Mark) Sinclair Bakery in Bozeman? 

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

I know who he is, last I saw, he had shipped his baking trailer to Spain and was doing his thing there. 

PeterS's picture
PeterS

however, I have also successfully used Active Dry Yeast (ADY) directly added with the flour (when making breads with long fermentation times).  Indeed, even RED STAR says their ADY can be added with the flour.  ADY has less active yeast cells per pound (gram)  than Instant Dry Yeast (IDY) and (AFAIK) its physical structure & properties are somewhat different leading to different fermentation properties, i.e. different gassing rates and profiles.  Under identical conditions, ADY hydrates slower than IDY--this is why it is often recommended to pre-hydrate ADY and use warmer water.  For recipes using lots of yeast (1.5-2.0% or more baker's percentage) and short rises, 2 hrs or less, adding ADY to some water first will give better and more consistent results.

All things being equal, at home the various retail or big box IDY products are virtually interchangeable with themselves.  The same holds true for the ADY products.  Since I make make mostly overnight (long) fermented doughs at home, I use IDY and ADY almost interchangeably after adjusting for the differing active yeast contents.  Their performance differences become more apparent, and significant, in commercial use, especially in high output bakeries.

Mariana has an excellent post on yeast.  A search of TFL (and the pizza forums) will yield many more informative discussions on this topic.  

Flour, sugar, honey are all carbohydrates; they are all composed of simple sugars (glucose & fructose, mostly) and are food for yeast (and sourdough bacteria).  Honey is the most readily available energy source, table sugar is slightly less so, and flour is the slowest.  Honey and sugar will give quick boost to the yeast and are good for trimming fermentation times, as well as adding some sweetness and increasing browning.

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

The length of fermentation time explains my success with ADY. I did read some of what Marianna had to say about pizza yeast but I have never seen in it any store around here. After I looked into it's application it seemed geared toward fast rising while increasing extensibility. I also discovered a Platinum Sourdough yeast that seems similar to that. Soon a special yeast for every type of bread. I wonder what yeast they use on the Space Station?

Springtime84's picture
Springtime84

I have bought regular, red star yeast at Sam's Club, and stored it in freezer, filled an old jar for the fridge, when it was getting low I decided I'd like to try the SAF brand, from watching baking videos. Thought I'd give it a try, should last a lot of years! 

PeterS's picture
PeterS

RED STAR and SAF are both Lesaffre brands.  Until I'm informed otherwise, I'll assume the respective Active Dry Yeasts are the same product.

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Isn't Lasaffre the bad guy in one of the James Bond movies?