January 17, 2009 - 12:01pm
Rapid Rise Yeast Turned my Bread into Pizza Dough
I have been making delicious Multi Grain Breads with my Breadmaker, using active dry yeast. My local supermarket ran out and instead carried rapid rise yeast. Thinking they were the same, I purchased a package and made 2 breads. Something was odd, as they rose much higer than normally, the second one pressed agains the top glass. This Bread "mushroomed" at the top. The bread was physically light. I gave the first Bread away and am awaiting a review. The second brerad is too doughy. It tastes like pizza without the sauce! The Rye os not noticeable.
Is this a known issue?
Also, are these Breads less healthy than the ones that I make with active dry yeast that are more normall?
Thanks
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I'm pretty sure that both yeasts are the same. The rapid rise has a higher concentration of yeast, but it simply will start working a little faster than the regular yeast. I don't think it should cause such a big difference in two breads - especially in flavour.
Not that I am a fan of same-day bread... I think bread that is made in a few hours tastes like cardboard.
I have had the same reaction that you describe by forgetting to use salt. The yeast will cause more of a rise in the absense of salt, and the bread will taste awful.
Could you have forgotten the salt?
...You can safely use the yeast you got but you should use less of it.
You may in fact only need 1/2 as much now.
There is a golden rule in bread baking:
Use as little yeast as needed and no more than that.
Thanks for the replies.
I didn't forget the salt. I put in too much yeast. I always do. Tje recipies call for 2 teaspoons of yeast. 1 Package of instant yeast = 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast. I usually put in 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 packages. I may try another Bread with this yeast and only use 1/2 to 3/4 of a package.
It does however appear that active dry yeast is more suited for Breadmakers 3 Hour and 5 minutes cycles.
It is annoying to use a fraction of a package of active dry yeast, but it's also annoying to have your bread come out any way other than how you want it to.
My solution was to buy the small jars of "bread machine yeast" and measure out the exact amount I wanted. Didn't have annoying packets of yeast with 1/4 teaspoon in zip-top bags in my fridge and didn't have to wonder if I'd have enough from the little odds and end to make another loaf after missing whatever stuck to the packet or was lost in the zip top bag. Much happier baker I was when I discovered those little jars. Not to mention that it's a lot cheaper than the packets.
When I moved from one loaf at a time in my bread machine to multiple loaves at a time with a Bosch mixer or by hand or using the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day recipes, and broke down and bought a lb of good instant dry yeast. All the benefits of the little jars, but even more economical, doesn't take up much room in my fridge, and being used up at a happy rate as I bake my way through the bread books I've acquired.
Yeah, yeast in the jar is the way to go. packets get expensive