Why is baker's yeast so scary? Maybe it's the fact that it's a living, breathing organism. Or the fact that if you don't treat it right, it dies, and so does your bread. To complicate matters, there's no such thing as a simple yeast purchase. And there are so many types of yeast: active dry yeast, instant yeast, rapid rise yeast, or, if you're a serious baker, fresh yeast. Understanding the difference, knowing which yeast is the best baking yeast, and where to buy yeast, is not easy.
So we asked Susan Reid at King Arthur Flour to break it down for us, and she hooked us up with Yeast 101—a crash course on everything you need to know to dissolve your fears and start baking.
According to Reid, you should really only pay attention to two types of yeast:
Active Dry Yeast
A yeast common in supermarkets. It's made by removing the water in live yeast and grinding it into fine granules. The biggest myth surrounding active dry yeast is that it needs to be "proofed" by dissolving it in warm water with a pinch of sugar; if it foams and bubbles, it's alive, active, and ready to be used. This is unnecessary, Reid says; active dry yeast is produced in a such a way that it can be added directly to the bread dough with the dry ingredients.
Instant Yeast
Sometimes called "bread machine yeast," this type of yeast is ground into finer granules then active dry yeast, so it dissolves quickly in the dough. While you can proof instant yeast if you want to, it's not necessary; just like active dry yeast, can be added in with the dry ingredients.
So then what's the difference between active dry and instant yeast? "Instant is a slightly different strain, so it produces a bit of a different flavor," Reid says. But "frankly, you can use them exactly the same way." In other words, there's no need to buy both; buy one and stick with it. Reid recommends SAF Red Instant Yeast, which is what they use in the King Arthur Flour test kitchens.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
