{"id":899,"date":"2012-09-17T08:13:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T14:13:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2016-03-22T17:02:16","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T23:02:16","slug":"baking-a-doorstop-how-to-know-if-the-yeast-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/articles\/baking-a-doorstop-how-to-know-if-the-yeast-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Baking a Doorstop: How to know if the yeast works"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Yeast<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Yeast in Bread\u2014Baking a Doorstop<\/h1>\n

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The Role of Yeast in Bread Making<\/h2>\n

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Yeast is a living organism.\u00a0 Most of the items we put in our refrigerator or freezer are already dead and we are just trying to slow down the decaying process.\u00a0 Yeast is alive (or at least it should be), and so we are going to look at the important the role of yeast in bread.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you have ever produced a hard brick bearing the name \u201chomemade bread\u201d you know the heartache of wasted time, energy, and ingredients.\u00a0 There could be other reasons for bread that could break glass but the most common is impotent yeast.\u00a0 To have favorable results for bread baking, the yeast used in bread must be viable\u2014so how can you tell if the yeast is good?\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Three Steps to Proofing Your Yeast<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"SAF<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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1. Proper Storage<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Your first step is to check the expiration date.\u00a0 If this is not easily visible, find the date of manufacture.\u00a0 Unopened packages of yeast are good for two full years from the date of manufacture.\u00a0 Store the unopened package in a cool, dark, and dry place.\u00a0 The best way to purchase your yeast is in a vacuum-sealed bag, the kind that looks similar to a brick of coffee.\u00a0 This is because air, sunlight, and moisture are the mortal enemies of yeast. So once you\u2019ve opened your brick of yeast, you will need to place the remaining yeast in an airtight, resealable container.\u00a0 Then freeze or refrigerate. You will get a few months more out of it if you choose to freeze it.\u00a0 You can then remove it and use it immediately from your freezer, although I recommend allowing it to warm to room temperature first.\u00a0 Remember, yeast will not be active without first being warm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Yeast Must Be Warm<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Next, I urge you to \u201cproof\u201d your yeast, though many modern bloggers and recipes will say that it\u2019s an unnecessary or outdated step.\u00a0 Proofing is too easy to justify skipping this step, and it is not worth the 10 minutes it saved if something happens to be wrong with your yeast\u2014thus yielding a brick.\u00a0 If you are a sale shopper or buy yeast from the grocery store shelf, you could be taking a chance.\u00a0 People do not bake like they used to and the yeast on that shelf has been there longer than you might imagine.\u00a0 Expiration dates are not the whole story, and the function of the yeast in bread will be diminished if the yeast is not viable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here is my time tested, fail safe method for testing yeast: pour the warm water that is called for in your recipe into your baking bowl.\u00a0 Make sure that your water is very warm, but not too hot.\u00a0 I test mine on my wrist (like a baby\u2019s bottle) but if you are not sure what temperature to go for, pull out the thermometer the first few times.\u00a0 It ought to be between 110-115\u02daF.\u00a0 If the water is too hot it will kill off the yeast and if it is too cold the yeast will not activate.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Feeding Your Yeast<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Lastly, pour in the amount of yeast called for in your recipe.\u00a0 Yeast feeds on sugars, so feed your yeast to proof it.\u00a0 I follow the yeast with my oil and honey.\u00a0 I do the oil first because I won\u2019t waste honey in my measuring cup\u2014the oil will ensure all of the honey pours out nicely.\u00a0 Let this sit for at least 10 minutes (although longer is fine). \u00a0You will see foam action and bubbling with active yeast.\u00a0 If you do not see that bubbling action, stop now and try different yeast.\u00a0 Don\u2019t waste all of those ingredients on something that will only produce a doorstop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Otherwise, continue on with the other steps in your recipe as written.\u00a0 These three steps will confirm the viability of your yeast.\u00a0 The role of yeast in bread making is an important one, without it we will only yield door stops.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here is an alternative method: A friend tells me that even though she bakes with honey for her sweetener, she adds just a tablespoon of sugar to the water and yeast to help stimulate it but does not do it my way because the oil may<\/em> inhibit the yeast.\u00a0 My bread does get a good rise and I am happy with my method however, I experimented with it her way and did see a major difference during the proofing process!\u00a0 The end result is largely similar, so overall I did not see that much of an impact.\u00a0 You might want to try the experiment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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If phytic acid<\/a> is a concern for you, add a few cups of your flour (not so much to make dough yet) and let your mixture proof for awhile longer—this soaking period will reduce the phytic acid in your bread.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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There is so much to learn in successfully baking a loaf of bread, I hope that you have learned more about what the yeast in bread does for your end result.\u00a0 Truth is that there are thousands of recipes for bread (I have my own favorite<\/a>), but learning why yeast in bread<\/a> is so important makes the beginner\u2019s path to nice bread shorter.\u00a0 Leave a comment, tell us about your bread baking learning curve!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Chaya<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you are new to bread baking altogether, you can get an exclusive offer to receive a free how-to video from us on bread baking by signing up for our email list (you will find that at the bottom of our homepage<\/a>).\u00a0 Rest assured, we do not load up your inbox with spam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 Yeast in Bread\u2014Baking a Doorstop   The Role of Yeast in Bread Making \u00a0 Yeast is a living organism.\u00a0 Most of the items we put in our refrigerator or freezer are already dead and we are just trying to slow down the decaying process.\u00a0 Yeast is alive (or at least it should be), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[54,53],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Fvks-ev","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}