Fellow Breadbakers: Question About Yeast Equivalents Bread

Fellow Breadbakers: Question about yeast equivalents

pollymotzko 15 years ago

I was wondering, how many teaspoons of yeast such as Red Star yeast (not rapid rise) would it take to equal one pack of yeast?

I've never used the rapid rising yeast. What do you think are the pros and cons of using either?

Do you notice a difference in taste and/or texture by using the rapid rise varieties?

Thanks for any input on this.

Sincerely,

Polly Motzko

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pointsevenout 15 years ago said:

Active dry yeast in the package is called a scant tablespoon, which is about 2 ¾ teaspoon. The equivalency rate of active dry yeast to rapid rise yeast is 1 packet of active dry yeast to 2 teaspoons of rapid rise yeast, or about 20% less rapid rise yeast. It is all because of the drying process of making the yeasts.

Active dry yeast must be activated using warm water to rinse off all the dead yeast organisms that have coagulated around the good yeast beasties. Rapid rise yeast can be added directly to the dry ingredients but the warm water must be about 10 degrees F warmer.

Rapid rise yeast is a timesaver but produces a less tasty bread. Byproducts of the yeast are alcohol and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide provides the lift while the alcohol provides the flavor. The longer a bread is allowed to rise the more carbon dioxide, therefore more bubbles, therefore a finer texture. The longer a bread is allowed to rise the more alcohol, therefore more flavor. This is the reason that sourdough and sponge starters and friendship breads have more flavor.

A good source of information on yeasts is at baking 911.com. I am still learning about yeasts.

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pointsevenout 15 years ago said:

Left out an important part.

Rapid rise yeast is an one rise yeast. Active dry yeast is a two rise yeast. Rapid rise yeast can be made to do two rises but I have had difficulty in the process.

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Amber411 13 years ago said:

Hey there, rapid rise yeast is actually just instant yeast. So the only difference between active dry yeast and rapid rise is that you don't have to activate it in water first. Rapid rise (or instant yeast ) is just as tasty if not better tasting than active dry. It also depends on what kind of flavor you are going for in your bread making. I always use instant yeast and do a 1st rise and a proofing process. Here is a little piece of info via www.thefreshloaf.com

If you are substituting active dry yeast for instant yeast in a recipe, read the instructions on the package to figure out how to activate the yeast before adding it to the recipe and reduce the amount of water you add later in the recipe by the amount of water you proof the yeast in (i.e., if you activate the yeast in a half a cup of water, add a half a cup of water or milk less later so that you end up with the same total amount of liquid in the recipe). You may also want to add about 20 percent more yeast to the recipe than what is called for, although using less yeast and letting it rise more slowly will result in a more flavorful loaf. If you are substituting instant yeast for active dry yeast, you can reduce the amount of yeast you use in your recipe by approximately 20 percent. Be sure not to forget to increase the amount of water you add to the dry ingredients by the amount that you would proof the active dry yeast in, so that you end up with the same total amount of liquid in the recipe.

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