What Baker’s Yeast Is Better, and How to Replace Dry Yeast With a Live One (2024)

Baker’s yeast isaproduct ofthe microorganisms, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which isadded tothe dough sothat itrises during the baking process. This happens thanks tothese microorganisms that eat sugar (more precisely, glucose) and, asaresult, emit carbon dioxide, ethyl alcohol, and organic acids, which are absorbed bythe dough. Asaresult, the dough increases involume, becomes elastic, and acquires aspecific taste after baking. You can see asimilar reaction when you add baking soda orbaking powder tomuffin batter.

Ifthere isnorefined sugar inthe dough, but there’s starch, other sugars, oralcohol, yeast will produce special enzymes toturn them all into glucose and then eatit. But toincrease the activity ofyeast, asmall amount ofsugar should beadded tothe dough. Ifthere isalot ofsugar and there issalt, then the activity ofyeast, onthe contrary, will besuppressed.

The duration ofthis process depends onthe temperature: after kneading the yeast dough, it’s best toleave itattemperatures between 70°F and 100°F and wait until itincreases involume byabout 2times ndbecomes elastic and “springy.” The amount and type ofyeast also play animportant role.

This yeast consists ofliving yeast cells. Itissold incompressed form. Itlooks dense but can bebroken easily with the hands, and ithas aspecific smell and creamy texture. Such yeast contains about70% moisture (it’s usually indicated onthe package) and therefore, should not bedry. You need tostore itinatightly closed container inthe refrigerator for nomore than 2-3 weeks from the date ofproduction oruptoayear inthe freezer (inthis case, manufacturers recommend leaving the yeast atroom temperature for 30-45 minutes before use). Live yeast has amilder taste (compared todry yeast) and tends toimpart sweeter tastes.

How touseit: Itcan beadded directly tothe dough, but ifyou are not sure whether the yeast isfresh, take the right amount ofyeast, kneadit, and put itinabowl. Add alittle sugar and half acup ofwarm water ormilk. Mix everything well and leave itfor 5-10 minutes inawarm place. Ifeverything isdone correctly, afoam will form onthe surface, showing that the microorganisms are alive and eating sugar. Now the yeast can beadded tothe dough.

Unlike live yeast, active dry yeast looks like yellow-brown round granules that have aspecific smell. Their activity isslightly lower than that ofalive one, but itcan bestored longer inacool, dry place (preferably inthe refrigerator).

How touseit: Take the necessary amount ofactive dry yeast, add 1/2 teaspoon ofsugar, then add 1/2 cup ofwarm water ormilk. Mix everything well and leave for 10minutes. When foam forms onthe surface, the yeast can beadded tothe dough, and you can continue cooking according tothe recipe. This step should not beskipped, asactive dry yeast needs tobeactivated, hence the name. This must bedone before adding ittothe dough and before mixing with other ingredients.

This yeast isalso dry, and its cylindrical granules are even smaller insize. They should not bediluted inwater but added toflour. The instant yeast dough rises faster than the active dry yeast. Inaddition, there isatype ofdry yeast that provides rapid rising: the size ofits granules iseven smaller, which helps them dissolve faster.

How touseit: Dry instant yeast isspecially formulated tobeadded directly toflour, soitdoesn’t need tobediluted with sugar and water ormilk beforehand.

There isalso liquid yeast (cream yeast), which isgrown inafermenter and isused inlarge bakeries.

• Toreplace live yeast, you need totake dry yeast, almost 3times less, which means 0.65 ounces ofcompressed yeast can bereplaced with 0.25 ounces ofdry yeast (regardless ofwhether it’s active orinstant). Sometimes it’s advised touse a2:1 ratio (2parts live yeast can bereplaced with one part dry yeast).
• Pay attention not just tothe type ofyeast, but also tothe recipe, especially ifit’s from anold cookbook. For example, atthe beginning ofthe last century, all recipes were designed for live yeast, since dry yeast only started toget produced inthe 1940s, and dry instant yeast, 30years later.
• Ifanold recipe says that you need toadd one packet ofactive dry yeast, then keep inmind that, most likely, itwas about 1tablespoon ofyeast. Nowadays, the production technology has changed, soit’s enough touse 2teaspoons ofactive dry yeast.
• There are situations where active dry yeast should not bereplaced with instant yeast ata1:1ratio. For example, ifyou bake bread inabread machine, the oven gets very hot toraise the dough, and this can cause the bread torise too much and crack. Inthis case, take instant yeast by1/4 less (sothe ratio will be1:3/4).

• When yeast dough isrising, don’t focus ontime— the end result ismore important. There are many factors that can cause the dough totake longer torise, such aslow atmospheric pressure, weather, oreven the frequency ofyou baking something using yeast inthe kitchen.
• Anopen packet ofactive dry orinstant yeast isbest stored inthe refrigerator for nomore than 3-4months. Before use, it’s recommended tocheck the yeast: pour 1teaspoon ofsugar and alittle more than 2teaspoons ofyeast into abowl, add 1/4 cup ofwarm water, stir, and wait 10minutes until bubbles appear onthe surface— it’s asign that the yeast isalive. Ifthis isthe case, add instant yeast toflour, oractivate ordinary dry yeast inwarm milk orwater with added sugar.
• Dry instant yeast often loses its properties before its expiration date, which isindicated onthe package. But you may realize itonly after you’ve added ittothe dough which, alas, hasn’t risen. Inthis case, you can add baking powder inanamount equal tothe amount ofyeast.