So with this covid-19 nonsense and being semi-locked in, I dugout our old breadmaking machine. I found a great site, Prepared Pantry, from which to order a great variety of bread kits. My question is how do I know if the yeast that comes with the kit is working well.

The instructions basically say to heat the water to 8o degrees F, add the water bread mix and yeast to the machine and turn it on. The results seem to be a little inconsistent.

I had a loaf of French bread rise so much it was almost lifting the lid, while the wheat bread loaf didn't lseem to rise much at all. It still tasted great, though. The country white breads and the deli rye seemed to rise decently and tasted very good.

I was wondering if I should heat some of the water a little warmer and then add the yeast and wait a few minutes before adding the rest of the water and bringing it 80 degrees as per the instructions. I may try this tomorrow with a New York deli rye.

Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

I'm NOT an expert.

But I've had good results with no-knead bread using water for the yeast at 120 degrees F. It's a balance between speed and killing the yeast.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but wheat flour does not rise as much as regular white flour for me, yielding a denser bread. I get better results using 50:50; I get some of the taste of the wheat with the texture of the white.

Interested in what the experts say.

Matt,

I don’t have a bread maker so my yeast bread and pizza doughs are made from scratch, but after some early mistakes, I get consistent results. I warm my water to about 105-110 degrees F using fast rise yeast (warm, not hot, on the wrist or you’ll kill the yeast—been there, done that!) and use 1 tablespoon sugar per teaspoon of yeast to help activate it. It’s ready for the other ingredients when the yeast mix is foamy. For your bread maker, use the same yeast each time, be sure to measure accurately, and have the water at the temperature they specify.

Good luck.

Check your flours - bread, AP, whole wheat, rye - all have different percentages of protein and therefore will rise differently. If using whole wheat or rye, it might be advisable to add some gluten to your flour.

Yeasts are different, too - active dry (slower), instant, "Bread Machine", fast-rising, etc. Check your bread machine's instruction manual/recipe booklet for the proper yeast to use.

Additionally, I no longer "proof" my active dry yeast. That makes for a slower rise, but you get more flavor from the bread.

Making bread by hand allows me to have more control over the stages in bread making and kneading by hand is good for the hands, arms, and shoulders. I had a bread machine many years ago, until I could no longer get parts for it.

Finally, when you place the salt and yeast in the machine, put them on opposite sides in the pan. Salt will kill yeast when they come in contact. Once the machine starts mixing, it will be okay.

Some helpful videos, if interested:

Which Yeast to Use

Active Dry Yeast

White Bread Masterclass

You want 120 degrees.

Mrs mike ran into bad yeast when making bread at the beginning of this lockdown. I took a cup of hot water.and a teaspoon of sugar at.about 100 degrees and poured half a packet of yeast into it and set it aside for an hour...nothing happened...so I set the glass in the oven overnight with the light on..


Nothing.

Then I tried a new packet and did the same..within two hours I could see the yeast making bubbles in the water...I next time she baked the bread rose and wasn’t a brick

quote:

Mrs mike ran into bad yeast when making bread

The only reason to "proof" yeast...is to prove that it's still good. It is not necessary to proof yeast in order to bake with it. If you watch the last video in my previous post (White Bread Masterclass), Patrick Ryan will tell you that is a myth.

The proof is in the pudding. Here is my last loaf of bread in which I simply added a teaspoon of active dry yeast to the flour just before mixing.



This bread was made with all-purpose flour (400 grams), whole wheat white flour (100 grams), gluten, yeast, salt and warm water. Bread flour is as scarce as TP around here.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Mrs mike ran into bad yeast when making bread at the beginning of this lockdown. I took a cup of hot water.and a teaspoon of sugar at.about 100 degrees and poured half a packet of yeast into it and set it aside for an hour...nothing happened...so I set the glass in the oven overnight with the light on..


Nothing.

Then I tried a new packet and did the same..within two hours I could see the yeast making bubbles in the water...I next time she baked the bread rose and wasn’t a brick

This is my experience too. I get about 25% success rate with yeast.
Really turned me off from making bread & dough. When it works, it's great but I've had so many overly dense pizza crusts that it isn't worth the effort.

When in ct I had to use a proofing box by brot. Even in the summer. I could not get anything to proof outside of it.

Here in VA i have not had that issue. My brot proving box is not being used.

I have had great luck starting my own sourdough lately. My"failures" aside.

A failure


all failures aside, I have much less issue here in va with yeast. Whether it is commercial dry, or sourdough. I broke my cloche and have had a hell of a time baking in other forms.

The Failure above was done in the Wagner dutch oven with lid.

I use tap water, with my sourdough starter. For dry yeast I ad a tablespoon of honey, to tap water (we have well water) and let it prove for 10 min. Then i can work from there.

quote:

The only reason to "proof" yeast...is to prove that it's still good. It is not necessary to proof yeast in order to bake with it. If you watch the last video in my previous post (White Bread Masterclass), Patrick Ryan will tell you that is a myth.

Wow, that's good to know. Sounds obvious but I never knew. That can cut down on the time from flour to bread. Experimentation in order.