PrintYeast help
After many failed attempts at bread baking, I decided to make focaccia for Christmas dinner, well being careless self I let my water cool down too much before adding the yeast, and didnt realize it until too late. I decided to continue with the recipe anyway.... does anyone have experience with problems like this and is there a way to fix it? a longer rise in a warm area perhaps?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
7 Comments:
Te yeast must be activated. The easiest way to check this is to see it foam and bubble and it will emit a yeasty odor. Unless you activate the yeast it will not work. The activating of yeast is not rocket science but it is a science. You should (check your recipe) get some water between 105-110 degrees to start most recipes and let your yeast activate. I also suggest use rapid or fast acting which gets the cultures working quicker than regular yeast. If you yeast is not foamy and bubbly don't add it to the rest of your recipe.
JerzeeTomato at 1:05PM on 12/25/07
You can also add a pinch of sugar, honey, molasses to the warm watter to "feed" the yeast, it will help you get it going.
My bet is that your yeast will work, eventually, but you might have to wait quite a while.
cmckenna at 1:12PM on 12/25/07
Better too cold than too hot water. If the water's too hot, you'll kill the little critters. On the other hand, once alive, the yeast can survive in the cold ... you get more flavor if you slow rise the dough in the fridge -- but I'm talking days...
DaveFaris at 1:30PM on 12/25/07
OR -- you can start using an instant yeast, which doesn't need proofing at all.
Proofing yeast is only necessary to wake the yeast up from its dehydrated state. That process kills off a lot of the yeast cells, so proofing is needed to make sure you have some viable yeast. Pitch the yeast into some warm water with a pinch of sugar. If it is foamy and active in 10 minutes or so, you are good to go.
The current processes create dried yeasts with a higher percentage of "live" cells. Called rapid-rise or instant rise, they generally need no proofing. You can just toss them in with the flour in your bread recipe and go. Since there are more live cells, they also tend to work faster, cutting risings times by as much as half, depending on temperature, technique and other factors. The downside of that is flavor -- longer risings produce more flavor. You can compensate by retarding your dough -- letting it rest overnight in the fridge -- or start with less yeast so it takes longer to do its thing.
We use SAF brand instant yeast (available at Williams-Sonoma). Never proofed it and never had a batch fail. You can also get a Rapid Rise (think its a Fleishman's brand) from the grocery store. Just make sure the label calls it a rapid-rise or instant yeast.
Cook's Ilustrated has a good article on yeast. (Natch!) See here.
kjgibson at 6:42PM on 12/25/07
Daniel Leader (BREAD ALONE) recommends starting w water at room temperature vs. lukewarm--though we're talking 78 F in a small, sunny kitchen vs. a drafty room on an icy winter's day. Says that higher temperatures artificially speed up a process that ought to take its time. So, if you're starting w good, living yeast, I agree w Dave F, all you need is patience.
(Most of this baker's breads can be made in a day, but I'm taking advantage of the holiday to start w a solution of water, 1/2 t regular dry active yeast and a mixture of flours called a poolish that has been rising and bubbling for 9 hours. I could have turned it into dough after 2 instead of half an hour from now, but I want to see how much drawn-out production and a night fermenting in the fridge does indeed enhance flavor.)
Eliz. at 10:47PM on 12/25/07
@Eliz...Daniel Leader is one of my heroes!
@Avryan - Definitely get the book Bread Alone for a primer on bread making. You can probably get it for a reduced price if you go to a used book site.
I use regular yeast and proof it every time. I'd rather throw away 69 cents worth of yeast than be annoyed that my bread didn't rise. Go to 110 until the milk or water with yeast added is foamy and proceed with recipe.
As far as developing flavor, a long rise in the fridge is much more effective than rising in a warm place. Yes, your yeast will reproduce faster than rabbits in a warm place but your bread will not have a great deal of flavor.
Keep at it! With bread and cake, practice makes perfect.
chiff0nade at 2:05PM on 12/26/07
chiff0nade: Funny you should say that about Leader since I lust after The Bread Baker's Apprentice and pray SE will promote Peter Reinhart's latest on whole grain breads.
Nonetheless, I picked up Leader's book when it first came out and was impressed by the writing, information and enthusiasm of the author; there wasn't another book quite like it. Yet, time was one of those things I didn't have much of, so when I had the inclination to bake I tended to return to old stand-bys. Finally slapped together a poolish for the Norwegian cracked wheat bread early Christmas afternoon midst other baking.
Unfortunately, I cracked my pizza stone recently and didn't have all the specified ingredients (Leader is such a snob about organic flour, he considers King Arthur same as Pillsbury bleached: just a supermarket brand) let alone fancy willow baskets, et al. I used fully ground organic rye flour instead of cracked rye, whirred some farro in a spice grinder for half of the cracked wheat, and bulgur for the other. Instead of shaping boules, I let the dough rise in sandwich loaf pans.
Whether the one night of fermenting the dough contributed much in the way of a richer flavor, I can't say. However, the texture is far more interesting: variegated, with holes, rather than being as dense as most whole grain breads. I'm sure the poolish and night in the fridge contributed. I also like the spray-bottle steaming method used to produce a superior crust.
Gave one loaf away, and ate a third of the other w soup for dinner. I'll definitely try more!
Eliz. at 11:08PM on 12/26/07