Breadmakers 101...

September 14, 2011 3:36 PM

I bought traditional yeast before reading the directions for my new breadmaker that says I'm supposed to use breadmaker yeast, or fast-acting yeast. Can I get by with the traditional yeast? if so, how?
posted by lizbunny to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

I use traditional yeast all the time for making bread in a bread machine. 2 1/2 tsp = 1 packet.
posted by Zophi at 3:38 PM on September 14, 2011

Response by poster: no special steps for the breadmaker of having to start the yeast before putting it in?
posted by lizbunny at 3:42 PM on September 14, 2011

Nope, I always just add it where they call for yeast. If I'm feeling really inspired, I'll let it bloom in warm water in the first step, but I usually forget, and I can't tell the difference when I don't.
posted by Zophi at 3:45 PM on September 14, 2011

I also use regular yeast. The only thing I do (per my breadmaker's instructions) is put the yeast in very last, after making a divot in the top of the flour so that it doesn't get incorporated with the liquid ingredients too quickly.
posted by kimdog at 3:48 PM on September 14, 2011

I think bread machine yeast often includes ascorbic acid (vitamin c) to aid in dough conditioning. You probably won't notice an enormous difference though.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 3:55 PM on September 14, 2011

I also use regular yeast, but I tend to use the bread machine to make dough which I then make into something else (pizza, cinnamon rolls, cloverleaf rolls, bread sticks) which either doesn't need to rise a lot, or I give it a second rise once it's in it's pan/muffin tin.

I think the main difference may be in how long the bread machine expects the dough needs to rise for the dough to double in size. The machine cutting it off a little early is probably still more consistent than making it by hand and checking how much it's double very often.
posted by Margalo Epps at 3:55 PM on September 14, 2011

You might proof it first. Add the proper amount of dry yeast to a small bowl, along with a pinch of sugar. Add warm water (~105F degrees) and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast is foamy.

Since bread machines usually start mixing right away and don't necessarily give the yeast time to activate, you're one step ahead.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:13 PM on September 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh -- meant to add: Make sure the liquid you use to proof the yeast comes from the pre-measured amount of liquid in the recipe. In other words, if you proof it with 1/4c of liquid, subtract 1/4c of liquid from the amount that goes in later.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:15 PM on September 14, 2011

I agree with mudpuppie: proof it in a 1/4 cup of warm water first. (I'm sorry, but kimdog has it backwards: you definately DO want the yeast to get a head start on the process.)
posted by easily confused at 4:28 PM on September 14, 2011

I'm no seasoned maker of bread, I just follow the instructions and recipes that came with my machine (Breadman), so I'll defer to everyone else about the proofing. But for what it's worth, I've never had a bad loaf, and it always rises perfectly.
posted by kimdog at 5:56 PM on September 14, 2011

By "traditional", do you mean active cake yeast? or ???

this might help.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:48 PM on September 14, 2011

I followed a recipe lately that said that if you only have fast action yeast you should use 85% of the amount in the recipe.
posted by sagwalla at 1:08 AM on September 15, 2011

Response by poster: Tried it without proofing it first, just added it in as per directions for breadmaker yeast... rather dense bread yesterday. I think I will proof it today ;) Thanks!
posted by lizbunny at 5:21 AM on September 15, 2011