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Yeast is a living thing, a unicellular organism found wild in air and water, with cultivated strains used for beer brewing, winemaking and baking.
Yeast Conversion Rates
In commercial baking, precise measurements are key. Home bakers generally don't need to reduce or increase liquid amounts to compensate for the type of yeast used since the quantities are so small.
To substitute instant or bread machine yeast for active dry yeast, use 25% less instant yeast than active dry.
A .6-oz cube of cake yeast is roughly equivalent to 1½ to 2 tsp. instant yeast or 2 to 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast.
Baking Ingredient Conversions
Yeast creates carbon dioxide gas, alcohol, and other organic compounds during growth. The gas is the rising agent in bread, and other "waste" products create the subtle flavors that make a good loaf. Wild yeast can be used to make starters, mixtures used as natural leavening for breads. Many bakers use a combination of a starter plus packaged yeast, which is more reliable and whose growth rate can be controlled.
Types of yeast
Active Dry Yeast
is the most commonly available form for home bakers. It is available in ¼-oz packets or jars. The yeast is dormant, and is best used after proofing and rehydrating. Sprinkle the yeast over warm water (105-115 degrees F) and a pinch of sugar, and let it stand for 10 minutes until creamy and bubbly. It can be stored in a cool dry place and in unopened packages for up to 15 months, but do not use it after the expiration date. Store open containers in the refrigerator.
Instant Yeast is a dry yeast developed in the past thirty years. It comes in smaller granules than active dry yeast, absorbs liquid rapidly, and doesn't need to be hydrated or "proofed" before being mixed into flour. Bread Machine Yeast and Rapid Rise Yeast is instant yeast that may include ascorbic acid, a dough conditioner. Less rising time is required, allowing home bakers to bake a loaf of bread fairly quickly. To develop more flavor--such as for artisan-style breads--a long, slow fermentation is best: store the shaped loaves overnight in the refrigerator before bringing to room temperature and to a full rise. Store instant yeast in a cool dry place, or in the refrigerator once the package has been opened. Do not use yeast after the expiration date.
Fresh Yeast, also known as compressed or cake yeast, is active yeast. It has good rising qualities and produces excellent-tasting bread, croissants and Danish pastries. It is sold in tiny cakes in the refrigerated section of many supermarkets. Fresh yeast does not keep well; it will last about two weeks if refrigerated. The yeast should be pale gray-brown, fragrant, soft and crumbly, not hard, dark brown and crusty. Any mold growing on the surface is an indication that the yeast should be discarded. Fresh yeast should be proofed in tepid water (80-90 degrees F) without contact with salt or sugar. This yeast type is a good choice for breads requiring a long cool rise, or for breads made using the sponge method.
Wild Yeast and Starters
Before yeast was available in grocery stores, bakers kept colonies of yeast for making bread. These colonies were known as starters, and were sometimes passed on from generation to generation. You can make your own starter using commercial yeast, by using potato water (from boiled potatoes) to attract and feed wild yeasts present in the air around us, or by using the yeast found on the skins of organic grapes or organic raisins. Keep the starter in a one-quart crock, jar, or airtight container.
Feeding your starter
Feed your starter by taking one cup of the starter and discarding any left in the jar. In a mixing bowl, combine the reserved starter, one cup flour, and one cup tepid water (measurements need not be exact). Use a whisk, spatula or even your hands to mix it well. Add more water if necessary; it should resemble pancake batter. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. If your kitchen is cold, the starter may need more time to show some activity--bubbles and visible growth; be patient. Feed as above. After a starter has been growing for 5 or 6 days, it can be stored in the refrigerator to slow its growth and to free you from the daily feeding schedule. Feed refrigerated starters once a week, allowing them to grow at room temperature before returning them to the fridge.
Baking with your starter
About two to three days before you plan to bake, remove the starter from the refrigerator. Let it warm to room temperature to get active. Feed it twice the first day and every 4 to 6 hours on the second: the repeated introduction of fresh food should make the yeast very active. If you plan to make multiple loaves of bread, you can increase the feeding amounts: use two cups of reserved starter, two cups flour and two cups water. When adding the starter to your recipe, always reserve a cup of your starter to continue the yeast strain! Over time, the yeast's natural fermentation process will develop wonderful flavors, giving you a one-of-a-kind family heirloom.
Submitted by: Sydny Carter
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A step-by-step tutorial for making sure yeast is still "alive" and ready to bake with.
If you are a seasoned bread maker you know that all yeast needs to multiply and grow in a sympathetic environment. The correct environment includes moisture, food (in the form of sugar or starch) and a warm, nurturing temperature. However, if the yeast you have in your cupboard is dead, no amount of environment will help it become a productive leavening agent. Whenever you intend to bake with yeast, it is a good idea to test to make sure the yeast is alive. The act of testing to see if yeast is alive is called proofing.
1. We used 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon white sugar, and one package of yeast for this test. This test is effective for either compressed fresh cake yeast or with dry active yeast. Cake yeast, being more perishable, should definitely be given this test if it has not been used in a while.
2. Heat the water to approximately 100 degrees F (40 degrees C).
3. In a nutshell, yeast eats various sugars and excretes alcohol and carbon dioxide. Alcohol and carbon dioxide are what the pockets in bread are filled with as bread bakes. Whisk the sugar into the water to help it to dissolve quickly.
4. Once the sugar has been evenly distributed throughout the water, add the yeast.
5. Whisk the yeast into the warm sugar water and allow it to dissolve. Let the water cool down to the standard 70 to 85 degrees F (20 to 30 degrees C). Whisking will cause the yeast organisms to be suspended evenly throughout the water, which will give an even proof throughout.
6. After 5 or 10 minutes, the yeast should begin to form a creamy foam on the surface of the water. You can now proceed to combine the yeast mixture with the flour and other dry ingredients. If there is no foam in the bowl, the yeast is dead and you should start over with a new packet of yeast.
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In order to make breads, rolls, and other tempting baked goods, you must be well-practiced in the fundamentals of kneading dough.
Kneading is imperative, not only to incorporate ingredients into the dough, but also to strengthen the gluten strands that run throughout. Gluten is the wheat protein that forms the structure and traps the gas when bread bakes. Without well-developed gluten, carbon dioxide escapes and the finished bread is flat and unappetizing rather than full, soft, chewy and delicious.
1. Once the dough has formed a cohesive, pliable mass, begin kneading. Some recipes do not require a long mixing and kneading period: rye flour, for example, does not contain gluten, so rye breads generally entail less kneading. Work the dough as the recipe dictates. Place the dough on a well-floured work surface. Grab the side of the dough furthest away from you and fold it toward yourself.
Gluten
2. Fold the dough in half and use your body weight to push the dough into itself. The beginning of the kneading process may require a lot of flour. Be generous to start, but try not to add more than the dough can easily incorporate, or you will throw off the flour-yeast-water-salt ratio.
3. Give the dough a quarter turn (90 degrees). Grab the other side and fold it in half. Again, with a lot of weight behind it, push the newly folded half into itself. Repeat this process as the recipe specifies or until the dough is smooth, silky and elastic.
4. If you’re adding raisins, nuts or olives to the dough, work them in now. A fully developed dough should be very smooth, with small air bubbles just below the surface of the skin. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap to keep the surface from drying out. The dough should rest at least 10 minutes before being shaped further. Most recipes call for a first rise in a warm, moist area.
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Flour is the backbone of almost every baked product.
How Does Flour Work?
When mixed with a liquid, flour forms a structure around the gasses produced by the leavening which causes the dough to rise. Then, as the starches in the flour are cooked, that framework becomes solid enough to hold everything in suspension. The exceptions are cheesecakes and sponge cakes, which are held in suspension by the protein cells in the eggs.
The type of flour you use will affect the texture, stability and overall outcome of your buns, cakes, pies and cookies. When the word "flour" is used by itself, it always refers to a product obtained through the milling of wheat exclusively. All other flours are preceded by the name of their source, such as rye flour, corn flour, barley flour, etc.
Wheat Flour
Cultivated wheat can be categorized into two types: hard and soft. This classification refers to the hardness of the wheat berry itself, and also the amount of gluten in the wheat berry. Generally, areas that receive less rainfall, such as the northwestern United States and western Canada, produce hard wheat that is very high in protein. The southern states get more rainfall, and produce soft wheat, which has less protein. Whether or not one type is “better” than the other depends entirely on what you are baking. For example, protein is essential in bread making, giving it that delightful chewy quality, but who wants chewy cakes?
The wheat berry is composed of essentially 3 parts: the bran, the germ and the endosperm.
The bran is the hard outer shell that covers the berry and protects it from the elements. An excellent source of fiber, the bran also contains most of the minerals found in wheat. Because the bran has sharp edges, which cut through the gluten strands, it is removed during milling. You will have to add it separately to enjoy its benefits.
The germ is the part of the grain that would become the plant, if cultivated. The germ, aside from its delicious flavor, is very high in protein and B vitamins. It is removed in the milling process because it causes the flour to become rancid more quickly, due to its high fat content.
The endosperm is the food that the seed would consume to become a plant. The flour that we use for baking, unless it is whole wheat, has had the germ and the bran removed. The remaining endosperm is comprised mostly of starch and protein.
Gluten
If you've ever made bread, you know that you must develop the gluten in order to get a decent rise out of your loaf. But what is gluten? There are as many as 30 different types of protein in wheat, but 2 of them, glutenin and gliadin, when combined with water, form the elastic substance known as gluten. Gluten becomes elastic and stretches around the gas bubbles produced by the yeast in bread, thereby causing the dough to rise. Wheat is the only grain that has these gluten producing proteins. For this reason, breads made with other grains; such as rye, corn or oats must be fortified with wheat gluten if you expect them to rise.
Additives
In order to perform optimally, flour must be aged after milling. The miller will sometimes speed up the aging through a chemical process. In addition, the FDA has mandated that milled grains be fortified with nutrients that are lost in the milling process. These include thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and iron. Folic acid, another member of the B family, has been added to the list as a prevention against birth defects.
Anything Else?
Malted barley is added to all-purpose and bread flour to improve flavor and to enhance the enzyme activity that converts starch into sugars. Some folks like to have their whites their whitest, so along came bleached flour. Bleached flour has been whitened with chlorine or peroxide (which evaporate out) or naturally through the aging process. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is commonly used to oxidize and preserve flour instead of potassium bromate.
By: Allrecipes Staff
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