Active Dry & Instant Yeast: Best Tips for Working with Yeast Ingredient Spotlight

As Cambria can attest, there are few things more disappointing than anticipating a warm slice of fresh-baked bread only to realize halfway through the recipe that your yeast is kaput. No tears, my friends! Yeast can be a tricky little scamp, but it need not be your foe.

Active dry yeast and instant (or rapid-rise) yeast are the two most common yeasts available to us as home bakers. The two yeasts can be used interchangeably in recipes, but active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before using while instant yeast can be mixed right into the dough.

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer baking with active dry yeast. Dissolving the yeast in whatever liquid is being used in the recipe only takes an extra minute or two, and I like to know that my yeast has completely dissolved and is ready to go.

Check Yeast By Dissolving It with Sugar: If you'd like some extra yeast insurance or suspect that your yeast may be a little old, there's an easy way to make sure it's still active. Measure out the liquid (room temperature or lukewarm!) for your recipe and pour about a half-cup of it into a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar over the top, give it a stir, and let it stand for a few minutes. If the yeast is still active, it will dissolve completely into the water and the liquid will start bubbling.

I check the yeast with every recipe as a habit. Better to spend a few minutes to check the yeast at the beginning than make bread that doesn't rise.

Keep Rising Dough Warm: Yeast works best at temperatures between 70F and 80F. If your house is cool in the winter, place the bowl somewhere warmer, like the top of a fridge or in a warm (but turned off!) oven. If you put the dough on a heater to rise, insulate the bottom of the bowl with a few fluffy towels. If your house is very warm, the dough may rise more quickly than expected.

Butter, Eggs, Milk, and Sugar Slow Down Yeast Activity: If you're making a bread with a lot of these ingredients, the bread may rise more slowly or not quite as much as usual. There's nothing wrong with the bread or your yeast; recipes for rich breads like cinnamon rolls, monkey bread, and Christmas braids just require patience.

Store Unused Yeast in the Freezer: Freezing yeast will put it on pause and extend its active lifespan long past the expiration date. Seal the yeast in an airtight container before freezing.

Above all else when working with yeast, just remember that it's a living thing. There are conditions that help it thrive and conditions that slow it down. Treat it kindly and make it comfy, and you'll be turning out beautiful rolls and loaves in no time.

What are your best tips for working with yeast?

Related: Make Your Own Sandwich Bread: 5 Recipes for Beginners

(Image: Emma Christensen)

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Crying in the Kitchen: When a Recipe (and Your Confidence) Goes Awry

Two weeks ago I attempted to make a loaf of multigrain bread, and it was an epic failure. Where there should have been springy dough made pliant and sticky by yeast's digestive workings, there was a hard brown lump, the exact size and shape I'd left it in the the night before. I tried to coax it into submission by warming it in the oven, but it refused to alter its state. I had the nagging feeling that the yeast I used was past its prime (and speaking of priming, I'd actually neglected to do that, too). I finally put a pinch of the yeast with a little sugar in a bowl of warm water, andlo and beholdthe granules just floated there, like bugs on the surface of a pond. Of course I did what any self-respecting amateur cook would do: I cried.

There may not be any crying over spilled milk, but there is definitely crying over thwarted bread-baking. It wasn't just the wasted ingredients that bummed me outall those nuts and seeds!but what the whole thing represented to my then-vulnerable self: "You, Cambria Bold, are a crummy cook." Or so said the stubborn, unmoveable dough and its army of yeast zombies. I, equipped with a supposedly foolproof bread recipe, had succumbed to amateur mistakes. (News flash: I am still an amateur, so I shouldn't have been too surprised.) But to THINK of all the Instagram photos that wouldn't be happening now! Horror!

Of course, in retrospect it was all a bit dramatic. We all forget (or are still learning) basic rules. Recipes fail. Lofty culinary aspirations get dragged back down to earth. But here's the thing: we shouldn't take it so personally. If you're someone who tends to be hard on him or herself, then yes, learning to cook can be a little brutal. But as Julia Child once said, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."

So, to that I say, what the hell, you blob of unrisen dough! And what the hell, you expired yeast! I will live to bake again. In the meantime, you're going to make mighty tasty flatbread and somewhat tasty crackers.

And next time (and forever and ever, amen) I'll check the yeast first.

Related: Cooking Confessions: Do You Eat Your Mistakes?

(Image: Zdorov Kirill Vladimirovich/Shutterstock)

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Recipe: Yeast-Free Pizza Dough Recipes from The Kitchn

My future mother-in-law is allergic to yeast. I'm talking full-on, debilitating allergic, which totally sucks, because before she developed the allergy she really, really liked bread. And being a huge space cadet, I am always shoving a new yeast-laden recipe I developed into her face (yes, even Irish car bomb cupcakes are guilty, too), which she always so gracefully declines, while I stand there wanting to smack myself for forgetting for the umpteeth time.

So you can imagine my surprise while dining together one nightjust the two of usas I watched her willingly take a bite of a pizza the chef sent to us. I admit, the pizza was a thing of beauty: a wood-fired sourdough crust piled with ripe figs, blue cheese, prosciutto, arugula, and a balsamic vinegar glaze. She turned to me and said, "it's too perfect not to try. It's worth every ounce of sickness that comes my way."

I felt honored to share that moment with her, if only because I knew it was not only rare, but maybe the only time she willingly ate something with yeast; something strictly for pleasure knowing later it would only cause her pain. That, my friends, is for the love of food. A love we both share deeply.

Needless to say, developing a yeast-free pizza dough has been on my to-do list ever since that very night. After whipping up this beyond easy recipe, now I am only wondering what took me so long. Gone are the days of "pizza waffles" and "pizza tortillas"; she can finally enjoy the same pizzas as the rest of us. Even if you aren't allergic to yeast, give this recipe a try. It's great if you're crunched for time, or just plain terrified of yeast. I'm not going to swear up and down that it's just as good as delivery, but it's pretty darn close. This one's for you, Tina!

Yeast-free Pizza Dough

Makes 1 large pizza or 2 individual pizzas

2 cups self-rising flour (I prefer White Lily)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup water plus additional as needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500F.

In a large mixing bowl whisk self-rising flour, cornstarch, salt, and garlic powder together until mixed. In a separate bowl, combine water, olive oil, and honey. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until a cohesive ball forms, adding more water a tablespoon at a time if necessary. (The dough should be moist and firm but not sticky.)

Form the dough into a rounded disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to form a perfect circle. Transfer the dough to the hot pizza stone and cook in the oven for 2 minutes.

Remove the dough from the oven. Top with tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, and additional toppings as desired. Cook until the cheese is melted and the crust is very crisp, another 7-10 minutes. (For the pizza shown, I added the arugula and prosciutto after it came out of the oven.) Cool for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Related: Whoa! Pizza Dough with Just 2 Ingredients

(Images: Nealey Dozier)

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