Working with Fresh Yeast
I have bought some fresh yeast which will be covered in a different post. However I thought I used to post the following in order to assist with a post that is scheduled for tomorrow and generally where you use fresh yeast.
However it suddenly occurred to me that quite a few of you will not be used to working with fresh yeast and so I thought I should mention as it is an extremely different animal to dried yeast.
The yeast I bought the other day has come in a 1kg pack and is split into tiny 1oz pieces (by myself) and residing in the freezer apart from a couple of small pieces. I have been told in any event that the yeast will in any event store well in the fridge for a period of 2 weeks away from any strong smelling food. It will take on the flavour of strong food if kept next to it so be very careful.
A leaflet came with the yeast which notes the following:
"Fresh yeast is a living organism and it requires the right conditions in which to work i.e. warmth, food, moisture and air to breathe which is pretty much the same as we need
Warmth: depending on the process being used to make your dough, the temperature varies anything from 23c to 30c, When using bread and dough improvers it needs to be 29 to 30c, no matter how it is is mixed. Bread machines 25 to 26c. Kenwood type mixers 23 to 25c.
Food: If using strong bread flour, yeast does not require any other food as it converts the starch in the flour into simple sugars that it is able to digest and convert into carbon dioxide.
Moisture: Yeast is more effective and starts to work faster if it is dispersed in water before adding to the dough. There is no need to add sugar to the water/yeast mix to start it off.
Oxygen: Yeast is aerobic which means it requires oxygen in the dough, during most dough making process (except for industrial high speed method) this oxygen is incorporated in the dough during the mixing process and the developed gluten helps to retain it. As your dough ferments this oxygen is used by the yeast. This is what finally makes the dough rise. When making doughs using a modern process (using an improver) there is no need for a long resting period (bulk fermentation). The improver cuts this time down to about 0 minutes as it causes the gluten to relax further.
Usage rates: If you normally use dried yeast in your recipe, use double the amount of fresh yeast to the dried yeast you usually use. It is still cheaper and it does make your bread taste better. The average amount to use is between 2 and 4% of your flour weight depending on what you are making and the process you are using. If you are not sure, you can always check with us for advice.
The link is here if you wish to use them and their proffered services to customers.
Hope it helps.
Pattypan
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