Bread experts, please.

[Muddypause]

What's the difference between 'active dried yeast' and 'fast action dried yeast'? One needs to be reconstituted with water and sugar first, the other just gets added to the other ingredients without sugar. How does this work? I thought sugar was essential.

[Andy Hamilton]

What's the difference between 'active dried yeast' and 'fast action dried yeast'? One needs to be reconstituted with water and sugar first, the other just gets added to the other ingredients without sugar. How does this work? I thought sugar was essential.

got me there I don't know I am afraid. I try and use live yeast rather than dried stuff. I do sometime use allinson dried yeast and I don't add sugar and this works. Incidently I was emailed recently and told that if you go to your local T***o they will give live yeast free. No tescos near me with a bakery so not tried it myself but worth thinking about.

[hay331]

This might be a useful link with info about all aspects of bread making http://www.dovesfarm-organic.co.uk/yeas ... agents.htm

I use a bread machine (time constraints) that allows me a certain amount of contol over what goes into my bread. I use the Doves Farm dried yeast specifically for bread machines most of the time. If I can't get it I need to use Fast action dried yeast so I assume this is for bread machines. All the bread machine recipes I have use sugar, and the instructions say you must put the sugar in for the yeast to work (although I cut it to half the amount stated!)

[Muddypause]

Hello hay331,

I use a bread machine, too (laziness). I tried an 'active' dried yeast with sugar and it didn't work at all well. I now use various 'fast action' dried yeasts, with sugar (as it says in the machine instructions) and get good results. But I have made bread by hand with fast action yeast and no sugar (as it says on the packet), and have had good results, too.

I shall experiment putting no sugar in the machine next time.

[Muddypause]

I shall experiment putting no sugar in the machine next time.

Fast action dried yeast and no sugar in a bread machine = perfectly risen bread.

That seems a clever trick to me. I wonder how it does it.

[hay331]

Did you try no sugar in the bread machine? If not let me know and I'll do it and post the result.

[Muddypause]

Did you try no sugar in the bread machine? If not let me know and I'll do it and post the result.

I did; that's what I was trying to say in the post above, maybe not clear enough.

Fast action dried yeast works perfectly in a bread machine without sugar. I've done it twice now, with different flour, and both times it has risen as well as when I have used sugar. This is notably different from my earlier experiments with active dried yeast, which doesn't seem to work at all well in a bread machine either way.

[hay331]

Whoops Just re read your post and you did

Fast action dried yeast and no sugar in a bread machine = perfectly risen bread.

That seems a clever trick to me. I wonder how it does it.

Thankyou, I'm off to get the bread in now!

[Lyds]

I use fast action yeast and no sugar and have good results using a bread machine and by hand. In fact I only use the machine on the dough setting now as I have found that oven baked bread tastes better. When time permits I would rather do the whole job from scratch as kneading is a very peaceful task an gives great satisfaction. It doesn't really take long as while it's rising I can get on and make the weeks cake - this does not always last a whole week, I can't think why.

Have you noticed that bought cake stays in the tin for ages? I used to buy it for school lunch boxes when pushed for time but, really, what is the point? Now I work less (and earn less) but bake more and the money still seems to stretch. Strange, some of my friends find this weird. They fail to see that it can be less stressful and more satisfying.....

[Wombat]

G'Day Lyds,

I used to work with a gentleman who was the Operations manager for the site I was on, we eventually parted company and I moved on to ACI Glass packaging, where I used to do the inductions. He came in to be inducted, he was working for labour hire and coming in to sort bottles so I asked him why - he said that there was no pressure or responsibility and he could earn enough in 3 days to keep him the rest of the week and he could do what he liked.

I'm not sure that I understood him at the time, but I sure as hell do now

Nev

[hay331]

Yes I can understand totally what he meant! I chose not to work when I had my family (4). I didn't know much about "self sufficiency" then, but always cooked from scratch, baked all the biscuits and cakes and took the time to teach them how to cook, iron and generally do for themselves. I have never had any "money" but so far my kids are all well adjusted even my 18 yr old son, (the girls are 25, 22, and 20)!! I have a friend who has worked full time for the last 25yrs(so has her husband), they own their own home and have 2 sons. She is so unhappy a lot of the time and complains that she never has "quality" time for anything. She has always believed that by buying her sons the "in" products and waiting on them hand and foot that she was doing her best for them. She now has problems with both of them, so is it because she wasn't there a lot when they were younger and compensated in other ways or would it have happened anyway?
Of course it would be nice to have pots of money but we all have to make choices and I would do the same all over again. One of my soapbox subjects is what I call "Consumeritis"! Having more and more money tends to feed this disease don't you think?

[Wombat]

Yep!

It is a disease that I have symptoms of here.........and that's a worry!

Nev

[shiney]

Just going back to the no sugar in the bread machine bit...that's really interesting. A while back we decided to use a spoonful of honey in the machine, (just to keep the yeast happy) it tastes pretty good as well.

I will try it without sugar tho. Thanks for the tip everyone.

[Lyds]

Yes Hay, having more money seems to encourage the need to have things but not having money does not make me feel as though I lack anything. I buy quite a bit from charity shops and looking at all the stuffthey sell wonder who donated it and why they bought it in the first place... Or was it one of these unwanted pres that are always for sale in the local paper? Half the world seems to be producing stuff for the other half to buy as unwanted gifts, why?

Back to bread - I have found the most economical quick yeast is Doves Farm, you can use just what you need and no waste - the sachets from the supermarket are wasteful and overpackaged.

Regards, Lyds

[shiney]

Oh I agree with the yeast in one packet, it's cheaper and you get more for your pennies.

If you are a fresh yeast bread maker (which is rare these days for me) Tescos or Asda will give you a big lump for free if you ask one of the bakers. Smile sweetly!