You'd think there wasn't much to yeast by the look of it...simple little packets ready to use, but the truth is, it's one complex little organism. Active dry yeast, instant yeast, fresh yeast, fast-acting yeast, bakers yeast, nutritional yeast, naturally occurring yeast, gold yeast, red yeast, etc..., you get where I'm going.
What does it all mean?
If you have any plans to be a bread baker, you need to do your yeast research. It's not so much the yeast you choose to use, but the it's the way you use it that matters. For instance, you would think active dry yeast is activated. Wrong! You must activate it before use by soaking it in warm water and a touch of sugar as food. And if you don't, you will not get your bread to rise and your yeast will die.
I never knew anything about yeast. No one tells you there is so much more to know about yeast. For years, I conceded to be a bread-baking wanna-be, accepting my failures by making rock hard, dense, ugly looking and tastless bread, regardless of the recipe. Until, one day last year, I learned the truth about yeast and I finally understood that tiny cell and all its forms.
The wide world of bread baking opened up and I began to have great success. Baguettes, ciabatta, sourdough, soft rolls, pretzels, croissants, you name it. I tried it all and even made a business out of it. And what's more, I could predict the outcome of my bread making just by the feel of the dough. I became a yeast expert; hence, an artisan bread making guru.
So, if you're feeling intimidated by the very thought of bread making, take my advice
and fear not. It's really very easy, once you understand the complexity of the simple little yeast cell.
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