October 26, 2024 - 12:48pm
Proofing Yeast - Is it Essential?
I use a quick rise instant yeast which I add to my water oil and honey before I mix it into the flour before kneading. I did not let it proof very long before I added it (just a couple of minutes) but now I give it a full ten minutes and I am finding the results are much better. Is this just a coincidence of does letting the yeast proof for ten minutes make it more potent and give better results? Or not…
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Best bet is to dissolve and proof it for like 15 min. Instant yeast (the kind you have) is made to add right in - but I would add some time to your usual for "rising". Enjoy!
Sounds good!
People usually proof yeast to check if the yeast are still active or not, if they are put in sugary water and produce froth within 10-15 minutes, then they are good to go. I also use instant yeast and I dissolve the yeast (but not proof) beforehand, but to varying degrees. I usually just mix everything but the flour into the liquids and my goal is to dissolve everything well, and not just the yeast. So I might have dissolved the yeast to varying degrees between batches, and let the liquids sit around for different durations. Sometimes I see no bubbles yet but proceeded to mixing, and my bread came out fine. I haven't found any noticeable effects to my bread that might be linked to proofing the yeast.
Maybe an explanantion for the changes in your bread is that the yeast has had a headstart in being rehydrated and also somewhat reproducing by eating away at the honey already dissolved into the water.
Instant yeast and fast rise yeast are different. Bread machine yeast is instant yeast, but fast rise yeast contains enzymes that make it work...well...faster and it's not suitable for slower, longer rising doughs. It could be fine for what you're doing, but I just wanted to point that out.
I heard where it might not be a good idea to prehydrate instant yeast at all. I found the explanation below. It's not far in, around the 3+ minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz3FAr2z2pI
Bread machine recipes always say to keep the instant yeast separate from liquid ingredients. I always thought this was because of the delayed baking feature. The yeast shouldn't sit in the liquid for hours on a delayed baking cycle. But, perhaps there is some other reason for the machine manufacturers to want the yeast kept dry until mixing.
As for me, I often use active dry yeast without proofing at all, just mix it in dry.
I wonder if I should switch to instant yeast. Not sure about if fast rise yeast is needed in my case. I am not in a big hurry when I make bread. And I do allow 90 minutes for the first rise and after that 60 minutes for the second rise. That would be the same if I were to use the instant yeast instead of the fast rise so if the quality is better with the instant yeast I will definitely switch.
Personally I think that proofing yeast is one of those kitchen techniques left over from when ingredients were a lot more variable and less reliable. I have not had a single rise failure using commercial yeast without proofing in the last 20 years of bread baking, even during the pandemic when the yeast supply was tight and stores were pulling everything out of the warehouse.
If you find it helps your mix to predissove the yeast that's good, but I do not think it is necessary for the yeast's sake.