You don’t need to dissolve active dry yeast in lukewarm water before using it. Once you’ve proved the yeast is alive, go ahead and add it to your recipe – reducing the water in the recipe by 1/4 cup. I actually never proof yeast.

While bakers can purchase self-rising flour, that flour and regular flour doesn’t include yeast. Flour includes yeast when someone mixes the two ingredients together, such as in bread making.

Instructions

1. Place three to four tablespoons of raisins in your jar.
2. Fill the jar ¾ full with water.
3. Place jar at constant room temperature.
4. Stir at least once a day for three to four days.
5. When bubbles form on the top and you smell a wine-like fermentation you have yeast.
6. Place your new yeast in the refrigerator.

Dead yeast will not produce any bubbles at all, and the liquid will appear stagnant. If your yeast dies at this point in the baking process, your dough will not rise no matter what else you do to it. Throw out the mixture, get new yeast and start again.

The alcohols released by yeast give bread its rich, earthy flavor, but if the dough rises too long, that flavor becomes pronounced. The bread has a heavy yeasty taste or smell and in some cases, can even taste sour.

Compressed or fresh yeast can be crumbled onto the flour—it does not need to be suspended in the water. Instant dry yeast (IDY) is best added without prehydrating. To do this, just add it in dry form directly to the flour in the mixing bowl. Active dry yeast (ADY), on the other hand, needs to be prehydrated first.

Active-dry yeast is the variety that the majority of recipes call for. By comparison, instant dry yeast does not need to be proofed in warm water and can be directly added to dry ingredients such as flour and salt. Instant yeast particles are smaller, which allows them to dissolve more quickly.