What the hell does “poofy” yeast mean? Why does baking bread take so long? Why does this dough refuse to rise?
Yeast is essential to the dough used for everything from pizza crust to cinnamon rolls to challah bread. Unfortunately, working with the little buggers can sometimes seem tricky and difficult.
Have no fear! These tips will make you a yeast pro in no time:
1. Yeast is a living organism (a collection of single–celled eukaryotes, to be exact) and therefore requires specific requirements to make it bloom:
Warm water + sugar= happy yeast. Just like you can’t take a bath in boiling water without serious consequences, neither can your yeast. It needs warm water and a warm environment to grow. Yeast also needs to be fed, so adding a little sugar to the water mixture will help it bloom better (even if the recipe doesn’t call for it).
Add your yeast to warm water (warmer than lukewarm but cool enough to touch) and stir to combine. Add sugar to the water and wait for the poofing to occur, which should take about 5-10 minutes. If this doesn’t happen, it means your yeast may be dead and you just need to start again.
Trick: if your house or apartment is freezing, turn the oven on the lowest setting and place the yeast mixture inside. It will allow for the yeast to activate faster.
2. Explaining the “poof”
Many recipes use terms for yeast activation such as “poofy” or “fluffy”, which unfortunately don’t tell you much... While the yeast mixture is setting, you want to look for the yeast to almost form a barrier on top of the bowl it’s sitting in. It should be slightly bubbly and look creamy and combined. And it should smell like the beginnings of bread.
3. Waiting is hard to do, but oh so worth it
After you combine your yeast mixture with the rest of your ingredients, you need to usually wait around 60–90 minutes for the yeast to activate and allow for the dough to double in size. Just be really patient and the yeast will work its magic. If you want to speed up the process a little, you can once again place it in a very low temperature oven.
4. Get a teacher
If you’re still nervous about making friends with yeast, find a friend, parent or professional and ask them to show you how it’s done. Watch what they do, how their yeast activates and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
