Cooking Tips

Bakers Tip – Dry Yeast vs Instant Yeast – See Which One Wins

Bread-baking is wonderful. There are countless kinds of bread that you can make for your family and friends. You can also turn your hobby of baking into a money-maker. But in order for you to be successful in whatever bread you make, it is crucial that you familiarize yourself with the different ingredients and know how to properly use them.

One of the most common ingredients that you will come across is “yeast”, which also has two types – dry and instant. So which is which?

Both dry yeast and instant yeast act as leavening agents in bread. But you have to extra careful. Although they are both leavening agents and they almost look the same, that doesn’t mean that any of these two would work for your bread. They do have differences, especially when talking about how they are made and how they should be used. So let’s see which one is better.

Active Dry Yeast Must Be Dissolved First in Liquid

Moisture content is probably the biggest difference between the active dry yeast and instant yeast. The latter needs to be dissolved first in liquid before you can use it while the former can be readily mixed with the other ingredients. Hence, the term “instant”.

Instant Yeast Doesn’t Need to Be Proofed

Obviously, instant yeast has lower moisture content than that of the active dry yeast, so there is no need for it to be proofed. Like what we have said earlier, it can be mixed with the rest of the ingredients right away.

Active Dry Yeast Is More Traditional

ADY came first before the instant variety. For sure, it’s something that your grandmother had been using. So if you are more comfortable using it, then go for it.

Bread Made With ADY Has Milder Flavor

Bread made with ADY has a milder taste, and you can barely taste the “yeasty” flavor.

Active Dry Yeast Takes Longer to Work

Since active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in liquid, it takes much longer to work than it would when you utilize instant yeast. So if you intend to use ADY, you have to be patient.

ADY Needs to Be Refrigerated Once Opened

In general, ADY is more sensitive than the instant variety. Once you open the packet, it’s either you use it all or put it in the fridge right after opening.

Instant Yeast Comes With Finer Particles

Instant yeast has been introduced in the 70s, and it’s made almost the same way as ADY except that it is dried and milled into tiny particles.

Instant Yeast Provides Two Separate Rises

Instant yeast doesn’t need to be dissolved in water or anything like that. You can mix it straight with the other ingredients, and normally, it provides two separate rises. In some types, the first rise can be skipped.

Bloomed ADY Ensures That It Is Still Alive

The biggest advantage of using ADY is there’s a way for you to tell if it is alive or not – by blooming it. With instant yeast, on the other hand, this is something that you cannot do.

Instant Yeast Come With More Additives

This type of yeast comes with more additives, which makes the dough rise faster. With that, you can tell that ADY is purer.

Which One Is Better?

This is really a tricky question. The answer actually depends on you. If you want to make bread a lot faster, then yes, it is better to use instant yeast. But if you want it to be more traditional and avoid that yeasty taste, then dry yeast is the best way to go.

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