Maggie Glezer <glezer@mindspring.com> wrote:
>Active dry yeast is what most bakers have been using because it is
>so easy to store. It will keep, in its original packaging, for about
>a year at room temperature, making it a big improvement from the
>compressed yeast. However, it is the least active yeast--producing
>the least amount of gas, because of its large number of dead yeast
>cells--and must be proofed, that is, rehydrated in warm water,
>before use. It is a pain to use and a relatively large amount must
>be used for decent leavening, so often recipes with active dry yeast
>have a yeasty odor and flavor.
I have to disagree here. In the 1970's I read James Beard's "Beard
On Bread" and he said that active dry yeast was reliable enough that
proofing the yeast was a waste of time, and that he neither did that
nor recommended it.
At that time, I stopped proofing active dry yeast and have never
noticed any problems with the breads I made with Active Dry Yeast.
While the yeast manufacturers still recommend proving the yeast, and
cite the lack of proving as an advantage of instant dry yeast, I have
not found proving active dry yeast to be necessary.
Mike