Instant yeast vs. Fleishman's Rapid Rise Yeast

[Bob Brooks]

As per the posts on Mark Bittman's no knead bread, I'm also making a batch. I've used Fleishman's Rapid Rise Yeast. Is this the same as "instant yeast"?

[overthinkit]

I don't have an answer, only a further question.
I usually buy (on the advice of Breadmaker's Apprentice) the jar of bread machine yeast, which I assume is rapid rise. It works more or less like active for me. No problems, *slightly* shorter rise. But this time I bought a jar of Red Star, not Fleischman's like I usually do. Holy Cow! This stuff is rising like there's no tomorrow. It doubles in size in like 20 minutes, not the 60-90 the recipe says.
Anyone know what's going on here?

[wolfworx]

2 types only from what I read, active dry and rapid rise which is an instant yeast. The difference is that rapid rise is a one step rise and you can add the the yeast to the dry ingredients prior to adding water where as the active dry is a two step rise and you must mix the yeast with water first before adding to the rest.

Hope this clears things up and a link for proof is http://www.breadworld.com/products.aspx

Hope this helps & aloha

[FelafelBoy]

There are other names for similar kinds of yeast. I'd like to make this known on this posting thread since they have not been mentioned.

If you buy a boxed bread mix, such as one from Hodgson Mills, the contents include a separate small bag of yeast labeled as "fast rise" yeast. I was told this is the same as "instant yeast" but different from "rapid rise" which only has enough oomph to give one rise.

SAF has a yeast product labeled as "perfect rise" yeast, which acts like a fast rising active dry yeast, suitable according to the packaging label for oven baked or bread machine made bread. When I was at Trader Joe's, I saw positioned next to this "perfect rise" yeast, SAF's "active dry" yeast.

And still, I have seen bottles of yeast sold in my supermarkets labeled as "bread yeast."

In general, I have come to believe, and I may be wrong, that using instant or fast rise yeast is the simplest least complicated way to go. Several people, more knowledgable than me, have told me to stay away from the rapid rise yeast for the basic breads that require two rises.

And if you read some of the very educated posts by Father Kitchen on another thread on Bread Machine baking, he explains the connection between sugar and yeast in proofing and creating desired bread texture and taste quality.

(I fantasize how many attempts/recipes commercial baking companies had to take before they got their commercial breads done correctly!!)

[beany06]

I have tried buying Instant Yeast in New York City; but can't seem to find a source, except by internet mail.

Is there a source for Instant Yeast here in the city?

thank you,

Robina

[btnfood]

I have purchaed large bags of Saf instant yeast at Whole Foods in the baking aisle.

[beany06]

Thank You! I checked Whole Foods at Col.Cir. and they have it.

Robina

[scuzzo]

I use SAF yeast, and I like it. There are zillions of strains of yeast which have different flavors. I like the flavor of SAF yeast. And it's worked great for me for many years.

[btnfood]

From what I've read, instant and rapid rise yeasts are the same. There was a very informative article in Cooks Illustrated about yeast, which you can find on their website.

[ChowFun_derek]

That is NOT the case in the reviews in Cooks Illustrated...Instant yeast is more potent..

"
Active dry yeast and rapid rise (instant) yeast may be similar in appearance and origins (both are dried forms of live yeast), but substituting one for the other will yield vastly different results. When we baked our American Sandwich Loaf (May/June 1996), Multigrain Bread (March/April 2006), and Best American Dinner Rolls (September/October 2006) using equal amounts of each, the active dry batches consistently took longer to rise after mixing and after shaping--by almost 50 percent--and baked up denser than the rapid rise batches. Why? These two forms of yeast have different degrees of potency owing to differences in processing: Active dry yeast is dried at higher temperatures, which kills more of the exterior yeast cells (this yeast requires an initial activation in warm water), whereas rapid rise yeast is dried at more gentle temperatures (so it can be added directly to the dry ingredient"

[DGresh]

but your own quote says "rapid rise (instant)" The previous poster was saying these two are the same. The quote you list is talking about a distinction between *active dry* and *instant* not about the distinction between *instant* and *rapid rise*

[btnfood]

Thanks for understanding what I was trying to convey :)

[ChowFun_derek]

exactly...I just thought it would help clarify since CI was mentioned as a source..

[Professor Salt]

No. The three common dessicated types are active dry, rapid rise, and instant.

Use less of the instant yeast if the recipe calls for rapid rise. Instant is a more potent form because the drying process kills fewer of the buggers. The dry particles are also smaller than active dry form, which means instant doesn't need to be prehydrated before kneading into dough. It can be mixed in with the dry ingredients, hence its name.

Rapid rise also should be added directly to your dry ingredients, but for a different reason. The yeast strain used grows so rapidly when hydrated, that you'd lose much of the outgassing action if you're in the habit of proofing your yeast for 5-10 minutes.

In any case, follow the directions on whichever brand you have. If it says not to proof, there's a reason.

[Professor Salt]

Double checked a faulty memory w/ Shirley Corriher. It appears that instant and rapid rise are different versions of the same thing. My bad.

In any case, read the manufacturer's instructions on the package regarding proofing / not proofing. That's still valid advice :)

[lshell]

Prof Salt:
Thanks; I was getting ready to make my grandmother's crescent rolls and found I purchased quick-rise, instead of active. I almost put the yeast in the warm milk/sugar mixture. This is probably why my rolls haven't risen as well in the past few years!
Louise

[Kelli2006]

Your rolls should work well with the instant instead of active dry, if given sufficient rising time. I only use active yeast in my house, and while it make take a additional hour fermenting time, the results are the same.

Please check the expiration date for freshness, as this is critical.

[Karl S]

Yes