Fresh yeast, only

Day Lewin

Just a quick question: to make white bread, ahow much flour would you use for 10 grams of fresh yeast?
That is, the sticky, lumpy kind.

I do not want a conversion to or from dried, this question has nothing to do with dried yeast in any form.

Basically, I'm asking for a ratio: fresh yeast // how much flour?

(Allowing for warm conditions and not demanding a quick rise, slow is better)

Whistlejacket

I'd use 350g of strong white flour per 10g of fresh yeast.

Day Lewin

Whistlejacket wrote: »

I'd use 350g of strong white flour per 10g of fresh yeast.

Thank you very much! (trying it right now)

(I used to make bread all the time, years ago: but it's so long since I did it, I'd forgotten the starting ratio)

Cheshire Cat

It really depends on how long you are planning for the proving. The longer and cooler you prove the less yeast you need.

rubadub

When looking up pizza dough recipes I was surprised to see so many recommending dry over fresh yeast, and not just for cost/convenience some thought it was better. If comparing you would need a proper blind test as your mind seems made up to be dismissing dry.

But also I would compare overall price. I have noticed dry yeast can be got a lot cheaper these days than maybe 10-20 years ago, the likes of aldi/lidl & asian shops have it but when I grew up it was nothing but dougalls dry yeast which was not particularly cheap. I expect fresh yeast costs a bit more per loaf.

It would be interesting to see a blind taste using the same price of ingredients. i.e. you use cheaper dry yeast with more expensive flour vs. fresh yeast with a flour of a price that matches the other.

I was also surprised that I found "no knead recipes" which did use less yeast (usually dry) which took a long time to prove but which many people seemed to think gave a better result. Some were guys running pizzerias saying it is the only method they use.

Day Lewin

I used to make white yeast bread several times a week when my children were small: using either fresh yeast or dried, (whatever was available) and always kneading by hand (I had no mixer or gadgets) - it's just been years since I made any and I couldn't find what proportions I had used.

Fresh yeast is now quite hard to find - the Irish Yeast Company in College Street still supply it, I think, or else I begged a bit from Superquinn, as they were called then, - their bakery would always sell an ounce or two of yeast, and I can still get it from Super-Valu in Blackrock.

The cost of the the small amount of yeast used would be quite minimal, I think: Even flour, water and salt are pretty cheap. I honestly think the highest cost in home-made bread is the running of a very hot oven for a period of time. (A guess!)

Fort some reason I prefer to use Fresh if I can get it. The dried can be very reactive and produce a fast spectacular rise, of course, but the best flavour in bread comes from long, slow rising. I made the best bread of all by fermenting in very cool conditions overnight - very little yeast, and strong flour, and long kneading: home-made Batch Loaf - darn good!

Alun

Fresh yeast is pretty easy to come by in Polish shops.

Day Lewin

Alun wrote: »

Fresh yeast is pretty easy to come by in Polish shops.

Gosh, I didn't know that: thanks for the tip!

Delphinium

15 gr of fresh yeast to 500gr flour. Usually double the dried yeast in a recipe. Long slow rise, knock back and second rise gives best results. I use Bread by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferringo as a reference for yeast bread.

Day Lewin

Delphinium wrote: »

15 gr of fresh yeast to 500gr flour. Usually double the dried yeast in a recipe. Long slow rise, knock back and second rise gives best results. I use Bread by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferringo as a reference for yeast bread.

Thanks for the handy rule-of-thumb ratio, Delphinium.


I think you mean, the weight of fresh yeast is double the weight of dried? :-)

I didn't know that book, thanks for the recommendation. Off to the library!

I learnt an awful lot from Elizabeth David "English Bread and Yeast Cookery" but I think it's out of print (I live in hope!)
- It is full of fascinating historical incident and anecdote, too.

arian

English Bread and Yeast Cookery is available new from Amazon (only 1 left in stock (more on the way) ). S/h copies from £0.01 + P&P.

Second the recommendation for Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno, but that seems to only be available used, and at a price.

Dan Lepard is the other author I'd mention. The Handmade Loaf is probably the one to go for. However, he used to write a weekly column in The Guardian, so there's lots online that subsequently made it into his books.

Delphinium

Yes I did mean to double the figure given for dried yeast to calculate amount of fresh yeast. My brain wasn't functioning properly at the late hour. Sorry. Just to mention the quality of flour used is crucial for all baking. I find some own brands of plain and self raising flour to be very fine and difficult to maintain a rise. Flour should hold together when squeezed in the fist, not trickle through your fingers.

Muahahaha

rubadub wrote: »

I was also surprised that I found "no knead recipes" which did use less yeast (usually dry) which took a long time to prove but which many people seemed to think gave a better result. Some were guys running pizzerias saying it is the only method they use.

rubadub do you have any links to the no knead pizza recipies? I tried a no knead neapolitan recipe a few weeks ago which recommended 65% hydration, leaving it covered in the fridge for four days. AnywayI ended up with a gloopy ball of dough and had to add a lot more flour to get it workable. End results were not good

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

rubadub

Muahahaha wrote: »

rubadub do you have any links to the no knead pizza recipies? I tried a no knead neapolitan recipe a few weeks ago which recommended 65% hydration, leaving it covered in the fridge for four days. AnywayI ended up with a gloopy ball of dough and had to add a lot more flour to get it workable. End results were not good

mine was very wet too, and had read it would be.

Some recipes online are incorrect. I think these are all right

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/jim-laheys-no-knead-pizza-dough-recipe.html

https://slice.seriouseats.com/2013/01/the-pizza-lab-the-worlds-easiest-pizza-no-knead-no-stretch-pan-pizza.html

http://www.bakingsteel.com/blog/72-hour-pizza-dough

Muahahaha

Thanks rubadub. Ive since watched a video on handling wet dough, there is a folding technique to it which Ill try next time out and hopefully I wont have to completely destroy it by adding too much flour which inevitably burns on cooking