Yeasts are single-celled mushrooms that are very useful both in cooking and from a nutritional point of view. They are a fundamental ingredient for bread making and the production of wine and beer. Some yeasts can be taken as vitamin B, selenium and chromium supplements. Yeast is sold both fresh and dried, and the latter must be prepared in a certain way for it to be effective. Fortunately, learning how to activate dry yeast is not at all difficult.
Steps
Step 1. Determine what type of yeast you have
There are in fact two varieties: the instant one and the one to be activated. If you have the instant one, you don't need to activate it, just mix it with the other ingredients. If you have the one to activate, you need to perform a few steps.
Step 2. Determine the amount of yeast needed
Read the recipe you are making to understand how much you need.
Step 3. Fill a container with hot water
The temperature must be between 37 and 43 ° C. If it were too cold, the yeast would not "wake up"; if it gets too hot, you risk killing it. Make sure you use the amount of water indicated in the recipe.
Step 4. Put a pinch of sugar in the water
Stir it to dissolve. The sugar will provide some nourishment to the yeast to encourage it to activate its metabolism. If you don't have sugar, you can use honey or cornstarch. You can also put a pinch of flour.
Step 5. Pour the yeast into the sugared water
Stir vigorously until you no longer see the lumps of yeast. Cover the container with a cloth, as yeasts work best in the dark.
Step 6. Let the water rest for 1-10 minutes
The process is called "fixing" the yeast, and it means that it allows it to metabolize the sugar and spread. A minute or two is enough for most recipes, but if you want to be 100% certain that your yeast is alive and well, wait 10 and check the mixture. If the water forms bubbles and foam on the surface, then the yeast is healthy and active.
Step 7. Add the yeast solution to the other dry ingredients
Finish the preparation according to your recipe.
If you are using dry yeast to make beer, follow the same process as described above. As an alternative, you can directly add yeast to the wort; however in this case you run the risk of killing most of the yeasts as the temperature is not perfect (and the beer does not ferment properly)
Step 8. Finished
Advice
The dry yeast to be activated has a duration of about 2 years from the date of packaging. After this time, it does not necessarily respond to your activation attempts
Warnings
- Do not use yeast intended for baked goods to ferment beer, even if you find that the yeast for beer is stale. Oven leavening yeasts often contain lactobacillus which gives the beer a sour taste.
- Remember that yeasts are often labeled with rather smoky names. At the supermarket you can find products identified as "yeast for use in the bread machine", "fast leavening", "instant yeast" and "activated dry yeast". Unfortunately there is no uniformity in the nomenclature used by the various producers.
