Is there a difference? I ask because our local walmart doesn’t have bread machine yeast in a jar, like I used to use a few years ago in my bread machine before I broke the silly thing. Now a friend has given me her bread machine 'cause she never uses it and I’ve got bread flour and active dry yeast packets but no bread machine yeast.
I should mention that I made a loaf of bread last night, using packet yeast, and while the flavor was good the loaf fell halfway through baking, leaving me with a dense hunk 'o bread with damp spots on the bottom. We ate it anyway, on the theory that enough butter and homemade blackberry jelly makes anything yummy. But I would like to avoid a repeat of that. IIRC, I also didn’t have any dry milk powder, which the recipe also called for, so I added regular milk to the liquid. Don’t know if that could have caused a problem or not.
I get 4-oz jars of dry yeast in any grocery store, usually around where the flour is. Your packet may have been old and the yeast died. I’d say that accounts for the mysterious collapsing loaf.
I find that it is very important to measure evrything exactly. Using liquid milk probably screwed it up unless you reduced the water by the same quantity.
I buy a big box of powdered milk (well, actually my wife does), put it in a ziplock bag, and keep it in the freezer. Seems to last forever.
You probably threw off the liquid to solid ratio, which should be about 3 -1.
I bake all my own bread, but I don’t use a bread machine. That way I can proof my yeast every time, keep an eye on whether the dough needs a little extra flour, that sort of thing. I do have a great recipe (from Julia Child), if you’d like it. You might have to fiddle with it for your machine.
Here’s a recipe I used when I had a bread machine:
1 C milk
1 1/2 eggs
2 1/2 T butter
1/4 C sugar
3/4 t salt
3 C bread flour
2 1/2 t yeast
I use a lot of yeast–I make all my own bread; I make yeast pancakes; and I make my own ginger ale. So I buy yeast by the jar. It works great, in all applications. I’ve never noticed a problem with it.
Okay, thanks! I thought the milk might throw it off, but I wanted bread, goshdarnit. I bought some powdered milk today. My yeast should have been okay; I store it in a cool dry cupboard and go through it fairly quickly, for rolls and biscuits and things. I just wondered if there was any fundamental difference between yeast in a jar and yeast in a packet.
Of course, it might be the machine itself; my friend mentioned she couldn’t make bread in it to save her life, but this is the same woman who thinks mashed potatoes come out of a box and salt, pepper, and other exotic herbs and spices ruin the “real” flavors of food so I don’t trust her cooking skills. I’ll keep fiddling with it; I like to make bread by hand, too, but sometimes it’s nice to just dump everything in a machine and let it do all the work.
StGermain, thanks for the recipe! Quick question: how do you get half an egg? Do you beat it in a measuring cup and then pour out half the volume, or what?
Malitharn - You can beat the egg and use 2 T of the mixture, or use only the white.
lissener - I buy my yeast at Sam’s or Costco - 2 1-lb bags for about $3. I put the yeast from the open bag into a ziplock bag and refrigerate it. See this. It’s much cheaper that way, even if I don’t use it all.
Yeast pancakes, eh? Is it essentially Belgian waffle batter thinned a bit for pancakes? How is the recipe different than, say plain ol’ buttermilk pancakes?
I do this also, it’s much the cheapest way to buy yeast. I fill a baby food jar with yeast from the big bag and keep the jar in the fridge to use. Then I freeze the rest of the big bag.
It’s about the same as for buttermilk pancakes. Only I make the batter an hour ahead of time–with yeast instead of baking powder–and let it sit in a warm spot and get a bit frothy. That simple.
There are actually 2 different kinds of yeast that come in jars…the regular, or “active dry” kind, which is the same as what is in the packets, and the “Bread Machine” kind, which is what is sometimes called “Instant” or “fast rising” yeast. This second kind rises twice as fast and does not need a second rise. The thing about bread machines is that each step is timed out of your control, and if the yeast tries to rise at the wrong time in the bread machine cycle, it won’t work. This kind of yeast starts rising right away, and the machine may not be ready for it. If you have a quick setting on your bread maker, try using it with the bread machine yeast…this setting should be most compatible with the bread machine yeast, because it usually only has one rise cycle. Or if you don’t have a quick setting, try the regular active-dry yeast instead.
Dang…just realized your problem was the other way around from what I said! I REALLY should learn to read stuff more carefully! Anyway, the principle still could apply that you have the machine on an incompatible setting. Or, as others mentioned, the yeast is dead (more likely in your case, I think). Anyway, maybe my tip will help you for future loaves. I like to keep both kinds of yeast around…I think the bread is better when you have 2 rises, but it really is quicker to just do 1, so I adjust my yeast & machine setting according to my needs.
Dang…just realized your problem was the other way around from what I said! I REALLY should learn to read stuff more carefully! Anyway, the principle still could apply that you have the machine on an incompatible setting. Or, as others mentioned, the yeast is dead or the liquid ratio was off (quite possibly a combination of these factors). Anyway, maybe my tip will help you for future loaves. I like to keep both kinds of yeast around…I think the bread is better when you have 2 rises, but it really is quicker to just do 1, so I adjust my yeast & machine setting according to my needs.
I love the thought of the subtle flavor the yeast would add. I think I’ll try that next time instead of using the baking powder. Unfortunately it means I’ll have to get up a little earlier on Saturday (or eat a little later).
