We are thoroughly enjoying our Zojirushi bread machine but we have had inconsistent results when making bread. Sometimes the loaf does not fully rise. Today we discovered that I was taking flour from a bag that does not say "for bread machines" and my wife was. That's probably the problem but I still have some questions about yeast.

My first question is about reconstituting the active dry yeast. The instructions say to let the yeast sit in about 3/4 cup of water. When I do this should I subtract from the water the recipe calls for? So if the recipe calls for 2 cups of water should I only pour in 1 1/4 knowing my yeast will have 3/4?

My next question is about keeping yeast going all the time. During our last bread thread I believe some people said they keep a started in the refridgerator. Can you explain how I would go about doing this? We are making one loaf a week so the yeast should never get old.

Almost all of the bread recipe's we have tried call for gluten. We haven't been adding it and we are wondering if it is important and just what it does.

Last, some recipe's call for "Plus". What the heck is that?

Thanks everyone!

When making bread in my bread maker, I use the yeast dry.



From the page at Amazon:
Red star bread machine yeast designed for direct mixing with other dry ingredients. There is no rehydration required. Instant Yeast is not recommended for use in refrigerated or frozen dough baking methods.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Chilly day piping hot bread ... yummm.

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SoCal for now.

I always use dry (active dry or quickrise) yeast- not reconstituted, just added dry to the ingredients. If you are adding liquid with the yeast then, unless the recipe says differently, this should be subtracted from the total liquid in the recipe.

Gluten- this is the protein in some flours that gives the bread its form- if you use flour that is low in gluten (whole wheat flour) then the bread will not rise as much. Bread flour, or flour labelled "better for bread machines" has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour. I tend not to add gluten to any of my breads, but when I make whole-wheat bread I use a mixture of whole-wheat flour and bread flour.

The best advice/recipe site I have seen for bread making is [www.kingarthurflour.com]

cheers

scott

This page, specifically, has a lot of information

[www.kingarthurflour.com]

cheers

scott

The information o the King Arthur link is great, and it covers pretty much everything. I can say that when I was making bread in my machine (I've been using the KA lately), there were a couple of things I was more particular about. First, I used yeast made specifically for bread machines - the same kind rgG uses. I also did use bread machine flour, because of the additional gluten, which was useful both because I was using a machine and also because I was using part whole wheat flour. Finally, I always made sure that I kept the salt and the yeast separated, and I usually did that by putting in a portion of the flour called for in the recipe, adding the salt, putting in more flour, and then adding the yeast. The order doesn't really matter, as long as the salt and yeast aren't rolling around in the sack together. Recipes for breads made in the traditional method also are constructed so that the yeast and salt are buffered by a bunch of flour.

I think you can make a couple of very simple changes (mainly by using a different kind of yeast) to get bread that's closer to your expectations.

Quote
lazydays
We are thoroughly enjoying our Zojirushi bread machine but we have had inconsistent results when making bread. Sometimes the loaf does not fully rise. Today we discovered that I was taking flour from a bag that does not say "for bread machines" and my wife was. That's probably the problem but I still have some questions about yeast.

My first question is about reconstituting the active dry yeast. The instructions say to let the yeast sit in about 3/4 cup of water. When I do this should I subtract from the water the recipe calls for? So if the recipe calls for 2 cups of water should I only pour in 1 1/4 knowing my yeast will have 3/4?

My next question is about keeping yeast going all the time. During our last bread thread I believe some people said they keep a started in the refridgerator. Can you explain how I would go about doing this? We are making one loaf a week so the yeast should never get old.

Almost all of the bread recipe's we have tried call for gluten. We haven't been adding it and we are wondering if it is important and just what it does.

Last, some recipe's call for "Plus". What the heck is that?

Thanks everyone!

- Bread flour has a higher protein content than all purpose flour.

- Like ScottG said, the water for reconstituting the yeast should come from the water for the recipe.

- If a recipe calls for active dry or instant yeast, and you use fresh yeast, you must subtract water from the recipe.

- If a recipe calls for bread flour, and you substitute some or all of the flour with whole wheat flour, you must increase the amount of water in the recipe. It's better to find a recipe that calls for whole wheat flour as it's ingredient.

- I store my yeast in the freezer in one of those canisters that have a rubber seal at the top.

- There is a type of flour called "high gluten flour" that is added to recipes that use flours that contain little or no gluten.

- The reason that rgG does not add water to recipes is because "bread machine yeast" is normally called "instant dry yeast".

- If you substitute instant yeast for active dry yeast, you will need only about 1/3rd the amount of instant yeast (by weight) than active dry yeast. Instant dry yeast contains very little dead yeast compared with active dry yeast.

If you want to move beyond the use of the bread machine, I recommend the book "Professional Baking". The measurements for all ingredients in this book is by weight, not volume. This ensures that you get consistent results. The directions in this book are shortened by comments such as "use the creaming method", or "use the muffin method". The book will refer you to another page for detailed instructions on the method that is being used.


[www.abebooks.com]

[www.thefreshloaf.com]

can't say enough about this site.

some recipes I "proof" my yeast. in 1/4 to 1/2c warm water with a bit of sugar.
Most times I add to dry ingredients or after time to "autolyse", with the salt.

I use the Red Star ADY too and also store in freezer.

Perhaps you meant keeping a "starter" going?
There' si all kinds off good reading on this.
Nancy Silverton, Peter Reinhart are good places to start.
I have a Silverton grape starter that I've used since I found her book.

Sometimes I bloom the yeast anyway. If you have a recipe that will give you a slow or difficult rise, giving the yeast a head start in a little bit of water and a bitty bit of sugar is a good idea. In a bread machine you will need to deduct the amount of water from the total.

The Fresh Loaf is a great website. I strongly recommend it (thanks Fritz). Since you are a beginning baker don't confuse yourself by getting into professional formulas.

Since your recipes are calling for extra gluten, I'm wondering if you are using whole wheat or rye flour? All-purpose or bread flours should not need any extra gluten at all. If you are using whole wheat or rye, make sure to set your bread machine to the whole wheat setting. That will give you a warmer, longer rising time and a better loaf of bread.

Since you are using a bread machine it's difficult to keep a starter or sponge in the fridge for later use. Stick to the recipes you got with your machine till you have done enough good loaves to feel comfortable, then start branching out into different techniques and leaveners.

One good way to learn breadmaking technique is to let the bread machine mix and proof the bread, then shape it yourself and bake it in the oven.

I don't mean what your recipe means by "plus" unless it's referring to the type of rapid-rise yeast that is boosted with vitamin c. Could you give us a context for that?

Good luck! Baking bread is simple and fun, especially on a lazy Sunday. PM me if I can help in any way.

Quote
Gutenberg
Since you are a beginning baker don't confuse yourself by getting into professional formulas.

"Professional" does not necessarily imply greater difficulty, although the book I cited does cover a lot of advanced topics.

Any baking recipe that uses volume measurements for ingredients that can be compressed such as flour, brown sugar, etc., will make achieving consistent results more difficult. That will frustrate a beginning baker.

OBTW

[nybakers.com]

One of these days, I have to try making Gluten Free bread in the machine I bought over a year ago.