Yeast types. It’s confusing right? And now that seemingly everyone is making bread at home, yeast and flour can be hard to find. Does it really matter if you can't find what you want? To answer that, let’s start with yeast types. Basic types of dry yeast.
There are lots of yeast types but for our purposes, let’s focus on two types of dry yeast: Active and Instant/Rapid Rise. Active dry yeast is the most readily available but Rapid Rise is very popular, especially for no-knead bread recipes where you need less yeast but more patience while you wait. Active and Rapid Rise can be use interchangeably most of the time. Due to how it’s dried and its finer texture, Rapid Rise takes about half the time to rise as Active yeast and dough made with it only needs one rising. Rapid Rise can also be mixed directly into your flour before adding liquids. There will be a slight flavor variation to your bread because you’re not letting it rise twice but it still works. Where’s the proof?
Rapid Rise yeast doesn't need to be proofed and has a shelf life of 6 months when kept dry. But do proof both yeast types if they've been sitting around and you're unsure of their viability. If the yeast is fresh and you're making no-knead bread, you don't need to proof either because the dough is left to rise for so long. | 