How can I tell the difference between instant yeast and active dry yeast?
I have a jar containing yeast but I'm not sure whether it is instant or active dry. Is there any way to tell the difference? Thanks.
Best Answer
You can't really tell by looking, at least not without a known sample of the same brand.
The good news is that they are usually interchangeable 1:1. Make a recipe you know well. Does it rise as you expect? Or does it take more or less time? That will most likely give you your answer.
If the dough behaves as usual, it's a good bet that you have what you usually have to make that bread. If it rises fast, it's instant yeast. If it's slower, it's active dry. For the majority of loaves, the only difference you're likely to notice is the time it takes to rise and proof.
Joe says his answer, "When it doubt, treat it as active dry yeast, and proof it first", he's absolutely right if your recipe calls for proofing active dry yeast (not all do). If the proofing seems more vigorous than usual, that's a hint that it is instant. Get it into the dough right away, don't dilly dally while your yeast expending its life force.
King Arthur Flour gets into potential substitutions more detail. One thing they noted is worth mentioning here:
One time when you might not want to use instant and active dry yeasts interchangeably is when you're baking bread in a bread machine. Since bread machines use a higher temperature to raise dough, substituting instant for active dry yeast 1:1 may cause bread to over-rise, then collapse. When baking in the bread machine, and substituting instant yeast for active dry, reduce the amount of instant yeast by 25%.
So if you do both bread machine and traditional bread making, you might want to do a traditional loaf first using your unknown yeast.
Pictures about "How can I tell the difference between instant yeast and active dry yeast?"
Quick Answer about "How can I tell the difference between instant yeast and active dry yeast?"
Active dry yeast and instant yeast both help leaven bread and provide an airy, light texture, but they do so in slightly different ways and there's one major difference in how you use them: Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before using, while instant yeast can be mixed right into dry ingredients.How can you tell if yeast is instant or active?
InstructionsHow can you tell if instant yeast is dry?
To test yeast for freshness:Stir in a packet of active dry yeast; or 2 teaspoons instant yeast. Go away. Come back in 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the yeast has started to bubble and expand.What is the difference between active dry yeast and instant dry yeast?
A Quick Primer. Dry yeast comes in two forms: active and instant. "Active" describes any dry yeast that needs to be activated prior to use, while "instant dry yeast" describes any dry yeast that's ready for use the instant you open the package.Can I substitute active dry yeast for instant yeast?
Can I use active dry and instant yeasts interchangeably? Yes, they can be substituted for one another 1:1. We've found that active dry yeast is a little bit slower off the mark than instant, as far as dough rising goes; but in a long (2- to 3-hour) rise, the active dry yeast catches up.Instant Dry Yeast vs Active Dry Yeast
More answers regarding how can I tell the difference between instant yeast and active dry yeast?
Answer 2
There's only onw way that I know to tell the two apart without using it:
- granule size
Instant is (typically?) smaller than (most?) active dry yeast. However, unless you have a magnifying glass, and maybe some source of yeast for a comparison, it's going to be very, very difficult to tell them apart.
I don't know how much granule size is a function of the manufacturer, so it's possible that one brand's instant yeast might be close in size to another brand's active dry.
When it doubt, treat it as active dry yeast, and proof it first.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio, cottonbro