Nothing tastes and smells as good as fresh baked bread, especially when it comes from your own oven.

But trying that 5-star recipe, and getting the description of the yeast to match exactly what you find in the store, can be discouraging. So here is a brief and hopefully helpful guide.

Fresh/compressed/cake Yeast This is sold in specialty stores and occasionally straight from a bakery counter. It comes in one pound blocks, has an expiration date, and needs to be kept in the fridge. It needs to be dissolved in the liquids of your recipe before adding any dry ingredients. It can be frozen and then thawed for future use.

Active Dry/Traditional Yeast

This is a dry granulated yeast that needs to be stored in a cool, dark, dry place. It needs to be dissolved in the liquids of your recipe before adding any dry ingredients. If substituting traditional yeast for fresh yeast, you need to put 1/3 of the weight of the fresh yeast.

Instant/Quick/Bread Machine Yeast This is a dry yeast that has granules that are small enough that it doesn’t need to be dissolved in liquids before use. It can be substituted for Fresh yeast at 30% of the weight of fresh yeast. Needs to be stored in a cool, dry dry place.

Any of these types of yeast can be used in a bread recipe, just follow the ratios marked above for weight differences… and let it rise!

Check our upcoming bread & viennoiserie classes here:

Fancy Dinner Rolls

Yield: 36 buns @ 30gr each

500 g bread flour
53 g   pastry flour
290 g water
25 g fresh yeast (or 9gr dry yeast)
25 g brown sugar
25 g white granulated sugar
10 g salt
50 g butter, unsalted
1 large egg

1. Mix all ingredients in a standing mixer with a dough hook on low speed for 2 minutes, then 5 minutes on medium speed.

2. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into 30 gram pieces, round them and let them rise for 15 minutes.

4. Shaped each pieces into knot, braid, or cloverleaf bun, then brush with egg wash and press into desired topping of seeds or grains

5. Place on a baking sheet and let rise until almost double in size.

6. Bake at 375F until golden brown (approx. 15-20 minutes)