Saf Instant Yeast, 1 Pound Pouch

Update, December, 2022. My monitoring of the viability of this yeast product over time revealed very good news. The packaging of this yeast (manufactured December 2019 and purchased April 2020) said "Best before the end of December, 2021", and I now have great evidence that this is quite a conservative estimate. today (December 8, 2022) I tested two batches of yeast using the method described below, and compared the results with what I obtained when the yeast were newly purchased in April of 2020, nearly two years ago. First, I found that a batch of yeast stored since April, 2020 vacuum-sealed as described tested at 110% compared to the April, 2020 value (see left-hand picture above). (Obviously the yeast did not get better with age; I attribute the extra 10% to a slight change in experimental protocol leading to a slightly higher temperature in the test. My bad as an experimentalist, but minor in this case, in my view.) Second, yeast that had been stored in the -20 freezer for one year vacuum sealed, then stored for another year in an closed jar in the refrigerator at 40 degrees, scored at 85% in the test (right hand picture, above). Since this test was run under the conditions where the vacuum sealed yeast scored 110%, I think it is reasonable to say that storing these yeast even for one year in the fridge cost only about 25% of their viability. Thus, if you stored the yeast that long in the fridge, the most you would have to do to compensate for degradation is to use 33% more yeast than the recipe calls for.(And, just for the record, previously I used yeast that had been stored in the fridge for 9 months - and had scored at 100% in the "champagne flute test" described here - and used it in the normal amount to make pizza dough. The dough rose as normal, so this method of measuring CO2 release by monitoring the amount of foam produced in 10 minutes seems a good measure of potency in getting dough to rise.)I will continue to monitor and report on this yeast batch over the coming months and years.-----Original Review:I did a test with these "instant" yeast right out of the bag, based on a clever idea described in an excellent previous user review (Steve Thomas, Jan. 11, 2015), which I modified slightly (see below). The yeast were quite potent, based on their ability to convert sugar into CO2 (sorry, earth!). I've used the yeast to make several loaves of bread, and they work fine. Any problems I might have had I attribute to my inexperience. But I'm learning, and the bread gets better and better. I ordered this huge, one pound bag of yeast only because I was finding it impossible to get yeast in the little packets at a grocery store. Impossible. So now I have what may well be (see update above) a lifetime supply.Some user reviews of this product say that these yeast on arrival were not very active, but I wonder whether this might not have been due to the "middleman" who is handling the product. If you look on Amazon, you will see the same product available from many distributors, of all sorts of products, and the distributors seem to change from month to month (for example, the supplier of the bag I received no longer has this yeast available). How long was the bag on the shelf? How well was it stored by the distributor? These are more likely to determine the quality of the yeast you receive, rather than some product irregularity or failure in quality control by the manufacturer. So, as a first time buyer from a particular seller, you are in the tough spot of trying to assess the track record of the distributor (is the majority of their product line foodstuffs that require some care about storage conditions and expiration dates? What is THEIR record according to Amazon shoppers?). Then, once you get your stuff, check the packaging to make sure it is not over or close to its expiration date (mine on arrival was vacuum sealed and only about 5 months old, with a year and a half left on its stated lifetime), then test it to see if it is up to snuff. If it fails to deliver, you might have a chance to get a refund from a responsible re-seller.Once it arrives, portion most of it out for long term storage and put the rest in a jar in the fridge. Use standard test conditions so you can occasionally test the yeast to see if they are still potent. I plan to do this at least every time I open one of my freezer bags of stored yeast from this batch I just received. Since the yeast arrived vacuum sealed, I used my vacuum sealer to prepare the portions destined for the freezer. I weighed out portions of a couple of ounces into coffee filters (to keep the yeast from getting sucked into the vacuum tube), carefully wrapped them, put each one into a plastic vacuum bag, and vacuum sealed them. Regarding storage in the fridge or freezer, you want to avoid giving the yeast an opportunity to pick up moisture. The best way to do that is to allow the fridge jar or freezer bag to warm up to room temperature before opening it. If the yeast is cold when you open the container, it will act as a condenser for any moisture that is in the air.You might argue that you don't need to do some kind of lab test to check your yeast, just see how the bread comes out. Personally, I would rather do the standard test described below. Bread baking requires various ingredients and conditions, and it seems to me if a batch fails there might be a number of reasons for failure. Furthermore, why commit a lot of time and materials to making bread, only to find out later that the yeast had lost their punch? Testing ahead of time avoids that risk, and is simple and quick.I modified the Steve Thomas protocol in order to get by with less yeast for each test. I used a cheap glass champagne flute and added a quarter cup of 115-120 degree water and immediately dissolved a half teaspoon of sugar. I stirred to dissolve the sugar and monitored the temperature till it had cooled to as close to 110 degrees F as I could get it. Then I stirred in a teaspoon of instant yeast, making sure to distribute it evenly in the water, including rescuing any clumps that are clinging to the side of the flute or floating on top. Let stand 10 minutes, which I timed from the moment I added the yeast, so the 10 minutes includes the time I stirred to disperse the yeast. I put a mark on the glass at the level of the originally added quarter cup of water, then a mark for where the "foam" had reached after 10 minutes. With my yeast, on arrival, the foam at 10 minutes had gone up the flute 1.5 inches from the water mark. Now, in a year's time, let's say, when I thaw out the next portion of vacuum sealed yeast, the first thing I'll do it repeat the test, in the saved marked flute, and see how the thawed yeast perform.I used the champagne flute because it is narrow, and I thought that would provide better accuracy, especially since I was intent on cutting down on the yeast (and therefore water) being used in the test. If you don't have a champagne flute or other piece of narrow glassware, you might want to stick to the Steve Thomas protocol using a cup measure. The point is that you can use a previously described test, or devise your own test. Either way, use it on yeast you know to be good quality, then in the future you can use exactly the same conditions to see how the yeast currently being tested measure up to the "standard". If it's beginning to lose it's punch, it's time to use more in the recipe, and/or re-order.

There are basically five brands of baker's yeast in the US - Fleischman's, Red Star, SAF, Bakipan and Fermipan. Most supermarkets carry only Fleischman;s and Red Star, and if there's a difference in the two, I've never been able to detect it. Red Star, SAF and bakipan Yeast are owned the same company, LeSaffre, and I haven't noticed any difference between it and the supermarket brands.The difference between active dry yeast and instant yeast is the instant yeast has smaller particles that activate more quickly, and thus dough rises more rapidly, sometimes cutting rise times up to 50%. Youo can't easily adjust rise times in a bread machine, so you want to use 2/3 as much instant yeast as active dry. Refrigerated dough expect some of the rise to happen when the dough warms, so it's better to use active dry for themLike active dry yeast, you proof it in water that's 110-115F. That's slightly warmer than body temperaturre, but by no means hot. You can put the yeast in with the flour instead of proofing it, and liquids that are 130F are best. Bread machines expect liquids about 80F. Thermometers are cheap; ingredients (including your time, energy and reputation) are not.A packet of yeast is 0.25 ounces, so a pound is equal to 21 3-packet strips of yeast, saving you about 85% on your yeast costs. The two pound size costs 50% more than this one-pound size, so if you use a LOT of yeast, buy it instead. (If you have a septic tank, flush a teaspoon once a week for a "green" alternative to Rid-X.) When using this yeast, measure out 2.25 teaspoons to replace one packet of yeast.Yeast is best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, but it should be used at room temperature. The yeast expands to about 3 cups when you break the vacuum, so fill a pint glass jar with yeast and stash it in the freezer, and use a glass one-cup container in the refrigerator as your "working" supply. When you are making something, remove the jar from the fridge, measure out what you need, and immediately reseal the glass jar and return it to the fridge before moisture can condense. An opened package is supposed to last 4 months in a tightly sealed, refrigerated bottle, but it lasts a year or more for me by doing that.Proofing tells you whether the yeast is still active. Dissolve a teaspoon of table sugar into a half cup of 110-115F water, then stir in 2.25 teaspoons of yeast until none of it floats on top. In 10 minutes, the bubbles should reach the one-cup line on the measuring cup. If it doesn't, you need to replace your yeast. If it's close, you can use extra yeast, but you need to order more yeast right away, because too much yeast gives dough an off taste.I have a Salvation Army store tablespoon I've dented up so it holds just that much, used only as my "yeast scoop", much like people have coffee scoops, Miralax measuring cups, measuring cups in the lids of their laundry detergent, etc. Some would call me lazy; I call it efficient.To use this yeast in a recipe that calls for cake yeast, you need to know what size cake is called for. Currently, yeast cakes are 2 ounces, but different sizes were made by different companies in the past. As a rule of thumb, one packet will leaven up to four cups of flour. Using bulk yeast, that means at least 0.6 teaspoons of yeast per cup of flour.Yeast has a love/hate relationship with sugar. Too much sugar competes for the water, and stressed-out thirsty yeast doesn't work very hard, resulting in a heavy product. Sweet doughs (more than a half cup of sugar to four cups of flour) need extra yeast, perhaps as much as double. Yeasts eat sugar, though, and when you have only the wheat sugars, no added sugar, as in pizza crust, you get the chewy crust of a pizza.Fat gives your baked goods more moistness, but it slows rising and too much will stop it entirely. High protein flours, such as bread flours, have the structure to rise high, but if you knead it too long, the dough is too stiff to rise properly. Cake flour made Colonel Sanders' original chicken finger-licking good, but it hasn't enough gluten to build a strong loaf twelve ways. Self-rising flours have baking powder and baking soda in them, both of which are unhealthy for a growing yeast. And you want to be careful not to use too much salt, and to blend it thoroughly with the flour before adding liquids, because it will slow or stop rising.I live in seniors housing, and the first week I was here, I brought fresh hot dinner rolls to a potluck dinner, and ever since, I get called "Steve, the bread baker". Great homemade breads and other baked goods will open a lot of doors, socially, and it mostly required *bread* flour, good yeast, and (especially if your hands have become acquainted with "Art Ritis" as mine have), a good stand mixer with dough hook.

Great for baking bread. Stays fresh in the freezer for a long time. I defrost what I need for the recipe overnight and the next day bake. Works like a charm. Hasn't failed me yet.

I have purchased this yeast multiple times. It has always been fresh and is reasonable priced.

I bought this yeast back in 2020 and it still works perfectly. I store it in the fridge in an airtight container and haven’t had any problems. I use it for baking bread, dinner rolls, and pizza crusts. It’s so nice to have it on hand when recipes call for it.

The item contained two packages of the yeast. One of the packages had broken open and yeast had spilled all over the other package.

This is a staple in my kitchen. Baking speed is amazing the quality of this yeast is great compared with store bought. Definitely would recommend

I’ve been using this brand of instant yeast to bake bread and make pizza dough for over 10 years. It keeps for a long time in the refrigerator or freezer, and never goes bad.