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Dried yeast or fresh yeast for challah



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Rugelech




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 5:49 am
I hope everyone had an easy and meaningful Yom Kippur.

For the wonderful ladies that make challah regularly, do you use fresh or dried yeast?
For fresh yeast I know the process, but for dried yeast do you let the dried yeast stand for 10 minutes, mixed with the sugar and warm water (like fresh yeast) or do you dissolve the yeast in warm water and put it straight into the other ingredients?

Many thanks in advance and have a wonderful Shabbos and Yom Tov.
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Blessing1




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 5:59 am
I use dry yeast and let it proof for 15 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
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nicole81




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 6:22 am
If making it by hand, you can even dump the dry yeast right into the dry ingredients before incorporating the wet ingredients. It doesn't need to proof and it will work just fine as long as it's not expired or a bad batch.

I do it either way, depending on my mood and the time I have. But I never notice a difference in the rising that time can't make up.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 6:42 am
I use dried. I let it proof because thats what my recipe calls for but I've used recipes that the yeast is mixed straight in.
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Frumwithallergies




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 6:50 am
All my challah recipes call for proffing the yeast.
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Plonis




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 6:58 am
I use dried. I buy the vacuum packs and keep them in the freezer once opened, so I don't have to worry about the yeast being dead.

I almost never bother proofing, although I also almost never measure most of the ingredients... The challah comes out fine IMHO every time.

FWIW, my "recipe" is:
5lb bag of flour
5 eggs
1-2 tbsp salt (I do measure this usually)
3 tbsp yeast (almost always measure this)
(4-6 cups?) hot (not boiling) water
(1/2 - 2?) cups sugar
(1/2 - 1.5?) cups oil

Mix by hand until forms a dough, knead exactly 142 times Smile

Remember that dough becomes more sticky as it is needed, don't add more water unless absolutely necessary.

Oil dough roughly, let rise for 1-2 hours. Shape, let rise 1/2 hour, optionally egg (with whole lightly beaten egg) and sprinkle with toppings, bake for about 1/2 hour or until it looks good.
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ez-pass




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 7:11 am
I use fresh.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 8:22 am
I use dry because it's easier to have on hand. I do proof the yeast until it bubbles and is about double in size.
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nylon




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 8:27 am
Instant dry, I mix it right into the flour with no proofing.
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cheerios




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 10:16 am
I use dry.
The advantage of proofing it first (even in a recipe that doesn't require it) is to see if it'll bubble. Sometimes, especially with a not-so- experienced baker, the water is too hot or too cool and the yeast does not activate. If you proof and see no bubbles, you can start over only having wasted the yeast and not your whole dough.
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miami85




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 10:18 am
cheerios wrote:
I use dry.
The advantage of proofing it first (even in a recipe that doesn't require it) is to see if it'll bubble. Sometimes, especially with a not-so- experienced baker, the water is too hot or too cool and the yeast does not activate. If you proof and see no bubbles, you can start over only having wasted the yeast and not your whole dough.


I was going to say almost the exact same thing.
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Rugelech




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 11:31 am
If the mixture bubbles do you put the other ingredients into it straight away or do you let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes and only then put in other ingredients.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 1:21 pm
I use dry because I can buy in quantity and keep it in the freezer, where it can last for years if I don’t use it up first.

I always proof by mixing the yeast with a teaspoon or so of sugar and a cup or so of water, even if the recipe doesn’t say to do this. Why would I skip this step? It takes no time (I’m not sitting there twiddling my thumbs and watching it, I’m doing other things like clearing off the table and sifting my flour) and if the yeast is superannuated or I killed it with water that was too hot, I know right away and don’t waste my time and ingredients.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 1:28 pm
Rugelech wrote:
If the mixture bubbles do you put the other ingredients into it straight away or do you let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes and only then put in other ingredients.
. I’ve never had it froth on contact. It takes time for the yeasty beasties to take in the sugar and metabolize it to produce enough carbon dioxide to froth. Any bubbles I get on contact are air that was incorporated into the mixture by stirring. If it frothed very soon like after a minute I would accept that as proof that the yeast is alive and wouldn’t feel the need to wait. If it frothed literally on contact I’d assume there was detergent or some other chemical residue on the mixing bowl, throw out the contents, wash the bowl and start from scratch.
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nicole81




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 10 2019, 7:05 pm
cheerios wrote:
I use dry.
The advantage of proofing it first (even in a recipe that doesn't require it) is to see if it'll bubble. Sometimes, especially with a not-so- experienced baker, the water is too hot or too cool and the yeast does not activate. If you proof and see no bubbles, you can start over only having wasted the yeast and not your whole dough.


Just an FYI, yeast won't die in cold water. It will just take a little longer to rise once the dough is at the right temperature. But water that's too hot will definitely be the death of your dough.
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