Instructions: Everything That Rises Must Converge
Given the apparent differences in the three types of yeast, we were shocked when our initial series of tests with an American sandwich bread recipe turned up nothing noteworthy. We had assumed that doughs made with different types of yeast would perform differently or produce breads with individual flavors or textures. But for all intents and purposes, the breads we baked were identical. Tasters had to literally bury their noses in the crumb of the bread to establish olfactory differences-but these differences did not translate to the tongue. Proceeding one step further, we put individual brands of yeast into competition. After all, yeast companies themselves scramble to come up with proprietary formulas-of the hundreds of artificially created strains of yeast, some are even housed in a national repository-so there must be qualitative differences, right? Wrong. We found no perceptible differences in the breads baked with different brands of yeast. Realizing at this point that we had to rethink our testing strategy, we decided to advance to the second round by using only instant yeast-selecting it because it is widely available, convenient, and strong-and attempt to come up with some pointers for home bakers on how to make sense of and use these putty-colored granules.

Control Fermentation before It Controls You As noted above, one misconception about instant yeast arises from the recommendations of the yeast companies themselves, which often call for quantities far in excess of what is required. When a recipe calls for instant yeast in amounts comparable with those of active dry (usually an envelope), the dough will rise faster because instant yeast contains no dead cells. But is that a good thing? The equation between less yeast and more flavorful bread has been long established in Europe. In her remarkable book English Bread and Yeast Cookery (Penguin Books, 1977), Elizabeth David cites Eliza Acton, writing in the 1845 book Modern Cookery, as having observed that rapid fermentation brought on by excess yeast is "by no means advantageous to the bread, which not only becomes dry and stale from it, but is of less sweet and pleasant flavor than that which is more slowly fermented." Unfortunately, many Americans over the years have come to associate raw yeasty smells and flavor with hearth and home-in a word, with homemade.

Understanding the relationship between yeast and fermentation, we learned, creates practical advantages for the baker. The less yeast employed, the longer the fermentation required. A long fermentation at a moderately cool temperature means the yeast can go about its business without being rushed. The fermentation flavors will improve. The bread will taste better. Instead of fearing that your dough will exhaust its resources if it rises slowly, relax-throw it in the fridge overnight if it suits you.

In embracing the axiom that a doughs rising time can be manipulated by adjusting the amount of yeast used and the temperature of the surrounding environment, one becomes considerably less time- and recipe-bound. Consider a bread recipe that uses a high proportion of yeast: the dough rises quickly. Offer this heavily yeasted dough a tropical rising spot, toss in a pinch of neglect by forgetting about it, and what will you get? In terms of the first rise, according to food scientist Shirley Corriher, bacteria produced in an excessively warm environment will create "short acid chains," which corrupt the breads flavor. In terms of the final rise (once the dough is shaped), such a dough will be stretched to its limits. Gas will escape during baking, and the baked bread will resemble the above-mentioned sneaker-with an open grain and poor texture. Cool fermentation thus has the added advantage of reducing the margin of error if bread is left to rise for too long.

We tested these theories ourselves using the dinner roll recipe from the November/ December 1999 issue of Cooks. We made two original recipes, each of which used one envelope of instant yeast (21/4 teaspoons) and 3 1/2 cups of flour. We also made a recipe with only 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast. We gave the dough with less yeast an initial two-hour rise at room temperature, followed by an overnight fermentation. As for the two original doughs, one was handled as the recipe instructed while the second was given twice as much time for the first rise (in a warm oven) as well as the second rise (after being formed). The results were instructive. Once baked, the orginal-recipe rolls that were left for double the usual rising time looked squat and dispirited, their interior was heavy, and their flavor frankly sour-"indescribably awful," one taster said. The regular rolls were as we remembered them: sweet, yeasty, and pillowy soft. One taster described them as "a yeast explosion in my mouth." But the rolls with less yeast and a long fermentation had improved height, a complex, lingering aroma, a fine interior crumb, and a richer flavor. "You can taste the yeast," one taster said, "but the flavor is developed and full, not so in your face." And so we found ourselves at the end of the day with a handful of rough gems. First, we like instant yeast (to include those brands whose names imply haste-rapid rise, instant rise, and so on): it has a long shelf life, does not need to be activated by dissolving it in water, and is "stronger," which means you can use less. Second, we learned that less yeast makes better bread precisely because it takes longer to rise. We recognize that fermentation is something a baker can control by decreasing the amount of yeast and increasing the rising time. And, last but not least, we confirm that a kitchen that smells of just-baked bread will always draw a crowd.

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