Okay, so I’ve been wanting to try making bread with fresh yeast for ages. I always see it at the store, that little cube all wrapped up, and it just seems so… authentic. Like, this is how real bakers do it, right? So, I finally decided to give it a shot.
First, I grabbed a recipe online. I mean, who wings it with yeast? Not me, not yet anyway. Then I went to the store and picked up a block of the organic fresh yeast. It felt kinda weird and squishy in the package.
Getting Started
Back home, I got all my ingredients together. The recipe said to “crumble” the yeast into warm water. This was a bit messy, to be honest. It wasn’t like dry yeast that just dissolves. This stuff was like… clay. I ended up using my fingers to kind of break it up and smush it into the water.
- Used my fingers – way easier than a spoon.
- Made sure water is warm Not too hot,I think.
Then, I added a little bit of sugar, like the recipe said, to “feed” the yeast. I guess yeast likes sugar? Makes sense, I like sugar too. I stirred it all up and waited. The recipe said to wait about 10 minutes, or until it gets “foamy.”
I watched it like a hawk. At first, nothing. Then, slowly, it started to get a little bubbly on top. And then, whoa! It really did get foamy! It almost doubled in size. It was actually kinda cool to see. It felt… alive. Because, well, I guess it is alive.
Mixing and Proofing
Once the yeast was all foamy and happy, I mixed it into the flour, salt, and the rest of the ingredients. Kneading the dough was the same as usual, nothing special there because of the fresh yeast.
The first proofing took a little longer than I expected, but it is Winter now,so I put it in a warm place. After that, I shaped the dough, put it in the pan, and let it proof again.
The Result
Finally, it was time to bake! The bread came out of the oven looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. It had a nice, golden-brown crust. And the smell… amazing!
When I sliced into it, the texture was definitely different from bread I’ve made with dry yeast. It was a little… denser, maybe? But in a good way. It had a really nice, slightly tangy flavor. Was it because of the fresh yeast? I don’t know for sure, but I like to think so.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It was a fun little experiment, and I’ll definitely try using organic fresh yeast again. Maybe next time I’ll get even more adventurous!
