Saf Instant Yeast, 1-Pound Pouches (Pack of 4)

This was my fourth or fifth order of this yeast. I give it away to new bread makers I meet. Before I discovered this kind of yeast, my bread was a guessing game and the results were mixed. But I did two things that changed that forever and now my bread comes out perfect every time. I always use this yeast and I bought some scales and converted all my recipes to grams. I discovered that those two things will insure some continuity in your bread making. I have a Zojirushi 2 lb loaf style bread machine which I also got on Amazon and my family loves to have homemade bread. I really don't consider myself a bread maker however, because I don't know how to do the kneading and letting it rise method. I just plop everything in my machine and turn it on and 3 hours later, I have bread. That takes little talent. But the best part is the bread will actually mold if left to sit on the counter too long. Yeah. That means no preservatives which means more healthy for you. I enjoy experimenting with new additives from the herb garden. Oh, I store the 4 packs in the deep freezer until ready to use and then store the open one in the refrigerator freezer while in use. I bought one of the plastic containers that have four latches on top that is the exact size of this yeast package once opened and have a 1 teaspoon dedicated measuring spoon that I leave in the container with the yeast package. Makes it all easier. The yeast package is shrink wrapped and before you cut it open, it appears square, but once you break that seal, you can smash the sides in and it will fit the plastic container with room for the measuring spoon. My solution to the mold issue is to go ahead and slice the bread on day three and store individual slices in the freezer and pop in the toaster oven before dinner. Bread is always better warm anyway.

I've been using this yeast over the past year and it's flawless. I mill our flour and make homemade bread for our large family so we go through about 8 lbs. of this per year. It will likely be more now that I'm making our own hotdog and hamburger buns too. We are trying to get away from packaged goods as much as possible and this price is fantastic for 4 lbs. Over half off what I usually pay per brick. Absolutely better than buying the small grocery store jars that I'd been using in the past. Easy to store in the freezer and lasts forever in there. I will absolutely be purchasing more next year. I buy a years worth at a time which will be 3 of the 4 packs. I separate each brick as I open them into small jelly jars with the amount I use in each 6 loaf batch of bread dough that I make. Then I just have to dump the premeasured amount into my mixture as needed. I always keep one jar labeled "Not for bread" to use for anything that I might need a different amount. Keep the jars in the fridge and this system works great for us. I just open another brick and refill my jars again as the last one is emptied. We go through almost 1 lb. of yeast a month so freezing isn't necessary. The unopened bricks are stored in a cool dry place and I use them up before making it to the expiration date. If we start not using as much, I'll start storing them in the freezer.

I've used this yeast for years, and cut my breadbaking time considerably! This only takes one rising, and that's after you've shaped it into loaves and set it in the pans. I can go from grinding my own flour from wheat berries to 5 freshly baked loaves of bread in 90 minutes, and that includes all the clean up! The works great if you use a Bosch or other kind of dough kneading machine, but it also works well when kneading by hand. I can't buy this where I live, so I buy a lot and freeze it. I've never had any not work even after 5+ years! I just put the open one back in the freezer in a zip lock bag and keep the rest in the freezer too. I do make sure I have the right water temperature, then put my honey in with the yeast to help it activate. On tip for always getting the right temp of water without using a thermometer (at least it works in Hawaii) is to bring 1/3 of the amount of water to a boil, then 2/3 of the water room temp. Add both temps of water to the mixing bowl before you add the yeast or you may kill it. Another great tip if you use oil and honey (I use 2/3 cup of each for my 5-loaf recipe.) is to measure the oil into the bowl first in the same measuring cup as the honey and the honey will just slide out of it.

Good

I have been baking great no kneed bread for awhile using recipes from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking book using the yeast available from a local "big box" store. Although the results from the yeast available locally has always been great, the price for the yeast has not.Even buying the yeast in the small 4Oz "bulk" jars locally is ~$1 an ounce, and that really adds up over time if you bake a lot.To get this much yeast locally would have been over four times as expensive!This yeast comes in four individual one pound packages. This is great because you can open one package at a time, and you can store the rest sealed in the freezer. I did a bit of research to find out how long these unopened packages can stay fresh in the freezer.Many different websites are claiming that an unopened one pound package of this yeast should stay fresh up to 10 years in the freezer before losing potency. This is good news for most home bakers who are worried about buying so much yeast at once.Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. The price is very low for how much yeast you get, it's conveniently packaged, you can store it (unopened) for years in your freezer, and the yeast is of very high quality.