Top 10 Best Yeasts for Baking in 2020 (SAF, Fleischmann's, and More)

To aid you in your search, we've tracked down 10 products that can help you make some wonderful baked goods! Read on to know more about our recommendations. 

With all of the options in mind, you might wonder which one is the right choice. In this buying guide, we've compiled tips to help you make a decision. For more detail, keep reading! 

Active dry yeast and instant yeast are popularly used in home baking. They all help leaven bread but work in different ways. 

Active dry yeast is the original type of yeast, and it has been used by generations of bakers. It comes in the form of fine granules. It's dormant in the package, so you'll have to reactivate it with a pinch of sugar and warm water (typically around 105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit).

If bubbly foam rises to the top after 10 to 15 minutes, your yeast is still alive. This means you can go ahead and use it! However, if the mixture doesn't bubble, that is a sign that your yeast is dead. 

Compared to active dry yeast, instant yeast is ground into even finer granules and can dissolve pretty quickly in the dough. 

You don't have to proof instant yeast at all! Instead, you mix it directly into your dry ingredients. Due to its fast-acting nature, this type of yeast is often used for bread machines to help make the dough rise faster.

However, it's hard to know if instant dry yeast is alive since you combine it directly with your dry ingredients. To double-check that the yeast is actually active, you should prove it in water just like active dry yeast. 

Products that claim to be rapid-rising often use extra enzymes or artificial additives to boost the activity of the yeast. Specifically, ascorbic acid (E300) is an artificial additive commonly used to help create an acidic environment for the yeast to work faster and yield a better rise. 

So if you are looking for a product that works a little faster and helps your dough rise higher, screen through the ingredient list of a product and make sure that there are additional enzymes and artificial additives. 

If you're planning to bake sweet treats, such as cinnamon rolls or brioche, you might want to purchase osmotolerant yeast. 

In a small amount, sugar can help accelerate the fermentation rate. But when the amount of sugar is more than 10 percent of the flour weight, it can hinder the fermentation process by taking water away from the yeast. 

Therefore, sweet doughs take a while to rise or might even end up not rising at all. But osmotolerant yeast is a special kind of yeast that can grow in low water conditions and, therefore, works particularly well in sugary doughs. 

However, most brands don't label their yeast as osmotolerant since, well, it's quite a mouthful. You'll have to read the product's description and see if it's designed for sweet doughs with a sugar level exceeding 10 percent. 

If you don't have yeast specifically for sweet doughs on hand, you can still use regular instant or active dry yeasts! Simply increase the amount of regular yeast by about 30 percent. 

Many people assume that packaging is not important, but it's actually a crucial factor that helps ensure the yeast's quality. 

The packaging needs to protect the yeast from being affected by oxygen or moisture. Otherwise, the yeast is likely to lose its activity and eventually negatively affect its fermentation performance. 

Most products are packed in a vacuum-sealed bag to preserve the quality. But the packaging of some is not sealable, so you will have to transfer the contents into an air-tight container after you open it.

Some products also come in a dark-colored glass container to help protect the yeast from direct sunlight and moisture.

Meanwhile, others come in individually-sealed envelopes that are quite easy to use. A standard packet often contains two and a quarter teaspoons of yeast. Many recipes actually call for one whole packet of yeast, so you won't have to worry about storing the rest. 

If you do have some extra yeast, just pop it into the fridge or the freezer. Usually, yeast can last up to six months in the fridge or a year in the freezer.

If you're in a rush and don't have time to wait for the dough to completely rise, we have a few tips that can help speed up this process! One way is to cover your dough with a damp, warm towel and place it in a warm spot. The moisture from the towel and the heat will help accelerate the rising process. 

You can also proof dough in a microwave. First, heat a cup of water on high for about two minutes. After that, put your dough in the microwave, but don't turn it on! The existing heat from the microwave and the moisture from the water will create a naturally warm, humid environment to help the dough rise. 

There are some ingredients that you can add to help with the rising process. First, you can add a quarter of a teaspoon of ginger to the water that you'll use for proofing the yeast.

Another method is to use unsalted potato water in lieu of warm water or milk. Make sure that the potato water is heated to the optimal temperature (105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit) for proofing the yeast. The starch in the potato water will help strengthen the gas bubbles and make the dough rise higher.

You can also try adding two tablespoons of dry milk powder to the flour. This ingredient will help hold the moisture within your bread, keep it soft, and help it rise higher. Dry milk powder will also help form a golden-brown crust. 

If you're searching for baking equipment that can make your time in the kitchen much easier, look no further! Check out our product guides to learn more about the types of bakeware that can accommodate your baking needs.  

Yeast is the must-have ingredient for baking bread, but choosing a suitable product is not always easy. You'll have to pick between instant yeast or active dry yeast, and check to see if the yeast is suitable for the types of bread you intend to bake.

Hopefully, after reading our buying guide, you're feeling more prepared to make the final decision! 

Author: Thuy Nguyen

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If you're ready to start your baking streak but you're trying to reduce or cut gluten from your diet altogether, consider this reliable 1:1 flour option recommended by certified nutritionist Kara Swanson.