Yeast dough is one of the more popular and demanding doughs. It should be soft and delicate. To make it so, you need good baker’s yeast. What to do if you don’t have fresh yeast? Is instant yeast able to provide the same effect?
Tall and fluffy yeast dough with crumble or with fruit has been on our tables for years. It is often the base for other baked goods such as rolls, croissants, cakes with fruit, doughnuts, kulebiakas, oponki, pies or pizza. Unfortunately it is very demanding and time consuming. That is why housewives exchange the best recipes for this cake. Changing or omitting some element may cause the dough not to rise and it will be a sourdough. Many people think that for this reason you have to stick to the original recipe and use only fresh yeast. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Instant yeast has the same properties as fresh yeast, so it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Dough with dry yeast is even easier to make, and the final effect does not differ at all from the traditional yeast cake, which is light and plump. Instant yeast is perfect for everyday baking, but also for occasional cakes, such as Easter cake
Dried instant yeast is a natural yeast which makes baked goods rise and plump. Unlike fresh yeast, it does not require making a starter with sugar to activate it. Just add it to the flour before kneading. Additionally, you can always have such yeast on hand, because it doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge. They have a long shelf life, and they do not lose their raising properties
You already know if you can make yeast dough with instant yeast. How to start? Sift the flour into a bowl. Do not skip this step, thanks to it you will get rid of possible lumps, and the flour will become even fluffier, because it will be aerated Wheat flour type 550 is the most recommended for yeast-raised baked goods and of course it has to be fresh and dry
If you want your dough to rise better, you can preheat it slightly, for example by placing it on a radiator. Then add to sifted flour dry yeast and mix. Then, add the sugar, eggs and lukewarm milk – the ideal temperature for yeast the ideal temperature of milk for instant yeast is about 45 degrees. Combine all the ingredients together, kneading them. At the end add melted butter. The butter should be of the highest quality possible, so that the yeast has a wonderful buttery taste. Warm the melted butter to room temperature – too hot butter may cause the dough not to rise. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic.
Shape it into a ball and put it in a bowl, covering with a cloth and set aside in a warm place. It must stand there until it doubles in bulk. When the dough has risen, knead it again, but briefly. Grease the tin you want to bake the dough in with butter and sprinkle it with flour. Then put the risen dough into it. Cover it with a cloth again and set aside to rise again. Brush the broken egg with a fork and gently spread it on the top of the dough. Add your favorite toppings and bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees. Let it cool in a slightly tilted oven
This yeast cake can be eaten in many ways, which is probably why we like it so much. It tastes great sprinkled with crumble or topped with seasonal fruit. You can add some nuts to the middle, for example raisins, which will give it even more sweetness. Yeast dough is also a great base for salty baked goods. However with salt be very careful with salt, because it slows down and disturbs the production of yeast and its direct contact with the yeast may even kill it. Therefore, salt in baked goods should be added at the very end.
