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[fluff_head]

Hey all, I just popped the seal on a jar of active dry yeast. Where should I store it now, and about how long of a shelflife has it got?

Thanks!

Comments

[bitchie_poo]

in the fridge, or at least a cool, dark place, and not for more than a year.

[fluff_head]

perfect, sankyo

[salsuginous]

I always keep mine in the freezer. I have some that is more than a year old as I was too busy to bake bread, but tried it out last week and and I didn't notice a difference.

[fluff_head]

That's great--and you just pop it frozen into the warm water and sugar?

[salsuginous]

Yup. Straight in, no problem.

[setissma]

In the fridge or the freezer. At least in my experience, yeast tends to go "off" all at once - it either works or it doesn't. After a few months, you may want to "test" it by throwing a little into some warm water with sugar and seeing if the tell-tale bubbles form before you bake anything with it. Nothing is worse than making an entire batch of bread/pizza dough/rolls and finding that it won't rise because of faulty yeast! :)

[fluff_head]

Yes, too true! Thanks for the tip

[f1r3anda1r]

Haha, hey, i think i've seen that icon somewhere before...
(Tho yours has a fancy little border -- i just nicked mine straight off the original cartoon).

I've actually got something to say about yeast as well -- cos it sounds like you might be new-ish to breadmaking, & Back In The Day i remember i used to get really frustrated w/ trying to get my bread to rise consistently. Over time I've had the best luck w/ the basic bread recipe in the Tassajara Bread Book, where you don't proof the yeast in the usual way (i.e., you don't put it in with water & sugar for ten minutes) -- instead you put it in water, sugar & half the flour for about 45 mins, before adding salt, oil, and the rest of the flour, kneading it, & letting it rise twice.

Good luck!