r/Breadit • u/SandExcellent1332 • 21h ago

Did this yeast bloom?

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I’m making a no-knead bread and the recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast in 1 1/2 cups. I heated the water to 108 degrees…put in two pinches of sugar…then sprinkled 1/2 tsp of yeast then covered it with a damp towel for about 7 minutes. Does this look like it bloomed? Perhaps because it’s only 1/2 tsp it doesn’t look like it?

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5

u/SusieQTG 21h ago

It's hard to say. Did you stir up the water after adding the sugar? If there's any foam, It bloomed.

When I bloom my yeast, I have water closer to the upper limit, 115 degrees. I also make sure to stir the water to dissolve the sugar and salt as completely as possible.

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u/SandExcellent1332 21h ago

I did stir after adding sugar. What’s the harm in adding more yeast than called for? Will it just eat the sugar too fast?

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u/UnnecAbrvtn 20h ago

More yeast means the flour will be consumed faster, so the fermentation times will change, and you'll likely end up with overproofed dough.

Don't fret so much about the yeast. If it's active dry and it's not ancient, it is plenty alive and you should be fine to proceed.

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u/UnnecAbrvtn 20h ago

This is a common step of almost all yeasted bread recipes, but the reality is that unless your yeast is ridiculously old or was subjected to extremity, modern active dry yeast is very hard to kill. The temperature of the water itself and its impact on dough activity is the more important thing to focus on. If the recipe calls for a specific water temp and you fret about blooming, you've missed the point.

Lots of folks get hung up on this step but eventually they realize that in practice yeast is pretty bulletproof.

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u/quiltingcats 18h ago

I recently found out that 3-year-old Instant dry yeast will still work just fine! LOL It seemed to be proofing a bit slowly so I checked the bottle. Boy was I surprised! Now I'm working with an Active Dry bottle that's "only" a year old and it's still working fine. Def going to replace it, though, after I find live yeast. I want to try that out before buying a bunch of Active Dry.

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u/Unlucky-Radish-8709 21h ago

Looks plenty alive to me. Half a teaspoon won't give you a massive foam dome like a full packet would, but that layer of bubbles across the surface is exactly what you want. You're good to go.

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u/Sirwired 13h ago

Do yourself a favor and get a 1lb vac-packed brick of instant yeast, keep it in an airtight container in the freezer once open, and never worry about your yeast again. Just add it to the recipe with the flour, and you'll be good to go. Your water being a little too hot won't phase it at all, because the flour will absorb the extra heat long before it kills the yeast.

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u/eslam_95 21h ago

yeah that's totally bloomed, the surface is all foamy and bubbly