Wednesday 9 May 2007

fresh yeast

It seems so alive.

I bought my first block of fresh yeast. It cost about $2 and is big enough to make all the bread I could eat if I was to only eat bread for a month. I have shared it among my friends and family, and it is still going. I had read somewhere that fresh yeast only lasts two weeks, but I have had this wonderful item for three weeks now and it is still going strong.

If you like to bake bread, I whole heartedly recommend fresh yeast over dried.

Update : use twice the amount of fresh to dried yeast - both volume and by weight work.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where did you get that? I met some Eurpeans recently who were lamenting how hard it is to find fresh yeast in NZ.

Deb said...

Hi, I stumbled upon your blog from a link in another foodie blog :-) Been lurking on it for a few weeks now. There are some yummy sounding recipes on your blog I just have to try. Hope you don't mind but I tagged you with 7 Things About Me. Take a look at my blog if you wanna participate.

Elizabeth said...

Wow!! What a find. It looks beautiful.

What are the dimensions? The only fresh yeast I've seen here comes in blocks that are about 4x4x2centimeters - they cost $1 each and are definitely not enough for even a week's worth of bread.

-Elizabeth

Mary said...

Fresh yeast makes wonderful bread! Thanks for sharing Emma. Now, I'll keep a look out for some, I have a sudden strange pizza craving..
cheers,
Mary

Unknown said...

i made my own sourdough startee myself and am still keeping it alive in my fridge. is this fresh yeast the same as sourdough starter?

Emma said...

curious - I got it from Moore Wilsons here in Wellington. I think that a shop that supplies trade would have it.
deb - thanks for the tag! It is great to find another NZ blogger!
ejm - I just bought a new one, and so can tell you it measures 12x8x6cm
Mary - I hope you satisfied that craving!
Arfi - It is different. This is just yeast, I suppose it is the non-dehydrated version of instant yeast. Sourdough starter is a mixture containing flour and water too.
Email me if you do have troubles finding any and would like to try it - we can see what we can do!

Bron said...

I get mine from Canterbury Cheesemongers, you have to ask them really nicely though, hehe it's great stuff!

Anonymous said...

Hi

Stumbled upon your blog as I was sitting here, just waiting on my French dough to rise. This is my first time using fresh (compressed) yeast and am quite excited at the prospect. Here in Christchurch, Natures Organics sells it at about a dollar for 100g block. Just thought I would share the info...

Emma said...

Bron - isn't it brilliant stuff?!

Anonymous - That is a great deal. How did it turn out?

I have since found out from a friend who is a baker that fresh yeast can be frozen successfully - hooray!

Anonymous said...

I procured a block of compressed yeast today - but with no scale on hand, I don't know how much to use. Can anyone suggest what dimension of compressed yeast compares to one packet of dry yeast? Thanks!

Emma said...

Hi, I use twice the amount of fresh to dried yeast - both volume and by weight work.