FREDERICKA COHEN <cohenfs@prodigy.net> asked:
> I have been baking challah with either instant dry yeast or fresh
> yeast which I buy from the baker. The fresh yeast has been giving me a
> great product.
> I had the chance to buy a food service pack of Red Star active dry. I
> used it as specified in a recipe and result looked like an I Love Lucy
> episode.
> I use a 5 quart bucket for rising. Seven cups of flour and two
> tablespoons of Red Star went from the two quart line to OVER THE TOP
> in 15-20 minutes!
> Cutting back to one tbs. slowed it so that it doubled in 25 minutes!
> Is any one else having this problem with this or any other yeast?
WOW!!!! I guess you need to get a baseball bat and beat it down!
More seriously, one of the mantra's I repeat a lot is that "haste is the
enemy of good bread". I'd cut back the yeast to a teaspoon or so and see
what happens. I'd be happy that I could use less of the yeast and get a
good rise.
Personally, I switched to sourdough about three years back, and really like
my sourdough Challah. My theory is that almost any bread that dates back
farther than the 1880's started as a sourdough bread. So, I return the
recipes to sourdough. My recipe is is at
http://www.sourdoughhome.com/challah.html
Mike
--
Mike Avery
MAvery@mail.otherwhen.com