Yeast Yonkers!

I had a disaster in the kitchen two weeks ago.  I attempted to active instant dry yeast while making homemade bagels.

I used all the flour in our house only to wait 6 hours for the dough to rise, but nothing ever happened.  I made a huge mess, wasted an entire Sunday and had to throw away the dough.  This disheartening experience, partnered with some pressures at work, caused me to take an unexpected hiatus from cooking.  I decided not to rush back into things until I felt genuine excitement around cooking again. 

Yesterday that excitement returned. I woke up ready to overcome the seemingly large barrier between me and the living organism in my cupboard...  I started my Saturday by researching how to activate instant dry yeast on the internet... I learned that in my last attempt on that fated Sunday I had burned the yeast by soaking it in scalding hot water.  

After several tries the yeast finally activated.  Here is how to activate dry instant yeast 

(I realize that in America one can just buy active yeast, but in other countries it is hard to find yeast and most require activation)

1. 1 cup warm water (a little hotter than luke warm)

2. Stir in one tbls of sugar

3. Add the yeast (1 tsp) and stir rapidly for about 10 seconds or until the mixture gets cloudy

4. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap or something that will allow for incubation (not a cloth)

5. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes

6. The yeast should start to foam and bubble after 10-15 minutes and that is when you know it is ready. 

Yeast opens up a whole new world of baked goods one can make. For example: bagels, pizza crust and bread to name just a few!  

Enjoy!