The essential ingredient in bread making, yeast is a fungus that produces carbon dioxide when mixed with sugar and water, which causes the bread dough to rise. Look at our step by step recipe to making pizza dough.
There are three types of yeast available:
Fresh yeast, only available from bakers, needs to be mixed to a paste with sugar and water until it ferments and can be added to the flour.
Dried active yeast, sold in small tins in a granular form before use, this needs to be re activated in warm water and sugar until frothy and is used for hand baking. If a recipe calls for fresh yeast, use half the amount of dried yeast.
Easy bake or fast action yeast, sold in sachets, this is the easiest and quickest yeast to use. It is simply stirred into the dough mixture and the bread needs only one rising. It is ideal to use in bread machines.
Keep dried yeast in a dry place and always use by its best before date or it will lose its effectiveness.