Ratio: How Much Fresh Yeast To Add To The Flour

Yeast is considered the miracle cure for making the perfect dough for cakes, pizza, and bread. The only thing that matters is the right ratio between flour and yeast so that there are no nasty surprises after baking.

Dry vs Fresh

In contrast to fresh yeast, dry yeast has a much longer shelf life. Fresh yeast has a shelf life of about 12 days and definitely needs to be stored in the fridge. But even dry yeast should not be stored too warm.

In our article, you will find even more differences between dry yeast and fresh yeast.

Ratio: flour and yeast

A good yeast dough is not rocket science. All you have to do is maintain the correct ratio between yeast and flour and follow a few tips, and nothing stands in the way of enjoyment. The rising power of a cube of fresh yeast corresponds to 2 packets of dry yeast, each with 7 grams per packet. As a rule of thumb, one packet of dry yeast or half a cube of fresh yeast is enough for 500 grams of flour.

How much yeast: table

The exact ratio between flour and yeast, whether fresh or dry, depends on the proofing time, the recipe, and your desired end product. Whether you need 100g, 200g, 300g, 500g, or even 1kg of flour, in the table you will find guidelines that you can, but do not have to, stick to.

Flour – fresh yeast – dry yeast

• 100g – 4g – 1.4g
• 200g – 8g – 2.8g
• 300g – 12g – 4.2g
• 500 g – 1/2 cube (21g) – 1 packet (7g)
• 1 kg – 1 cube (42g) – 2 packets (14g)

Floating mushrooms

The yeast fungus is the agent that drives and ferments the yeast. Approximately 10 billion yeast cells are present in fresh yeast. In addition, fresh yeast also consists of 30% water. To make dry yeast, the water is then simply extracted from the yeast. Thus, dry yeast also consists of living cells.

Bread

If you want to bake bread, in most cases you don’t use that much yeast. Of course, this depends on the type of bread you want to bake. Because wheat bread goes faster than bread with a high rye content. This is due to the high starch content in wheat flour. Because with a high proportion of wheat flour, it is best to use about 10 g of fresh yeast for a flour quantity of 500 g. The higher the rye content, the more yeast you can use. But 10 to 15 g should be enough. However, if you use dry yeast, one packet per 500g is usually sufficient.

Cake

Yeast dough is delicious and the basis for many cakes, tarts, and pastries. The yeast content depends on the fat content and the rising time of the dough. If the rising time is short, such as for cake bases, it is best to use half a cube of fresh yeast for 500 grams of flour. However, if the fat content is higher, you will need a little more yeast. The low water content has a negative effect on the metabolism of the yeast. However, if you want your dough to rise more slowly and need more time, such as with a fluffy yeast plait, you can use significantly less yeast.

Tips and tricks

You have found the right balance between yeast and flour. So now it’s just a matter of the right tips and your yeast dough will be perfect:

1. It is better to knead the dough longer than too short.
2. Warm up the bowl in which you are working the dough a little beforehand.
3. Then let the dough rise in a warm place such as near a heater or in the oven at a maximum of 50° degrees.
4. Make sure the yeast hasn’t expired.