Swore by instant yeast for 15 years until my baker buddy showed me how active dry adds more flavor to my ciabatta

Last Tuesday I tried his method of proofing active dry in warm water with a pinch of sugar first and the crust came out with this nutty smell I never got from instant, has anyone else noticed a difference between the two types?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanh561mo ago

@matthewkim nailed it with that "breakfast burp" term, that's exactly what I'm smelling now. How much longer do you let the active dry proof compared to instant before mixing it into the dough?

matthewkim1mo ago

Active dry kicked my butt for years until I got the timing right. Used to let it sit too long in the sugar water and killed all the yeast, ended up with flat dinner rolls that tasted like wet cardboard. That nutty smell you're describing is the yeast waking up and eating that sugar, my buddy calls it the "breakfast burp" phase. Instant just doesn't do that same dance.