How long is Instant Bread Yeast good for?

I have been conducting a year long test for bread yeast after opening a bulk 1lb. package stored in a freezer is opened and then stored in the refrigerator in a snap top container for weekly use. The yeast block tested was stored in my freezer for two years before I opened it for this test.

I found that at 11 months old the refrigerated yeast worked as good as fresh yeast. In the 12^th month, it began to be noticeably less active. It did make the dough rise OK but not normal like younger yeast. It produced good bread but the yeast was clearly at the end of its life.

Conclusion:

If you keep yeast frozen for two years and then open it, you have about one year if refrigerated before the yeast becomes questionable for use. My test used 2 years stored frozen yeast. I don’t know how long frozen yeast will be good for because I only tested two-year frozen yeast. However, I suspect frozen yeast will be good for many more years.

Bread Baking and Salt

I have been baking bread for years now, at least several loaves every other weekend. I’m to the point I don’t look at a recipe anymore it’s simply memorized.

Last week I baked two loaves and as always have to try a piece of warm from the oven bread! Something wasn’t right about the taste, it kind of tasted like it was just flour and water baked. A very flat taste.

Hmmm what went wrong???

I do stage all the ingredients on the kitchen counter-top first, then measure and add to the mix. Then I remembered,,,, I forgot the salt! The recipe calls for one teaspoon of salt per loaf and this little bit of salt makes an unbelievable difference in the taste of bread.

I baked two more loaves yesterday making sure I had the salt added and sure enough the taste was back to normal!

Moral of the story:

Always have the recipe in front of you as this could have been disastrous if I were canning 70 quarts of meat and left an ingredient out that was key to flavor.

Yeast, Buying Instant Dry Yeast

Yeast is a must have for the Survivalist or any baker. You have to have it for all your bread baking needs. If you feel you can’t store enough instant yeast then learn how to make sour dough starter, it’s very easy to do.

How to save a lot of money!
I haven’t purchased yeast from the supermarket for years because it’s far too expensive there. I purchase it from warehouse stores or mail order the two packs of one pound vacuum packed blocks. The cost is just over $4.00 for the two one pound blocks. If you compare the savings it’s a no-brainer. A one pound block makes over 50 loaves of bread or $0.08 each. The three envelope packets cost around $1.65 or $0.55 per loaf…… The expiration date is 2 years on the one pound vacuum packed blocks without freezing, just sitting on a shelf and I’ve used it into a third year and its still good.

This is the only way to buy yeast and save a lot of money at the same time!