Recommending Economical Yeast

instant yeast
***UPDATE***
Looking for yeast in lockdown? More details here:
http://www.freshly-baked.co.uk/2020/05/baking-in-lockdown-when-youve-got-no.html
***

Introducing Fermipan yeast.

This is my new packet of instant yeast. I got it for Christmas (kind of!) I'd been asking my mum to bring some over for me, since it is stocked in a health food shop local to them and I haven't found any* near us.
*I haven't looked very hard but it's not in supermarkets.

Anyway, it's instant dried yeast, so can be added, along with the flour (and no faffing) to any bread recipe. It also looks nice posing alongside some strategically placed fruit, but that needn't be the deciding factor.

I have, up until now, been using sachets of supermarket own-brand yeast. That works fine. The yeast stays nice and fresh in its 7g sachets. But it's pricey.

For 8 sachets of dried yeast at a well known supermarket beginning with T and ending with O, it costs 87p. That's £15.54/kg, according to their website.

The Fermipan, on the other hand, as purchased by my mum (thanks mum!) cost £3.65 for 500g, which is a mere £7.30/kg. Which is kind of like half price, isn't it?

So, the Fermipan works just as well (perhaps better - the grains of yeast are very fine, which I think makes them easier to dissolve into the dough and quicker to get to work) and is half the price of yeast in sachets.

How To Use Fermipan Red Yeast

There may be one slight disadvantage. Yeast does deteriorate and become less active over time, once exposed to the atmosphere. Thus, sealed foil sachets can keep the yeast fresher for longer. Opening a full 500g packet of yeast leads to a loss of freshness, eventually.

When I was a single girl, hardly baking at all*, I gave up using Fermipan because it was becoming ineffective before I'd finished the packet. Now that I have a husband and three children and bake at least three times a week, I reckon I'll get through 500g of yeast quickly enough.
*Those were the days!

instant dried yeastThat's a judgement you'll have to make for yourself - whether you're baking enough to buy yeast in bulk.

If you're putting Fermipan to the test, may I recommend storing the open packet in a well-sealed - hopefully airtight - container? This will keep it fresher for longer. I have opted to take a small amount out into a jar, for ease of use, whilst keeping the remainder in the box.

I'm sure you don't really need a picture, but since I did take one, with added broccoli, as it happens...

Update

I've found a good deal on Amazon, for Fermipan Dried Yeast 500 g (Pack of 4) (affiliate link).
Don't worry about it being a pack of four because the Best Before dates are ages away: your unopened packs will keep really well.



***FURTHER UPDATE***
If you are trying to find yeast during lockdown, this post is for you:
It has ideas for where to buy yeast and suggestions for making bread without yeast.
*****

Let me know if you give it a try!

12 comments:

  1. Hi Rachel
    Wondering if I could post in French, your name sounds french!
    I live in London, desperately looking for Fermipan yeast or any instant yeast in 500g pack as I bake 1 to 2 breads a day for my family (there are 6 of us..)
    Found some organic yeast for an outrageous price, so no.

    But: Lesaffre distributor in UK is BFP wholesale
    http://www.bfpwholesale.com/products
    I rang their depot closest to mine (Sevenoaks) and they gave me name of the only shop that sells these packs individually (otherwise it's 20 packs minimum). That JJ (easy to find when you search them on the web, I don't want to inundate this comment with links..)
    I am off to go and buy my yeast now, I will report back if you like !

    If you are not in London, you just need to look up their depot closest to you on BFP's website and call them..

    Hélène

    ReplyDelete
  2. Okay, well, I seem to have misplaced JJ, they are 45mn away from me, so I am giving up on them. Will keep looking...

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    Replies
    1. Hi Helene, Sorry for the delay in replying. Life's a little hectic lately...

      Je suis toute a fait Anglaise (as you can tell by my appalling French!) You can post in French if you like and I will be able to understand (mostly) because I did A-level French (many moons ago) and I love speaking French but I think I'll have to reply en anglais because my written French and grammar is so bad(!)

      Did you find some yeast? I found Fermipan on Amazon a while back but it was expensive. Cheaper in a local health food store. I buy mine near my parents' house in South West Scotland because they have a great health food store in their town.

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  3. I use Fermipan and used to have the same problem as you that it got a little lacking in enthusiasm as the packet went down and I ended up throwing away at least a third. But I found a solution: decant the packet into three 1lb jam jars. That pretty much fills two of them to the brim and the third isn't far off. Now close the two full ones and put them in the freezer until required.

    It's so dry that the yeast come out still free running from frozen and you can use it straight away but I wouldn't recommend putting it back in the freezer again. Anyway this way I'm using every packet in full.

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  4. Hi ,
    I have just managed to get some Fermipan yeast , so the tips on storing in a jamjar in the freezer are great , thank you . I didn't realise when I ordered it that it wouldn't be in small sachets ...ooops !! Note to self ..must read the small print !!

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    Replies
    1. Great! I think online sellers have been buying 500g packs of Fermipan and splitting them up to sell in smaller portions!!

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  5. I used Fermipan for the first time today and is was a disaster. I left it to prove but the dough didn't rise at all! What did I do wrong please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no! I might need more detail to answer this. Was your dough too dry perhaps? A little more water can help the dough to be slack enough to rise easily. Or was your water too hot and it killed the yeast? Or could it be that the dough was very cold and the yeast was working slowly? Email me - I'll be happy to troubleshoot with you.

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  6. Sous Chef is a good source of yeast - see https://www.souschef.co.uk/pages/search-results?q=yeast
    They have the Fermipan (which I have not tried). I have been using Sosa which is much more expensive weight-wise but it was the first yeast I bought and I have stuck with it. I use about a third of a teaspoonful per loaf. Sous Chef minimum delivery price is £3.99 so not so economical if you only buy a bit of yeast! But they have loads of other great ingredients and they package everything very well for delivery, so I've found that putting together a combined purchase is no problem, and only if you rack up a heavy load does the delivery price go up.

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  7. I opened my pack of 500g yeast a year ago, stored it in a plastic bag pretty tightly, but the yeast didn't wrk much. I have another unopened pack, Do I throw away the first pack and start again?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm, probably. You could do a little experiment with the opened yeast to see if it's still active: stir a teaspoonful of yeast and a teaspoonful of sugar into a little water. Wait 15 minutes or so and see if the yeast makes any bubbles. If not, definitely give up on it :o(

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