Learning How to Activate Yeast is an important step in baking. Having lively, healthy yeast ensures soft, puffy, fully risen dough each time.
Baking hasn’t always been one of my strengths. A little over a decade ago, the thought of baking anything from scratch was scary and seemed impossible.
Neither of my grandmothers baked using yeast, so I didn’t have any clue how to get started. I wanted to learn to make homemade bread, cinnamon rolls, and pizza dough, but I’d long heard that proofing yeast was difficult.
Eventually, I gave up and bought a bread maker. It was one of those models that did everything for you, from mixing the ingredients, to the rising, then the baking. It was great, except the bread had a really hard crust that was ridiculously hard to cut.
After a while of using the bread maker and fighting to cut through the crust, I decided it was time to learn how to proof yeast and bake homemade bread. I’ve been baking from scratch ever since, and that bread maker is long gone!
It was over 10 years ago when I went on the search for a French bread recipe and found a blog, much like ours, that showed step-by-step photos. Those photos included how to activate yeast, and since they were so helpful, I decided to include step-by-step pictures in this post, too.
How to Activate Yeast:
Choose the recipe that you’d like to use that requires yeast. Most of the time, the yeast needs to be activated.
Even if it doesn’t, this is a good way to make sure the yeast is alive and will help ensure the dough will rise properly.
The recipe should specify the amount of water needed to activate the yeast. Place the water into a measuring cup.
It should be warm water (just above lukewarm), about 110-115°F. Think about the temperature of warm milk or a warm baby’s bottle. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
Check the expiration date of the yeast. The yeast may not activate if it’s way past its expiration date.
Next, add the required amount of yeast to the warm water. Feed the yeast!
I like to add a little sugar or honey to the water and yeast mixture, then give it a stir. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it seems to give the activation process a bit of a boost.
I don’t recommend using salt. It seems to kill off the growth process.
Be patient. Initially, I like to stir the yeast, just to make sure everything is well mixed, but after that, leave it alone.
A healthy activated yeast will start to pop to the top and bubble. After about 10 minutes, the top of the water should be foamy, frothy, and smell slightly of wheat or beer.
Need some Baking Recipe Ideas?
These recipes all use yeast, so you’ll be able to practice your new “how to activate yeast” skills.
BASIC FOR BEGINNERS: HOW TO ACTIVATE YEAST | RIGHT WAY TO ACTIVATE THE DRY YEAST
How do I check if my yeast is active?
When you are using water to check whether your yeast is active, you only need to get a small amount of room temperature water in a cup or bowl. Place a small amount of the yeast you want to test into the water and let it sit for around 10 minutes before checking it.
What are the beginning signs of a yeast infection?
Initial signs and symptoms of a yeast infection include: Itching and infection within the vagina and vulva. A burning sensation, in particular throughout sex or during urinating. Redness and swelling of the vulva. Vaginal ache and soreness. Vaginal rash. Thick, white, odor-vaginal discharge with a cottage cheese appearance. Watery vaginal discharge.
What does yeast look like before and after proofing?
Here is a visual of what yeast should look like before and after proofing. This yeast has just been added to the water and you can still see some of the granules sitting at the top. After about 10 minutes, the yeast/water/sugar mixture now looks like this. See how the yeast has bubbled and foamed?
How do I know if my yeast is bad?
Place a small amount of your yeast into a cup of room temperature water. Check your yeast after about 10 minutes. The water should be bubbling slightly, and there should be a foam that you can see at the top of the water. If there is no foam, then your yeast is no longer active, and you will have to get new yeast.