You Don’t Need to Activate Yeast. Ever. (I’ll Prove It.)

Alright, friends, it’s time to get controversial. This is a topic that I feel very strongly about and disagree with many people about. But facts are facts.

If you trust me, just read the next sentence and move on with your life: You do not need to activate dry yeast. You don’t need to activate instant yeast. And you don’t need to activate “normal” active dry yeast. When you’re baking bread, you can just throw everything together and knead it.

Don’t believe me? That’s fine. We’ll try it together and see what happens.

In this post, we’ll explore why activating yeast is a step you can skip in your bread-making process, saving you time and effort. Let’s do this.

active dry yeast

So, here’s your typical packet of yeast. It’s called active dry, and each pouch contains 2.25 teaspoons of yeast, which is just right for your average loaf.

And look, right on the back, it says you have to activate it. It wants you to to mix it with water and sugar and proof it. It wants you to check the water temperature. Absurd.

Okay. Let’s say we have no interest in that. Let’s say we want to open up the packet and throw it in with everything else.

Let’s knead the dough. I use a stand mixer, but you don’t have to. After a few minutes, we have a nice smooth dough that was easy to mix up. No fuss. But will it rise?

It will.

But… the packet said it won’t work! The packet said to activate. All my old recipes say to activate. You have to activate it! And yet, here we are.

So why do people think you need to activate yeast?

Well, to be fair, it does say it on the packet. And most recipes call for it. Bread baking is an old-fashioned hobby, and recipes get handed down. Decades ago, every recipe began with that step.

But… why?

There is one (tiny) benefit of activating yeast. It makes sure that it is fresh and not expired, rather than having you go through the whole kneading process just to see that the yeast was bad and didn’t work. If you activate first, you can see visual proof that’ it’s alive before you add it.

But the thing is… this isn’t a problem anymore. It’s vacuum sealed in little packets, with an expiration date printed right on the side. The chances of you buying bad yeast at the store are very low. The hassle of of activating it just to be extra sure isn’t really worth the trouble.

Note: Cake yeast does need to be mixed with water to avoid having clumps of yeast in the dough. It is much less commonly used.

Won’t the salt kill the yeast?

No.

Maybe if you mixed up the salt and the yeast and squished them together for thirty minutes, you would have a problem. But if they touch each other during the mixing process, it’s fine. Really. It’s fine!

Why use instant yeast then?

I use instant yeast most of the time, even though I’ve just demonstrated that active dry can be used similarly. The reason for this is that instant yeast is less fussy about temperature. You can add cold milk to a recipe, and that won’t slow it down.

It’s no big deal, though. You can use normal active dry, even in rich doughs with cold ingredients. It just might take longer.

So why isn’t my bread rising?

Typical culprits are the following:

• You didn’t add enough liquid to your dough and it’s too dense.
• You didn’t knead long enough, and it’s… too dense.
• You didn’t put it in a warm enough place (it just needs more time in this case).
• You killed the yeast by using very hot water when you mixed it up (I know you are smarter than this.)
• Your yeast is expired. (Rare, unless you scrounged it up from the depths of your pantry years later.)

Or perhaps the yeast is picking up on your anxiety, and it just needs you to calm down 😉.

Same dough! I divided it in half and made rolls and a sandwich loaf. They both rose just fine.

Are we still friends?

Now, if you like activating yeast, cool, it’s not hurting anything. Maybe you enjoy watching it foam. Maybe your grandma did it that way, and you want to keep doing it. That is 100% okay.

But what’s not okay is being rude because my recipes don’t call for that step. I’m not here to sabotage your bread. I’m here to show you that this step is not necessary.

Got it? Good.

Yeast bread recipes and resources:

Now that you know how easy it is, make some loaves.

• Budget-Friendly White Bread
• Old Fashioned Soft Yeast Rolls
• Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread
• The History of Commercial Yeast
• Instant Dry vs Active Dry Yeast

I hope I saved you time, dishes, and effort ❤️.