My bread wouldn’t rise. Of course it had to be the yeast.

I decided to do a simple yeast test to see if the yeast was past its prime.

SIMPLE YEAST TEST

1. Using a one-cup liquid measuring cup, dissolve 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar in 1/2 cup warm (110-115°F) water.

If you don’t have a thermometer, the tap water should be warm but NOT hot to the touch.

2. Stir in 2 1/4 teaspoons of dry yeast until there are no more dry yeast granules on top.
3. In three to four minutes, the yeast will have absorbed enough liquid to activate and start to foam.
4. After ten minutes, the foamy yeast mixture should have risen to the 1-cup mark and have a rounded top.
5. If this is true, your yeast is good. Otherwise Houston, there is a problem.

I followed the test procedures with the yeast I had been using in my failed bread tests and voila, the yeast didn’t rise. Darn… I have bad yeast.

I ran to the store and bought another small bottle of yeast and tried the test again. Wait what, it didn’t rise again?

I carefully checked the temperature and this time I switched out the “fake” sugar substitute I have been using to bake for the last few years. Within a few minutes the new yeast began to rise. I redid the “bad” yeast and it began to rise in a few minutes.

It wasn’t the yeast…….. it was the sugar. Who knew?