In the January Saveur issue they give some recommendations on which yeast to use when faced with the choice of fresh yeast, active dry, and rapid rise (instant). The short article advises to stay away from old-fashioned fresh yeast as it is extremely perishable and you may end up buying a block that is already dead. Active dry and instant yeast are much more reliable and can be found in most supermarkets.

The difference between active dry and rapid rise yeast is how they are prepared. Active dry goes through a harsh drying process that removes 90 percent of the moisture and kills up to 70 percent of the yeast organisms. It also produces a hard coating around the granules, which is one of the reasons you need to proof dry active yeast. In the proofing process you are dissolving the hard coating in warm water with some sugar to get the yeast moving again, but most importantly you want to see if it is still alive. No life means your bread won’t rise.

Instant rise yeast goes through a much gentler process. Fewer yeast cells are killed, but this also means that it is more potent, so many bakers will recommend using less of it. Saveur recommends using 3/4 teaspoon to one teaspoon dry active yeast, but King Arthur Flour simply recommends ignoring it and using as much as the recipe calls for regardless of type. Rapid rise yeast also does not need to be proofed in water, so it can be added directly to other ingredients.

When storing yeast, it is best to keep it in an airtight container in the freezer. It can also be stored at room temperature in a cool dark place if sealed properly, but the freezer is still a safe bet. Just make sure the yeast is not exposed to high temperatures as this will cause the organisms to become inactive, and always check the expiration date on the package.

One note of interest is that the process of making active dry yeast was developed before World War II so that troops could have fresh bread. Fresh yeast simply couldn’t make the long trips and weather the conditions under which soldiers existed. If you want to know more about all things yeast and how it works to make wonderful bread, you can go to King Arthur Flour for a more extensive article.

I am finally trolling the internet and going through my old bookmark folders to find my favorite food-related blogs. It has been on my to-do list for some time, and now I am finally getting to it.

As I add to my links (sidebar to the right), I will also be giving special attention to websites that truly amaze me. I am always impressed with bloggers who dedicate so much time to their passion, and food bloggers impress me even more. They cook, photograph, write and put it all in a neat little package for the rest of the world to salivate over. I love that.

Today the site that amazed me is Tartelette. As a person who loves good food and photography, this site is amazing. Just browse her blog entries and you will be impressed. The creator is Helen Dujardin who is French but living in South Carolina. She used to be a professional pastry chef at a restaurant, but now she describes herself as a recipe developer, food writer, food stylist, and food photographer. She also gives private pastry classes.

If browsing through her blog isn’t enough, you can also see her wonderful photos at her photography site: helenedujardin.com. I am definitely going to look into buying some of her photographs for my kitchen.

The Saveur 100 came out recently and I am just now going through it. The Jan/Feb issue consists of 100 tips, ingredients, food, restaurants, cooking tools, books and other related food insight.

From this issue, I am going to cull some of my favorites from the top 100, and the first one is The Fresh Loaf bread making website. I’ve never seen this site before, but it looks amazing and certainly deserves attention if want to make your own bread or already bake your own loaves.

According to the website The Fresh Loaf describes itself as providing “news and information for amateur bakers and artisan bread enthusiasts” and the site “contains featured recipes, lessons, book reviews, a community forum and recipe exchange, and baker blogs.”

The Fresh Loaf certainly does all of that, but the description also doesn’t do the site justice. Simply browse the baker blogs to get an idea of what you can do with the help of this site. In the blogs you will be lavished with picture after picture of fabulous looking bread with very detailed instructions on how it was created. Just looking at the pictures is inspiring (see above). So while the site does offer a lot of resources for the bread baker, even more importantly it offers inspiration.

The backbone of the site, however, is instruction. There is a bread baking handbook with useful information, and specifically I found the baker’s math section of interest as it gives you the basic proportions for ingredients and the math to adjust your recipes. There is also a lessons section that offers five instructionals such as “Your First Loaf,” “Glazing” and “Time and Temperature.” And if you ever have questions about baking a particular loaf or want to know what went wrong if you have less-than-satisfying results, there are plenty of places to post questions for individualized guidance.

This is a great site all around if you love bread.