Platinum Instant Sourdough Yeast - 5 Packets

I bake bread occasionally and sour dough bread even more rarely. So making a sour dough starter for an occasional loaf is frankly too much effort. So this product seems like just what was needed. It performed wonderfully and provided a beautifully risen dough with a nice tang of sour dough. Just follow the directions and let the dough proof at least 18 hours in the fridge (go to Red Star’s website and see the extended directions for using this product). I saw one comment that mentioned their dough barely rose and they added yeast. My dough quadrupled in size after the first two hours of proofing and the resultant bread was beautifully light. I would recommend against adding any yeast. Another comment said this product turned their bread brown-the yeast/culture mixture comes out of the packet very brown. But this small amount of product did absolutely nothing to color my loaf (a one pound loaf made with 2 cups Kamut flour and 1 cup of bread flour). Reading through Red Star’s recipe I am assuming that one packet of this yeast/starter would service about four cups of flour. The sour dough flavor was noticeable and pleasant-more than enough for my wife and myself (the 18 hours in the fridge really develops the flavor). I presume if you make a starter from scratch and then add a huge amount to your recipe you might achieve a deeper sour flavor. But for us this was more than sufficient. So for you occasional sour dough bakers give this excellent product a try-be a bit patient, follow the directions provided by the Red Star company on their website and you will be amazed at the results.

I really wanted this to work. I love making bread in my bread maker and I’ve gotten really good at it. I didn’t want to make a sourdough starter so I thought I would try this instant sourdough yeast. Well it didn’t work my bread didn’t rise at all i can’t say it was a brick because it wasn’t that tall it did have the weight of a brick. When I received the package of yeast the packaging was very hot. I live in Florida so maybe the Florida summer heat killed it. I don’t know but I was very disappointed. I don’t know if I’ll buy another package in the winter time and see if that makes a difference. This was for now a waste of money. No sourdough bread for me.

Good product. More reasonably priced than other brands.

I make sourdough bread all the time. What I have found with this product is that it is easier to use than maintaining your own starter and it works just as well if you let it rise overnight in the fridge. The bad thing is that not all their packets are useable . I always proof them before adding it to the flour. That means adding a little sugar, flour and spring water ( about 90 F ) to a coffee mug, placing it in the oven with light on for about 20 minutes. If it bubbles up the yeast is good. In the past I have had to throw out several packets because the yeast was dead. That is unfortunate because it’s rather expensive. So buyers beware not all the packets are usable. I don’t know where the mistake is made in the manufacturing process but to be sure you don’t waste your bread proof beforehand.

Works very well but make sure to use it before it expires. I had some expire and it didn't rise well ...or at all. I added some active yeast to it and it did okay on the last packet. I've ordered this a couple times and will continue.

Using this yeast makes my sour dough taste even better!!!!

I rarely leave negative reviews, but this was one of the most disappointing products I’ve ever purchased. I followed the instructions carefully, used fresh ingredients, and gave the dough plenty of time, yet it never rose at all. The yeast appeared completely inactive and resulted in a wasted batch of dough and wasted ingredients. The entire reason for buying this product was to get a reliable rise, and it failed completely. I’ve had better results with standard yeast products that cost less. Based on my experience, I would not recommend this product and will not be purchasing it again. If you’re counting on your dough to rise, I’d look elsewhere. Total waste of money and time.

I've used this several times and purchased from different sources and had wildly different results. I think there's issues with yeast in transit. When it's hotter weather and likely not in a refrigerated delivery vehicle, I think some of the yeast dies but gives a good flavor when it works. I've also added some active dry yeast to pump it up a little and it helps, but I'm a purist. Using as instant, when it works gives a good flavor with an okay rise, with a crumb similar to white sandwich bread. So, I decided to try using it to trigger a couple of different kinds of starter to take what active yeast there was and build it up before using and it works a LOT better. Both bread flour and medium rye were a little slow to start, but after a day or two took off with such activity I had to feed it 3 times a day and it routinely quadrupled in volume breaching the container several times. The starters both gave a great flavor and full open crumb. The starter gave far better results than using it as straight instant. If you are relying on that, you almost need to give it no less than 24 hours cold proofing, preferably 48. My advice is to use it for a starter and forget it being instant. It will be faster than a traditional starter takes and you can easily use different kinds of flour to suit your taste and maintain that. It takes refrigeration well so keeping it longer term is easier. It's more of a nuisance than instant, but better results than a totally natural starter.