How many risings for bread?

Question

The background: I baked bread a couple of days ago, and I was out of yeast, so I borrowed a couple of packets of Fleischmann's Instant Yeast from a neighbor. I'm used to dry active yeast, which requires two risings. My neighbor told me that with the instant yeast, she kneads for only five minutes instead of ten, skips the second rise and shapes her bread right after the first. I tried it her way, and I have to admit, it was the weirdest bread I've ever encountered. Even though the dough ended up smooth and elastic, the resulting bread was noticeably sweeter than my recipe, and it had a texture closer to cake than to bread.

The question: When using instant yeast, how many rises are needed to make a non-sweet bread? Do I have to stick with just one, or is it permissible to use two rises with this yeast? Definitely it needs more kneading, as my neighbor's recipe didn't form proper gluten chains, but should it have the second rise as well? Will something bizarre happen if I use two rises instead of one with instant yeast (asked as if this wasn't bizarre bread in itself)? Or should I just refrain from baking bread until I can get some proper -- read: dry active -- yeast?

Answer 1

You should still use two rises if that's what the recipe calls for. The main differences are that instant yeast does not require proofing, and you can use a bit less of it because more of the yeast is viable.

The full article is behind a paywall here (https://www.cookscountry.com/how_tos/6140-yeast-101), but here's a short excerpt summarizing the substitution (instant and rapid-rise yeast are the same thing):

Active dry yeast must be activated (or proofed) in warm liquid before using; rapid-rise yeast can be added directly to the dough and does not require proofing, but the test kitchen has found that doing so does help to speed up its rise. Rapid-rise and active dry yeast may be substituted for each other if you follow this formula: 1 teaspoon active dry yeast equals ¾ teaspoon rapid-rise yeast.

And, though you refer to active dry yeast as "proper," I find I get better and more consistent results with rapid-rise yeast. And a pound of it is really inexpensive at my local grocery store, too. It keeps for months in the freezer.

Answer 2

You can get many rises with instant yeast -- I routinely use four, but have gone as far as nine (which proved to be too many). I've tried using only two and three rises many times, but I kept going back to four because it gives the best-shaped loaf and crumb texture I'm looking for.

I've also used active dry yeast in the exact same way, treating it just like instant. And I never proof either of them. In fact, the few times I tried proofing the yeast, it ended up making the worst loaves.

Oh, and I mix/knead in a Kitchen Aid stand mixer at second speed for six minutes. No additional kneading is done, other than a brief stretch and fold after each rise.

I should note that a stand mixer doesn't make much of a difference*. I used to use a hand-held one and that works just as well. The nice thing about the stand mixer is you can basically just turn it on and walk away until it's done. * If I had the spiral attachment instead of the regular dough hook then maybe that would actually make a big improvement, since that's supposed to knead better.