Oops! Forgot to Activate Yeast? Here’s What to Do!
Have you ever been in the midst of baking, only to realize you forgot a crucial step—activating the yeast? It definitely can happen, but does it spell disaster for your baking adventure? Not necessarily. Let’s experiment and delve into the consequences of forgetting to activate your yeast and how sometimes, things may still work out just fine.
Before exploring the consequences of forgetting to activate yeast, it’s worth noting that not all yeast needs activation. Understanding this distinction can save you time and ensure successful baking endeavors. Only Active Dry Yeast needs to be pre-activated. Instant yeast will activate on its own and can be put directly in the bowl with the other ingredients.
Alright, now…
First, let’s just briefly mention why the yeast needs to be activated. Yeast comes in a dormant state, meaning it is asleep or inactive. It requires activation to become usable in baking.
Activating yeast requires warmth, moisture, and a food source like sugars to awaken it from its dormant state and kickstart its action. Once activated, it’s ready to work its magic in your dough or batter.
If you don’t activate the yeast, it may want to stay asleep and may be more like trying to get my 16 year old out of bed in the morning… and that takes a lonnnngggg time or sometimes doesn’t happen at all.
So, first things first.
If you forgot to activate the yeast and have used cool- cool(er) water with Active dry yeast, your yeast will never activate. If you remember, it needs warmth, moisture and a food source to activate. But, if you don’t provide warmth… it won’t activate. Your dough may fail to rise or only rise very minimally resulting in a sad-looking loaf of bread.
Some may attempt to rescue the situation by adding more yeast directly to the dough, but unfortunately, this usually doesn’t yield satisfactory results. Often, we’ve already done the damage.
But what if you forget to activate the yeast, but in this case have used warm to hot water? Most likely, if your water is warm enough, it can still kickstart the yeast into action, although not as effectively as using the proper activation method.
And… I know what you are thinking…
If you have forgotten to activate your yeast, how will you know if it actually activates. Well, you will probably be able to tell pretty quickly if your yeast woke up to party.
After mixing your dough, set it on a counter or in a bowl to rest and rise. Check the dough after about 15 min. You can touch it or pick it up if you have to.
And, if you can tell that the dough has changed a little, meaning, it will feel like there is air pockets starting to form in there or is growing a little, chances are… your yeast activated! Yay… you salvaged it.
If your dough still feels dense and lifeless, your yeast most likely never activated and never will. I know, it makes me sad too.
So, although warm water may help salvage the situation to some extent if you forgot to activate yeast. It’s always best to take the time to properly activate your yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar. This simple step ensures your yeast is awake and ready to work its magic. The result? Beautifully risen and flavorful baked goods.
