It’s also called compressed, fresh or active yeast — it’s active yeast that hasn’t been dried — and can be used in bread doughs on its own or in small amounts in doughs made with a poolish, biga or any other sponge or starter. It can be difficult to find in some places and when you do, you might see that one 0.6 ounce/17g cake — equal to one 2 1/4 teaspoon packet — costs about the same as a strip of three packets of dry yeast. It’s also sold in 2-ounce cakes, even more difficult to find, that are equal to three packets. Cake yeast must be kept in the fridge or airtight in the freezer and its shelf life is very short. I’ve had success using it two weeks beyond its sell-by date, but I’ve never pushed it farther than that.
Why bother or pay the premium? The taste is vastly superior and the smell of dough made with cake yeast takes me right back to grandmother’s kitchen. I have no scientific proof, but it seems that breads made with cake yeast stay fresh longer, but that might be due to the long, slow rises I use. Do note that the label states there is corn starch, I assume to prevent clumping, so if you have a corn allergy you might want to choose another type of yeast.
How to use cake yeast: Cake yeast requires two risings of the dough, so it’s not suitable for quick pizza doughs or some flatbreads that only rise once. It doesn’t have to be proofed, but if you wish (I don’t) you can soften it in tepid water. Otherwise, just crumble it onto the dry ingredients, keeping it away from the yeast-inhibiting salt. That’s all there is to it.
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does your kitchen smell better because of the double rising?
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I usually triple-rise breads and do #2 and 3 in the fridge, so I guess not. The superior crumb, crust and flavor are why I do it and cake yeast holds up well to 3 rises. As Dan Leader put it so well: time equals taste.
So, cake yeast does better with a triple rise than just active dry?
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Nate – I don’t know that it’s better per se, but it does seem to be happier with the bigas, levains, etc I tend to use. I only use 1/4 to 1/3 of a cake when I’m doing long, slow rises and it doesn’t get exhausted.
My primary yeast is instant yeast and I buy it in bulk. Warehouse stores usually sell a pair of 1-pound bricks for about $5. I keep it in the freezer and store a little at a time in the fridge. I never let it ferment as long as I do cake yeast. It might be fine but yeast does get exhausted and I’m not willing to chance it.