Bakers Yeast.

When it comes to making bread, rolls and the like your choice of yeast could either make or break the result.

For many years, I've been using Tandaco packaged yeast. It's very convenient in little sealed individual foil packets and it's cheaper than a lot of other baker's yeasts on the market.

Or so I thought.

Recently in the supermarket, I looked at what other yeasts were available and only found one other than my trusty Tandaco. Lowans. I thought that I should chance it, after all it was a package of about 280 grams for about the same price as a dozen sachets of Tandaco - much more yeasty goodness for the money.

I started looking for another yeast as I'm looking for the ultimate soft fluffy white burger bun - similar to a Macdonalds bun but with more texture and slightly firmer - somewhat like a well made Vietnamese baker's bread roll... or at least the illegitimate offspring of the two. I don't like to use more preservatives than a little salt, sugar and olive oil - a vague attempt at healthy eating.

Fingers crossed!

I had a BIG surprise when I used Lowans yeast for the first time a couple of days ago.

Scientific method, simply put, is creating a repeatable set of circumstances - a benchmark if you will - where you alter one variable at a time so that you can see the effect. I used my standard white loaf recipe, but I wanted bread rolls. Prep was the same except that I cut the dough into six pieces for burger buns. The variable was the yeast. Lowans. Two level teaspoons.

What a surprise!

At the first rising, the result was a bit disappointing. The dough ball had risen only to two thirds the size of the Tandaco based recipes.

Undaunted, I punched it down, cut it into six and let the second rise take place.

Wow. All I can say is wow. At 45 minutes into the second rise, the 'buns' were more like giant panini and spreading fast across the baking sheet. I grabbed the lot, gave it a minor punchdown and cut and remade the buns so hopefully they would be taller and stiffer. I did an inverse Kaiserbroetchen fold (pics some other time).

Another 45 minutes rising later I had half a dozen panini maximus trying to escape the baking sheet.

Quick drizzle of olive oil, a spray of water, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a final water spray then into the oven at 185C fan forced for 25 minutes. The result? Slightly crusty, yummy buns for far less than you can buy them from the baker, let alone the supermarket.

Take the time to look into what yeasts are available to you and don't be afraid to experiment.

Happy baking!