Yeast

Okay, so I am at it again, but I first need to post a few things about the yeast.  Remember, I am a home baker, not trained other than by my mother and alot of things as an adult I have been hit and miss with and really still have to learn the hard way.  Okay, the first mistake I find in a recipe are usually the instructions for the yeast.  There are many methods and I have tried quite a few and there are still a few I am going to try but it's hard to move away from what is working to try them and take a chance on failing.  Alot of recipes (yeast, sweet breads) call for warm milk, some will tell you to go ahead and add your warm milk with warm water to activate the yeast, I have tried it this way a hundred times and did fail many times with it. So in doing a little research I found out that the milk actually coats the yeast and can prevent it from activating, water works best for me. Better bakers than me may have a different experience, but, it never works for me.  I use rapid rise yeast, it should sit in 1/4 cup of your warm water that the recipe calls for, so if your recipe calls for 1 cup warm water, later on in the recipe you will only use the remaining 3/4 c.  sounds simple but I have forgotten and added the full amount later on.   The temp on the water must be between 110 to 115 degrees, any hotter and you damage the yeast and it wont grow.  I use to put my yeast in my large mixing bowl to activate the yeast and then just add ingredients to it, and I am having greater success using a small cereal bowl for the yeast, adding the water at the proper temp and sprinkling a spoonful of sugar over it, sugar helps yeast grow.  I let it sit for 10 min. only, you will know you have done it right if your yeast doubles in size and you will see tiny popping bubbles...  I put all my dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and use a handmixer to add the other wet ingredients to it, after I have those combined then I use the yeast mixture and always mix for two minutes which is important because it activates the gluten.   One other note about the yeast, salt does help to deactivate yeast, so I always make sure it is mixed in well with the flour before the yeast goes near it. Some recipes actually call for you to put the salt straight into the yeast and it makes no sense at all.  If you are not sure of your recipe, and something doesn't sound right about it, try it this way, it has been working every time for me.
Now, I am in the middle of making a big turkey dinner, usually takes me two days to make everything. Tonight, my friends daughter wanted to work with me in the kitchen, so she and I have been making homemade yeast hamburger buns and dinner rolls and I started my first new recipe for my 52 weeks.  It is called Fabulously Sweet Pear Cake...my pears are soaking in their own juices being drawn out by white sugar and brown sugar and a little cinnamon and salt, over night so the flavors can meld,  this recipe is awesome, not the biggest challenge I have ever had but I have honestly never worked with pears before and I have modified the recipe, adding some of my own touches like sour cream to make it more dense, and I will put a pear glaze on that I have never tried before so it should be interesting and hopefully tasty. My challenges will probably get harder as I go along, I have always wanted to try making a wedding cake, so I will do that, probably puff pastrys, and I also want to do some middle eastern breads...so I have alot to look forward to. For now, I am going to get some sleep so I can get my turkey in the oven early in the morning and I will post more tomorrow evening with pics. Good night everyone!