Can you Freeze Fresh Yeast? Of course, yes you can freeze fresh yeast. Fresh yeast can be frozen for at least 3 months without much quality change. To freeze fresh yeast, wrap it tightly so that it does not dry out in the freezer. A dry yeast is almost of no significant use.
How to Freeze Fresh Yeast
Slice the leftover block of yeast into recipe-sized portions: It’s more advisable to portion the yeast before freezing as it can be quite difficult to do when it’s frozen. Consider the amount of yeast needed and cut up the block accordingly. You can also choose to go with slightly larger blocks so that your options can be kept open.
Wrap each portion tightly with aluminium foil, freezer wrap, or plastic wrap: This is very important due to the fact that the wrap or foil keeps the yeast from drying out.
Transfer the portions into an airtight container or freezer bag: This helps in giving the yeast additional layer of protection against cold air and likewise, helps you in keeping things orderly and organized. You can as well, add a label indicating the name and date of freezing as doing that can be quite helpful.
Freeze: Stick the freezer bag or airtight container into the freezer
How to Defrost Fresh Yeast
Fresh yeast gets soft when defrosted. At times, it can become gooey or straight-up liquid. To defrost your fresh yeast, defrost it unwrapped and in a bowl which you would like to use for your dough.
Ensure that the bowl is covered while defrosting your yeast. When you place the yeast portion in a bowl which you would like to use, you are at an advantage in the sense that you do not have to transfer soft and stick yeast from one place to another since it is already in where it is to be when it’s defrosted. To defrost your yeast:
Leave the bowl containing the yeast in the fridge for about 4 – 8 hours of perhaps, leave it overnight in the refrigerator.
Crumble the yeast in the bowl. Proceed to thaw in the fridge for 1 – 1.5 hours. This step might not be easy, especially the crumbling part but you can do it. An advantage of it is that it helps in speeding up the defrosting time immensely. If you choose not to crumble your yeast, you can leave it in a bowl on the counter for ten minutes.
Crumble the yeast in the bowl and leave the bowl on the counter for about 30 – 40 minutes: This option is the best if you are in a hurry. After defrosting, use the yeast immediately.
Conclusion
Fresh yeast stays useful for at least 3 – 4 months in the freezer. However, the longer the yeast stays in the freezer, the worse the quality of the yeast will become after defrosting. Although, the quality loss process is slow, there is no much difference between yeast frozen for a month and that of the yeast frozen for 3 months.
