I use Fleishmann's Active Dry yeast for all my risen doughs and have found that proofing the yeast gives me a better rise and flavor. I weigh all my ingredients in grams for consistent results. For a pullman loaf of whole wheat bread I use 100g of whole wheat and 200g white bread flour, 2g of salt, 25g unsalted butter, and 215g of milk. Instead of white sugar I use 35g of light brewers malt. To proof my yeast I warm the milk to 100F and add it to 10g of yeast and 5g of malt. Within 10 minutes the yeast has vigorously foamed yielding an impressive 2 inch thick head. Malt is a natural food for yeast so it reacts to the malt much more vigorously than cane sugar plus the taste is very old world. Using this hydration ratio along with only 2g of salt gives a crumb slightly coarse that holds butter nicely. Plus the bread has a mildly chewy crust, keeps well, and stays moist. I've use all 3 methods to make bread and have found that giving the yeast a good head start works better, imo. I even use this method when setting a Poolish for my "artisan" breads.

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