Interesting article. I had used Fleischmann's bread machine yeast back when I was using a machine. I decided I didn't like the paddle hole in the bread and went back to hand formed loaves. Since I like to make breads which require a pre-ferment (I use a poolish fermented for 16 to 18 hours) I found that Fleischmann's active dry yeast works fine by first proofing the yeast with malt sugar instead of white sugar. All my artisan breads are made this way without any white sugar. Malt, which can be obtained from home brew suppliers, gives a strong rise and a real old world taste and texture. I use a 68% hydration ratio which produces excellent Italian or French breads. I also use ADY to make pullman style sandwich breads (66% hydration) and again get a real strong rise using malt and a fine crumb after baking. Depending on what style malt (light, amber, or dark) the color of the crumb and the taste will vary. I prefer amber. I have even used ADY to make holiday Pannetone again proofing the yeast with malt. The trick is to give the yeast a head start. My Pannetone tasted as good, if not better, than the imported ones. My point is that one need not go to the trouble of using different yeasts once you understand how to use ADY. In the past proofing was a tactic used to determine whether cake yeast was viable; however, unless your package/ bottle of active dry yeast dates back to the dark ages one can assume it is viable. I proof the yeast in my recipes to give the fermentation process a head start and make sure that there is a large colony of active yeast culture ready to go to work.

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