rapid rise yeast=instant dry yeast?

[adam]

Is rapid rise dry yeast the same as instant dry yeast? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I'm new to this. I've been trying to make different pizza recipes for about a month now from different web recipes without a whole lot of luck.  Now that I have found this website, I think I will do better.

Also, I just bought Gold Medal bread flour which I think is 13.3% protein because the package says '30 grams per serving and 4 grams of protein per serving'.  Is this right and is this decent flour? It's the highest protein% I could find at the grocery store. In the past, I used all purpose and my crusts always came out the same.

Thanks for any help! Remember, I'm new.
Adam

[Pete-zza]

Adam,

"Rapid-Rise" is Fleischmann's brand name for instant dry yeast (IDY) sold at the retail level to home consumers. Fleischmann's also sells an instant dry yeast to professionals which is different from the product sold to home consumers. If you plan to do a lot of baking, you should look for the IDY sold to professionals. It comes in a one- or two-pound package and is often sold in places like Sam's or Costco's. It can also be ordered online from places like King Arthur and elsewhere. On a unit basis, the IDY sold in one- to two-pound bags is enormously cheaper than the small packets sold in supermarkets. You don't have to limit yourself to the Fleischmann's brand. SAF and Red Star are other good brands and are also sold in larger sizes than the supermarket packet size.

You can't rely on the information on the package of Gold Medal bread flour to determine its percentage of protein. Flour is subject to the round-off rule, so the 4 grams you mentioned can actually be as low as 3.5 grams or as high as 4.49 grams. I believe that the Gold Medal Better for Bread flour has between 12.2-12.7 percent protein. Most of our members tend to prefer the King Arthur Sir Lancelot (KASL) high-gluten flour for pizza styles--like the NY style--that seem to work best with high-gluten flours. The KASL flour has 14.2% protein. It is not sold in user friendly quantities (5-lb. bags) at the retail level so it has to be ordered directly from King Arthur or one of its chosen resellers (like Amazon). (For details on the KASL, see http://shop.bakerscatalogue.com/detail.jsp;jsessionid=08302120121117628133805?id=3332&pv=1117628133993). King Arthur also sells a very high quality bread flour, which can be found at many stores at the retail level or it can be ordered directly from King Arthur. I personally believe the King Arthur bread flour is the best bread flour available to home consumers.

Peter

[dinks]

ADAM:
  Good Afternoon to you. I have read your post with much interest. What Member Peter posted to you while accurate it isn't always practical to possess HI-G flour & at all times either. I do not always have it although presently I have about 12 pounds of it. In the recent past I have used 'GOLD MEDAL BREAD FLOUR" That is the flour you have described, labeled 4G. I enjoyed using that flour it makes a very good pizza. I am certain so will you. Good Luck & have a nice day my friend.
  ~DINKS.

[adam]

It actually turned out very well, especially for my first time.  The only problem was,  while I mixed the dough in my Kitchen Aid mixer, it became very stiff.  So stiff in fact, it would slam into the bowl so hard, that the bowl would come off the stand and I would have to grab it before it would go flying away. I don't know if I mixed the dough wrong or if there was something wrong with my mixer. I used the basic NY pizza recipe on this site.

[pyegal]

Adam,
Perhaps you had your KA mixer set at too high a speed for mixing. Also, double check that you have the bowl seated correctly, then turned just a tad to lock it in place. The "flying bowl" has happened to me when I didn't have it securely locked in place.

Keep at it and you will soon have pizza you can truly be happy with. Besides, you can eat your mistakes, too.

pyegal

[Randy]

It sounds like you have too much flour or not enough water.  With the kitchenaid mixer running on speed 2 and after the dough formas a ball you should see a batch of dough stuck to the very bottom of the bowl and beneath the dough ball about 2 to 4 inches in diameter.  If no sticky patch add a tablespoon of water and try again.  If the patch is too big then add flour.
After mixing turn this very sticky dough out onto a floured surface and knead a couple of times.
If your budget permits you might want to think about a scale.
Hope this helps.

Randy