Your recipe might call for fresh yeast or cake yeast, but all you have on hand is dry yeast. Can you still use your dry yeast to achieve baking success? The simple answer is yes! You can easily convert dry yeast to cake yeast.
Where Can Fresh Cake Yeast Be Purchased?
Fresh Cake Yeast for home bakers is found in the dairy section of grocery stores. It is sold in 2-ounce packages. (*see note below for larger packages of cake yeast).
Fresh Cake Yeast is only available in limited markets due to perishability and demand, making it challenging to find in stores. Some stores only stock it during the holiday baking season.
Can Dry Yeast Be Substituted for Cake Yeast?
Yes, dry yeast can be substituted for cake yeast. Cake yeast and dry yeast can be substituted easily by following the steps below.
Learn how to convert dry yeast to cake yeast, and vice versa, no matter what your yeast needs are by following our step-by-step guide below.
One 2-oz. cake yeast is equal to three packets (¼-oz. or 2 ¼ teaspoons each) of dry yeast.
1) Divide cake yeast into 3 equal pieces. If you have a scale, each piece is 0.67 oz (18.9 g).
Each cake yeast piece is equal to one packet (or 2 ¼ teaspoons) of dry yeast.
2) You may crumble the fresh yeast directly into the flour with other dry ingredients, then add lukewarm liquids. Or if you prefer to ‘proof’ your yeast, crumble the fresh yeast in ½ cup of lukewarm water with 1 tsp. sugar. Stir and let stand 5 – 10 minutes, until it foams. Reduce the liquids in the recipe by ½ cup since you are adding ½ cup liquid with the yeast.
*NOTE: If you have a 1-pound block of cake yeast, first divide it into 8 equal pieces – each piece will be a 2-ounce block. Then follow directions above for each of the 8 pieces.
3) Some bakeries may sell a ‘chunk’ of fresh yeast. If you don’t have a scale, a 2-ounce cake yeast is about the size of ½ stick of butter.
If you can’t find it at your local store, please ask the dairy manager to order it in or use our yeast conversion chart to instead convert dry yeast to cake yeast.
More information on Fresh Cake Yeast:
- Product, Usage and Storage Information
- Find a Store
Judi | • Reply
How many ounces is 1 cake of yeast. I have a recipe that calls for 2 ounces of cake yeast but are using the dry yeast packets
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi Judi,
One cake of yeast is 2 ounces. If you would substitute the cake yeast with the dry packets you would use 3 packets. Here is a helpful chart you can use.
Happy Baking!
Carol Koziol | • Reply
I am making Easter Pasta. The recipe calls for 1 (2oz) cake of compressed yeast for 7 cups of flour. My granddaughter is making the same recipe; however, compressed yeast is not available. Does she use three packets of 1/4 oz Red Star dry yeast?
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi Carol,
Yes that is correct the conversion for 2 oz of cake yeast is 3 packets of dry yeast or 6 3/4 teaspoons.
Happy Baking!
Kathy | • Reply
Would I prepare the dry yeast the same way I do the cake yeast, with warm water and sugar? Will it rise the same way the cube (cake) yeast does?
Thank you.
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi Kathy,
Yes it will rise the same. Just follow the directions on the ratio of water, sugar and dry yeast amounts from this link.
Happy Baking!
Dawn D Sisk Holloway | • Reply
I prefer using fresh cake yeast over the dry yeast but haven’t been able to find a place that ships it. They used to sell it in the stores at one time. It makes a huge difference when baking breads with it vs. the dried yeast. Where can I purchased it.
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi Dawn – You can check our store finder here to see if there is a store near you. Due to the short shelf life/perishability of the product and lack of demand causing an abundance of product going out of date before it was sold, stores in the majority of the country made the decision many years ago, to not stock it, even seasonally. Today, it is only available in limited markets in the Upper Midwest and Northeastern US in stores that choose to stock it based on demand for the product. Even in those regions the availability is ‘spotty’ and the stores will generally only stock it during the fall/winter/holiday baking season.
However, due to the limited availability of the cake yeast, many bakers do successfully substitute dry yeast in place of cake yeast, even in their traditional family recipes. Since dry yeast is essentially cake yeast that has been dried, using the proper conversion and given a little extra time to fully activate, dry yeast will yield the same results. More information and a conversion table can be found here.
Once you determine how much dry yeast you need for your recipe, you may activate it in a little warm water with sugar, according to the instructions on the package. Or you may hydrate the dry yeast in a small amount of warm water to re-constitute it into cake yeast: work it into a paste-like consistency with your fingers using about 1 tablespoon or less of warm water per packet. Once it becomes like a paste, let it sit for about 5 minutes, then you can crumble it into your other ingredients like you would the cake yeast.
One other option is if you happen to find a bakery in your area that is using the 1# fresh compressed yeast sold through our bakery/foodservice division. The bakers are often willing to sell a portion of their supply to a home baker. However, this option is becoming more and more challenging to find as even the commercial bakers have converted to dry yeast due to its superior shelf life, ease of use, and equivalent performance.
Since cake yeast is so perishable and requires constant refrigeration, we only sell it through supermarkets and due to the high risk of product damage, we do not recommend purchasing the product through online sources.
I hope you will find this information helpful. If you have further questions, please contact us here.
Jackie Hatchet | • Reply
Thank you, I love yeast rolls. This is a great help!!!
Anita Bononno | • Reply
THANK YOU for showing so easily how to convert cake yeast to dry yeast. Very much appreciated.
Camille | • Reply
I have found it very difficult to read the weight line.because it is printed in white instead of black or dark navy blue.
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi Camille – what weight are you looking for? The product weights are listed in the page’s text above the first picture.
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M J Mandler | • Reply
have an old family recipe that calls for cake yeast but I cannot find cake yeast. How can I convert dry yeast to cake yeast?
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi MJ,
Base the amount of dry yeast needed on the total flour in the recipe. One (0.25oz) packet or 2 1/4 teaspoons will rise up to 4 cups of flour. Here’s a link to our conversion chart with more info: https://redstaryeast.com/yeast-baking-lessons/yeast-conversion-table/
Happy baking!
Carol
John Peysen | • Reply
love to bake
Victoria | • Reply
What is the conversion from instant yeast to your yeast?
I would like to bake the pumpkin roll.
Thank you.
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi Victoria,
Which of our yeast products are you using for the recipe? Active Dry, Quick Rise, Platinum, …?
-Carol
Teresa | • Reply
I’m a Big Fan of your yeast and recipes!!!!
Sue Molitor | • Reply
I bought fresh yeast from a bakery. I was afraid to use it. I read somewhere that you should use 1/3 less cake yeast than dry. How l
Long can you freeze it? Anyway it worked great. Thanks for putting this in stores for us.
Also I am enjoying reading your recipes. Tried a couple, turned out well
Red Star Yeast | • Reply
Hi Sue,
I’m glad to hear you are enjoying our recipes! Here’s a link to cake yeast storage information: https://redstaryeast.com/yeast-baking-lessons/yeast-shelf-life-storage/cake-yeast/
Happy baking!
Carol
