Instructions

1. Pour into a small pot or saucepan the small amount of water called for in your recipe to dissolve the active dry yeast. This may be 1/4 cup or a different amount, but it won't be much. It's best to start with cold water and heat it up, rather than warm tap water, as there are fewer impurities in cold water.

2. Heat the water to 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. This is slightly warmer than lukewarm. If you do not have a thermometer to determine the temperature, then dribble drops on your inner wrist. The wrist is a handy sensitive part of the body with which you can judge water temperature for baby bottles, too! If the water feels warm but not hot, it is the right temperature to proof yeast.

3. Pour the water into a bowl, not a cup. You want a lot of surface area for when you add the active dry yeast, so it dissolves quickly.

4. Dissolve one teaspoon of sugar, maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup, barley malt syrup, or other natural sweetener into the water. Do not use Splenda, Sweet 'N Low, stevia, or other sugar substitutes as they do not have the chemical structure needed. The idea in using the sugar is to give the dissolved active dry yeast some fast food so you can see if the yeast will "gobble it up." Yeast turns up its nose at sugar substitutes.

5. Sprinkle, don't pour, the active dry yeast over the surface of the warm water in a thin layer. The idea is to prevent the yeast from clumping. Clumped yeast has a hard time dissolving. Yeast that has not dissolved will not help your bread to rise.

6. Stir the active dry yeast with the spoon until it is dissolved in the warm water.

7. Leave the bowl with the sugar and yeast solution alone to proof in a warm place for five to ten minutes.

8. Check the bowl with the sugar and yeast solution. If it has become frothy or bubbly, you have your "proof" that the yeast is alive. If not, the yeast is a dud. Toss it out and start over again with a new batch of active dry yeast.

9. Continue with the next step of your recipe. Enjoy!