little swap, big difference

Yeast Converter

Recipe calls for fresh yeast but you only have instant? Enter what the recipe says — get what to actually use.

Fresh
Active dry
Instant

How the conversion works

Fresh yeast is about 70% water, so a little dry yeast goes a long way. The standard conversion is fresh : active dry : instant = 100 : 40 : 33 — that is, replace fresh yeast with 40% of its weight in active dry, or 33% in instant.

FreshActive dryInstantCommon use
10 g4 g3.3 gOne overnight loaf
21 g (½ cake)8.4 g7 g (1 packet)Standard recipe
42 g (1 cake)17 g14 g (2 packets)Big batch / sweet dough

Do I need to change anything else?

Active dry yeast traditionally gets dissolved in warm water (~40 °C) for 5–10 minutes before use — modern brands often skip this, but it never hurts. Instant yeast mixes straight into the flour. Fresh yeast crumbles into the liquid. Rising times are close enough that you usually don't need to adjust the schedule — just watch the dough, not the clock.