[CanuckJim]

Guys,

I'm not talking about wild yeast culture here, which I store in the refrigerator and refresh at least once a week. Instead, we're dealing with granular commercial yeast, either ADY or IDY. The bulk packs are in a brick because they're vacuum sealed. Once the brick is opened, you'll see that the yeast is indeed granular and loose. I store it in the freezer, not the fridge. The granules do not adhere to each other, even when frozen, so measuring is easy. I don't measure out portions, therefore, just keep the IDY and ADY in separate airtight Lock N'Lock containers. Really, stored this way, you can expect a shelf life of a year.

Fleishman's yeast is the most common in North America, but you can get bricks of SAF Gold IDY (French) and Red Star from mail order places like King Arthur Flour. The prices are premium, but the performance is premium, too. Even so, we're not talking about a lot of money, either way.

Jim