Yeast Quantity Calculator

Work out yeast quantity instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Yeast Quantity Calculator

The dose is set as a baker's percentage of the flour for instant yeast, then converted: active dry needs about 1.25 times as much and fresh yeast about three times as much. Yeast type substitution is where most bread recipes go wrong, because swapping fresh for instant gram for gram triples the leavening.

Formulas

Instant yeast

instant yeast grams = flour x yeast percentage

Substitution

active dry = instant x 1.25; fresh = instant x 3

Worked example

With the default values below, Yeast Quantity Calculator returns Yeast to weigh out of 5.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Flour in the doughminimum 1 g: 500 g
Instant yeast as % of flouraccepts 0.05–5 %: 1 %
Yeast you are usingone of Instant / fast action, Active dry, Fresh / compressed: Instant / fast action

Results

Yeast to weigh out: 5.00 g
Approximate teaspoons: 1.61
Instant yeast equivalent: 5.00 g
Fresh yeast equivalent: 15.00 g

Step by step

1Values used
2Instant yeast
3Substitution
4Yeast to weigh out= 5.00 g
5Approximate teaspoons= 1.61
6Instant yeast equivalent= 5.00 g
7Fresh yeast equivalent= 15.00 g

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Yeast Quantity figure worked out?

instant yeast grams = flour x yeast percentage. The dose is set as a baker's percentage of the flour for instant yeast, then converted: active dry needs about 1.25 times as much and fresh yeast about three times as much.

Why does this matter?

Yeast type substitution is where most bread recipes go wrong, because swapping fresh for instant gram for gram triples the leavening.

What do I need to enter?

Enter flour in the dough, instant yeast as % of flour, yeast you are using. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.