Yeast in pizza dough – fresh, active dry or instant
How little yeast you really need, how to convert between fresh, active dry and instant, and why many everyday recipes contain twenty times too much.
Quick answer: fresh yeast, active dry yeast and instant yeast all work, but the amounts differ a lot: fresh yeast weighs roughly three times as much as instant yeast for the same effect. On top of that, most everyday recipes call for far more yeast than a long, cool fermentation actually needs.
Converting between yeast types
| Yeast type | Ratio | Example: if the recipe says 3 g fresh |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh yeast | 3 | 3 g |
| Active dry yeast (ADY) | 1.2 | 1.2 g |
| Instant dry yeast (IDY) | 1 | 1 g |
This ratio (3 : 1.2 : 1) is an established rule of thumb in the trade, in line with AVPN’s own wording that dried yeast should be used ”in a proportion of 1/3 to fresh”. Sources give slightly different figures for ADY (1.2–1.5), so treat it as a good starting point rather than an exact law of nature.
Why so little yeast?
The amount of yeast is not a fixed number – it depends on how long and at what temperature the dough will ferment. The longer and cooler the fermentation, the less yeast you need. A dough that cold-ferments for 48 hours in the fridge (see cold fermentation) needs only a fraction of the yeast of a dough that has to be ready in 2 hours at room temperature. Many recipes are written for a fast rise at room temperature, so their yeast quantities would overproof a dough left to stand for a long time – hence the impression that ”everyday recipes use too much yeast” when you compare them with a long, cool fermentation.
AVPN’s range
The 2024 disciplinare specifies 0.1–3 g of fresh yeast per litre of water, depending on ”temperature, humidity and time” – a deliberately wide range, not a fixed amount. The ”exactly 3 g of yeast” claim you sometimes see comes from the older EU TSG text, not the current AVPN disciplinare.
Which type should I choose?
Instant yeast is the easiest to dose accurately in small amounts and needs no activating in water. Many bakers say fresh yeast gives a rounder flavour, but it is more sensitive to temperature and keeps for less time. Both work for our house method – the calculator converts automatically to the type you choose, based on your schedule.
Next, read about fermentation to learn how to tell when the dough is ready, or see the full recipe in context. Too much yeast went in? See overproofed dough.
