Yeast Converter
Active dry, instant & fresh yeast.
Active dry, instant & fresh yeast.
How to use Yeast Converter
- Enter an amount in grams or packets
- Choose the yeast type you have on hand
- Read the equivalent active dry, instant, and fresh amounts
About Yeast Converter
Convert between active dry, instant (rapid-rise), and fresh (cake or compressed) yeast in seconds. Enter an amount in grams or packets, pick the type you already have, and the tool shows the equivalent for each of the other two — so you can bake any recipe with whatever's actually in your cupboard.
The three types don't swap one-for-one, which is what trips people up in both directions. Instant is the most concentrated, active dry sits in the middle, and fresh yeast is mostly water — so converting dry yeast to fresh, fresh to dry, or active dry to instant each needs a different ratio. This converter handles every pairing and does the arithmetic on the exact weight you enter, instead of leaving you to guess from a rounded rule of thumb. Because a standard packet is about 7 grams, you can work in whole sachets or in grams and the numbers line up either way. It works the same for UK recipes that measure fresh yeast in grams: enter the fresh amount and read off the active dry or instant equivalent.
It's completely free, needs no sign-up, and runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
- How much instant yeast equals one packet of active dry?
- A standard 7 g packet of active dry yeast is roughly 5.5 g of instant yeast (use about 25% less instant, since it's more concentrated).
- How do I convert fresh yeast to dry yeast?
- Fresh (cake) yeast is roughly three times the weight of instant and about 2.4 times the weight of active dry — so 30 g fresh ≈ 10 g instant ≈ 12.5 g active dry. The tool does the exact figure for you.
- How do I convert dry yeast to fresh yeast?
- Multiply your active dry weight by about 2.4, or your instant weight by 3, to get the fresh (cake) amount — so 10 g active dry ≈ 24 g fresh, and 10 g instant ≈ 30 g fresh. Enter the dry figure and the converter returns the exact fresh equivalent.
- Are active dry and instant yeast interchangeable?
- Yes, with a small adjustment — use about 25% more active dry when a recipe calls for instant, or 25% less instant for active dry. Instant can also be added straight to the dry ingredients, while older active dry is often proofed in warm water first.
- How much fresh yeast should I use instead of instant?
- Use roughly three times the weight: about 30 g of fresh yeast for every 10 g of instant. Fresh yeast is mostly water, which is why you need so much more of it to get the same rise.
- How many grams are in a packet of yeast?
- A standard sachet is about 7 g (roughly 2¼ teaspoons) of active dry or instant yeast. You can enter amounts as whole packets or as grams, and the numbers match up because a packet is treated as 7 g.
- How do I measure yeast without a scale?
- By volume, a 7 g packet is about 2¼ teaspoons of active dry or instant yeast, so one level teaspoon is roughly 3 g. Fresh yeast is dense and moist, so it's best weighed rather than spooned.
- Does this converter work for UK recipes?
- Yes. UK recipes often list fresh yeast by weight in grams, which is exactly what the tool accepts — enter the fresh amount and it gives the active dry or instant equivalent, and the reverse works too. The gram-based ratios are the same everywhere.
- Is cake yeast the same as fresh yeast?
- Yes — fresh yeast, cake yeast and compressed yeast are all the same moist, perishable yeast, just under different names.