A VCM presents a unique situation when using IDY. Due to the very short mixing time in the VCM (typically 70 to 90-seconds) you must pre-hydrate the IDY before using it in a dough mixed in the VCM. To hydrate IDY use 95F water, (about 5 times the weight of the yeast as 95F water), so if you are using 1-ounce of IDY, you would add it to 5-ounces of 95F water, stir well, and allow the yeast to hydrate for 10-minutes, then add this to the cold water going into the mixer. This isn’t much different from what you are doing with ADY, except that with ADY the water temperature that the yeast is hydrated in should be 100 to 105F. Just for the record, compressed yeast (the one that has the consistency of modeling clay) should be pre-suspended in the dough water before the flour is added. This is the only time that compressed yeast needs to be pre-suspended. A good way to do this is to put your dough water in the mixing bowl, then add the compressed yeast, and turn the mixer on for a couple seconds. This will sufficiently suspend the yeast in the cold water. Failure to do this can result in inconsistent yeast dispersion throughout the dough. Remember, you only need to do this with when using the VCM.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
