I buy yeast in one pound packages. Buying it in 2 1/4 teaspoon packets, you might as well be buying real platinum.

I certainly agree! I hadn't heard of the "platinum" level. Is this new? I'm going to see if it does come bulk size and how much it is. Look at the Red Star site and see where it says "foolproof". Nope- just checked the site again. Only small packs. Guess I'll have to wait for bulk size.

It's not just yeast:

"Red Star® PLATINUM is a premium instant yeast blended with dough improvers ... "

Says it works best with doughs that have sugar in the ingredients, also.

It is Kosher, vegan, nut-free, potato-free (that's the first time I've heard THAT one, but I suppose there are potato allergies out there).

It is NOT gluten-free.

If someone could get hold of a packet and list the ingredients off the label, we could probably guess which types of dough improvers they are using. Likely they're mostly chemical names. I would guess lecithin might be one of them, given it mostly comes from soy beans and therefore would still be vegan.

Sounds like SAF Gold. You need enough sugar:flour ratio ( sugar is between 10% and 30% of the flour) to get the best rise. Not enough sugar and you won't get optimal results. I guess this would be a good option if you make a sweet bread once a year. Ha!

i have free sample on the way through their FB page but cant find it for sale anywhere. Has anyone seen this yeast online for sale?

I got a free sample through FB. I'll post the ingredients as soon as I can find it. I've been doing a lot of moving and reorganizing lately and am constantly searching for something.....my age doesn't help either. ;)

Robin...I attempted to bring forward a past discussion on this subject, but it ended up in a seperate post..please look for it on this board. Sorry...I goofed. Wonky

Red Star use to be my favorite yeast but then it got hard to find in pound packages.

PR's Portuguese Sweet bread is hard for yeast to work. It can take seems forever for that recipe to rise using plain instant yeast. This might work well in that recipe.

Platinum yeast is a new product - It doesn't need to be proofed and is used in recipes that call for either instant or active dry yeast. The gold yeast is used in sweet breads recipes that are sluggish to rise as they usually have more sugar. Happy Baking! Irene @ KAF

The secret dough improver seems to be Vitamin C, per the label.

Thanks, Wonky! I've still got a loaf of your bread in the freezer. I'm going to make French toast with it next week when my granddaughter sleeps over. It's yummy! I labeled it "Wonky's White Bread". My kids laugh when they see it.

Robin..I actually made 2 batches of this bread on Friday. I made 3 the usual way, and turned the second batch in to raisin bread. My husband and I actually finished a whole loaf of the raisin by supper time. (shame on us) I took a loaf over to my son, so only have l loaf left (in the freezer). It's a good thing I ran out of raisins, or I would have made another batch today. Raisin bread french toast is yummy Robin. (just saying)

Raisin bread has very limited staying power in my house.

I'm experimenting with a cinnamon raisin English muffin bread....all the better to toast and hold butter.