Yeast Conversion Chart & Formula: Fresh to Dry Yeast

The yeast conversion chart below allows you to accurately switch between fresh, active dry, and instant yeast

Note: Fresh yeast is not listed in teaspoons/tablespoons as its non-granular form requires weighing for accuracy.

Why Is It Necessary to Convert Between Yeast Types

For a deeper dive into why different yeast amounts are required, check out this article: Best Yeast for Pizza Dough: Active Dry Yeast vs Instant Yeast vs Fresh Yeast Compared.

In short, the difference lies in the concentration of yeast cells in each type of yeast:

Fresh yeast: ~70% water and ~30% yeast cells.
Active dry yeast: ~8% water and ~92% yeast cells.
Instant dry yeast: ~3% water and ~97% yeast cells.

The more concentrated the yeast – meaning the higher the proportion of yeast cells – the greater its fermentation power for the same weight.

For example, instant dry yeast is the most concentrated and requires the smallest amount. Fresh yeast, with the lowest concentration, requires a larger quantity to achieve the same fermentation rate.

Simply put:

1 gram of instant dry yeast ferments dough faster than
1 gram of active dry yeast (less concentrated), which ferments faster than
1 gram of fresh yeast (the least concentrated).

This is why accurate conversions between yeast types are essential to ensure the dough ferments as expected and delivers the desired results.

How to Convert Between Fresh Yeast to Dry Yeast (and Vice Versa)

To convert between different types of yeast, follow these rules of thumb:

From Fresh Yeast to Active Dry Yeast: Use 40% of the fresh yeast amount (multiply by 0.4).
From Fresh Yeast to Instant Dry Yeast: Use 33% of the fresh yeast amount (multiply by 0.33).
From Active Dry Yeast to Instant Dry Yeast: Use 75% of the active dry yeast amount (multiply by 0.75).
From Instant Dry Yeast to Active Dry Yeast: Use 1.33 times the instant dry yeast amount (multiply by 1.33).
From Active Dry Yeast to Fresh Yeast: Use 2.5 times the active dry yeast amount (multiply by 2.5).
From Instant Dry Yeast to Fresh Yeast: Use 3 times the instant dry yeast amount (multiply by 3).