# Bread Yeast Question



## snowbeast

A couple days ago I was watching the food channel and there was an interview with an artisan baker - he claimed his yeast was over 10 years old.
He stored it in a jar and kept topping it up.

I was too busy looking after my daughter to pay careful attention.
Does any member know of a way or at least a link that I could do the same.

I have cultivated beer yeast before, but never baking.

Thank you kindly,

Snowbeast


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## Mad Cook

snowbeast said:


> A couple days ago I was watching the food channel and there was an interview with an artisan baker - he claimed his yeast was over 10 years old.
> He stored it in a jar and kept topping it up.
> 
> I was too busy looking after my daughter to pay careful attention.
> Does any member know of a way or at least a link that I could do the same.
> 
> I have cultivated beer yeast before, but never baking.
> 
> Thank you kindly,
> 
> Snowbeast


Perhaps he was taking about a sourdough starter of some sort?


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## snowbeast

Thank you, i'll google that. Might jog my memory.


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## CakePoet

The oldest sourdough we have in my friendship group is  250 years old.  Sourdoughs can go on for ever.  Sadly mine sourdough has died and starting a new seams not to work. 

All you need if  flour and water and time.


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## CharlieD

Sourdough, can go on for a long time. Commercial yeast going for 10 years? I would be curious to know how if it's true?


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## erehweslefox

This is as my friends have said, a sourdough sarter. Mine is from a cullture that has been active since 1847. Mine comes from the same source, and has been active for ten years now. 

If you would like a great sourdogh starter I would suggest the Carl Griffith 1847 strain. If you send them $5 for postage and maintenance there are people that have as a testament to Mr. Griffith, have been preserving his starter for years. 

the friends of Carl Griffith have a website here:

Carl Griffith 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Page

A sourdough starter is different than normal yeast, in that it is a start to a dough making process. The yeast in it is something that can last for decades and centuries, just involves being fed a mix of 2/3 flour to 1/3 water once a week, the yeast will live. It does tend to adapt itself to your local yeast and bacterial situation. When I moved to Oklahoma, and when I moved back to PA in both cases it took the yeasties a month to adjust, they made bread, it just wasn't as good as it normally was.

I keep mine in a porcelain pot from King Arthur Flour, feed it once a week or so. Mine has been alive now for 16 years. 

Commercial yeast is asleep, and dies after a while, a sourdough starter is a living colony of yeast. Thus it refreshes itself. It does take some maintenance, and has to be fed about once a week or so (you can fudge this). If you want to start a starter, helps to have a dedicated, not airtight container you will use for it. 

You want to pull it out once a week, feed it, and let it go back to sleep, if you aren't using it. Use it often and you are just talking of replenishment.

TBS


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## Cooking Goddess

Fox, you write about your starter as if it were your child.  If you haven't already, I think that you should give it a name.


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## snowbeast

Thank you! That sounds exactly like what I was watching. 
I'm not too clued up on baking as I've just started the journey. 
As I'm moving into a very rural area I'm teaching myself quickly to bake so I always have bread.


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## tenspeed

I picked up a copy of "Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza" by Ken Forkish from the local library.  I thought it gave an excellent explanation of bread making for the home baker.  If I was serious about making bread I would purchase a copy for reference.  I just dabble in making bread, mostly dutch oven bread.


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## erehweslefox

tenspeed said:


> I picked up a copy of "Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza" by Ken Forkish from the local library.  I thought it gave an excellent explanation of bread making for the home baker.  If I was serious about making bread I would purchase a copy for reference.  I just dabble in making bread, mostly dutch oven bread.



Excellent book tenspeed, I recommend it. I also would recommend for bread one of my go too books on ALL things cooking. Darina Allen's "Forgotton Skills of Cooking" to wit:

Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The Time-Honored Ways Are the Best--Over 700 Recipes Show You Why by Darina Allen, Hardcover | Barnes & Noble®

It has an excellent chapter on breads and baking, including the best description I have seen on making your own sourdough starter, and maintaining it. 

The Allen book also has quite a few other things to its credit. The chapter on tripe alone is worth buying it, and makes my Beloved Wife EXTREMELY NERVOUS when I start to look at. Poor wife, she is more often the victim then the beneficiary of my culinary adventurism. 

I'm still not allowed to go to Chinatown unsupervised after the Jellyfish incident of 2009. In my defense the Jellyfish were on sale, and I got an excellent price for them. I mean can I be faulted for not knowing how to prepare jellyfish? Do you know how to prepare them?

Of course my sourdough starter has a name. Sean Charles McYeastington. If he were a person he would be a staid solid Englishman, prone to wearing tweed blazers with worn elbows perhaps with a touch of chalkdust about him. Takes his tea at four pm precisely he does. One lump of sugar, which he feels rather guilty about and no cream.


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## medtran49

erehweslefox said:


> I'm still not allowed to go to Chinatown unsupervised after the Jellyfish incident of 2009. In my defense the Jellyfish were on sale, and I got an excellent price for them. I mean can I be faulted for not knowing how to prepare jellyfish? Do you know how to prepare them?
> 
> .


 
I'm just about ready to try braving a geoduck next time we go to the big Oriental market and they have really fresh looking ones.  

I've never been good about keeping starters alive.  We get tired of the sour dough bread or the Friendship bread or whatever after I've made it sevearl times and then I forget about the starter and it dies.


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## erehweslefox

medtran49 said:


> I'm just about ready to try braving a geoduck next time we go to the big Oriental market and they have really fresh looking ones.
> 
> I've never been good about keeping starters alive.  We get tired of the sour dough bread or the Friendship bread or whatever after I've made it sevearl times and then I forget about the starter and it dies.



The Chinatown market in Philly are a cornucopia of aspirational ingredients I probably shouldn't buy. 

I think I just eventually reached a place with my starter that I would just hate to let it die. And having it around, anything bread or flour based gets a hit of sourdough starter, from muffins to scones.

Can see just not being that into it. Completely understand, it does take not a daily, but definitely a once every two week commitment. 

I will say when we moved back to Pennsylvania from Oklahoma, I overfed the sourdough, and it was hot in the truck. Darn thing went crazy overflowed his container, and mucked up the entire cooler I was using to carry spices and kitchen stuff. took two weeks of feeding before it was happy again. Darn Mr. McYeastington.


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## RPCookin

Here's a link to one of my favorite cooking sites - Artisan Bread Baking by Barry Harmon.  He lists all of his books on the linked page, but look over the whole site and see what all he includes.  It's not the most polished or glitzy web art, but his breads and techniques are excellent.

Back to the yeast discussion... I buy active dry yeast and keep it in the freezer.  The jar in there now is about 18 months old and still was perfect for the ciabata loaves I made for the town historical society bake sale fundraiser 2 weeks ago.


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## CakePoet

You deep fry the jellyfish...


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## medtran49

erehweslefox said:


> The Chinatown market in Philly are a cornucopia of *aspirational* ingredients I probably shouldn't buy.
> 
> I will say when we moved back to Pennsylvania from Oklahoma, I overfed the sourdough, and it was hot in the truck. Darn thing went crazy overflowed his container, and mucked up the entire cooler I was using to carry spices and kitchen stuff. took two weeks of feeding before it was happy again. Darn Mr. McYeastington.


 
I hope you mean *inspirational* instead of aspirational.  Really don't want to choke on food and end up with pneumonia.  

The mess sucks,  probably about like the mess we had to clean up when Craig had to hit the brakes hard to avoid squishing an iggy when we were going to DD's house and had a big pot of baked beans that were only covered with foil sitting on the folded down seats in the back of the car so we'd have enough room for everything.  Not fun!


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## erehweslefox

medtran49 said:


> I hope you mean *inspirational* instead of aspirational.  Really don't want to choke on food and end up with pneumonia.



Deliberate choice. I don't want you certainly to aspirate food, but I hope you, as I do, aspire to make better dishes.


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## expatgirl

erehweslefox said:


> The Chinatown market in Philly are a cornucopia of aspirational ingredients I probably shouldn't buy.
> 
> I think I just eventually reached a place with my starter that I would just hate to let it die. And having it around, anything bread or flour based gets a hit of sourdough starter, from muffins to scones.
> 
> Can see just not being that into it. Completely understand, it does take not a daily, but definitely a once every two week commitment.
> 
> I will say when we moved back to Pennsylvania from Oklahoma, I overfed the sourdough, and it was hot in the truck. Darn thing went crazy overflowed his container, and mucked up the entire cooler I was using to carry spices and kitchen stuff. took two weeks of feeding before it was happy again. Darn Mr. McYeastington.


you  are too funny


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## bakechef

CharlieD said:


> Sourdough, can go on for a long time. Commercial yeast going for 10 years? I would be curious to know how if it's true?



I purchased instant yeast when I lived in an apartment, which was at least 8 years ago.  I just finished it and it still worked fine.  I keep it in the fridge in a plastic container with a rubber gasket seal to keep moisture out.

It takes a while to use up 2 pounds of yeast!


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## dragnlaw

I keep my yeast in its original foil bag, inside a zip sandwich bag.  As the yeast is depleted I fold over the containers and tighten with an elastic.  

Mine is at least 5 years old, just recently thou I've been using it a lot and went from half full to almost empty now in 8 months.

I also do not distinguish between instant, fast acting and/or whatever they name it...  I just use it and so far as I'm concerned it/they all are the same in the end product.  

Was very tasty and now looks fantastic sitting on my hips.


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## dragnlaw

medtran49 said:


> I hope you mean *inspirational* instead of aspirational.  Really don't want to choke on food and end up with pneumonia.  !



Totally agree with you. 

'Aspirational ingredients I probably should not buy'...  meaning that should you buy them you will likely aspirate on them.

When someone aspirates, a foreign object, such as food or water, enters the person's airway resulting in coughing or gagging...   blah blah blah...


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## expatgirl

when we lived in Egypt 20 years ago, you could not find the fast-rising yeast and `i would keep mine in the freezer with no problem...........really prolonged its shelf life actually.......these were the ones (Fleishman's) that came in small packets........


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## expatgirl

and if you're ever in doubt of a yeast's viability, just make a yeast sponge that you can add to your recipe,  removing  or substituting the 1/4 liquid that it requires  (read this  a long time ago and it works for me)...........add your yeast to 1/4 cup warm water plus teaspoon of sugar........if it's not foaming and expanding, bubbling, billowing, etc., etc withing 15 minutes............then your yeast needs a funeral.......and you need new yeast


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## dragnlaw

A lot of my yeast recipes still call for activating your yeast before hand.  It is only just recently I've been coming across ones that throw all the dry ingredients in at the same time.


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## expatgirl

I always do a yeast "sponge" as they call it where you add about 1/4 cup warm liquid (for me usually water)to 1 teaspoon of sugar to the yeast and leave alone for about 15 minutes......that way you can tell if it's good or not and get things rolling quickly.........even if the recipe calls for throwing in everything together......all you do is adjust the liquid amounts......or at least that's what I do......it's never failed me


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## erehweslefox

an instant yeast like Flicheman's or even best buy can be just put in dry. I like to make a sponge, just because I generally use a tbsp of either maple syrup or honey in my recipes, and that combined with 1/2 a cup of hot water, and about ten minutes of sitting, I think even inspires an instant yeast to better efforts. I like a yeasty bread, so your mileage may vary.

Because I use a sponge almost all the time, I have kind of moved to Red Star when I'm not using a starter and making a big deal of it. But I like to always give the yeast a running start, even though it isn't strictly necessary.

Now when camping, I will put in an instant yeast dry. Simplifies packing and all.

TBS


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## dragnlaw

erehweslefox said:


> Because I use a sponge almost all the time, I have kind of moved to Red Star when I'm not using a starter and making a big deal of it.
> 
> TBS



What's a Red Star?  A yeast brand?


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## medtran49

dragnlaw said:


> What's a Red Star? A yeast brand?


 
Yes, a brand.


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## expatgirl

Red Star is a brand of yeast.........easy to recognize as it has a large red (Texas-styled) star on a white background........I've used it and it's great, too........


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## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> What's a Red Star?  A yeast brand?



The jar is what I buy.


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## erehweslefox

get a vacuum pack, save the money. Can always keep it in the freezer. 

Also, I kind of consider King Arthur Flour, and the folks there, my retail friends, always treat me fairly, I even bought my first digital scale from them. Plus muffin pans, loaf pans, etc... Also a lot of good baking stuff. I always pay the extra dollar or so for the King Arthur flour at the store. They also will answer baking questions, saved my sourdough starter once or twice, when it had some troubles. 

Mom gave me a $100 gift certificate there for Xmas and holy motherlovin son of Jesus, I was a kid in a candy store, let me tell you.



Red Star Active Dry Yeast - 2 lb.


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## RPCookin

Since a jar lasts me for a couple of years, I don't really need to buy in larger quantities.


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## snowbeast

From the replies in this thread I've decided to make a sourdough starter and in the process found out that my yeast was coming into contact with my salt. I know put my yeast in before the flour. Much better results now that I have formed a barrier between the two.


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## Mad Cook

snowbeast said:


> Thank you! That sounds exactly like what I was watching.
> I'm not too clued up on baking as I've just started the journey.
> As I'm moving into a very rural area I'm teaching myself quickly to bake so I always have bread.


I can recommend "English Bread and Yeast Cookery" by Elizabeth David. - all you could ever want to know about bread making past and present and lots of useful information about making it. Just be careful of her salt quantities as she uses the British equivalent of Kosher Salt which is a lot less salty than ordinary table salt.


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## dragnlaw

MadCook, you are right in that some salt is perceived as "saltier" than others, but only because of its "size" .  Salt is salt and one is not saltier than another.  But if the grains are different sizes - then you will actually be using more or less per measure in volume.

I'm not very good at explaining this... if someone could wade in and rescue me it would be appreciated.


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## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> MadCook, you are right in that some salt is perceived as "saltier" than others, but only because of its "size" .  Salt is salt and one is not saltier than another.  But if the grains are different sizes - then you will actually be using more or less per measure in volume.
> 
> I'm not very good at explaining this... if someone could wade in and rescue me it would be appreciated.



You are right dragnlaw. I have both course and finely ground sea salt. The unground course tastes saltier than the fine ground. Yet they are the same salt. That is because you are actually getting a larger dose of the sea salt with the course ground.


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## Addie

snowbeast said:


> From the replies in this thread I've decided to make a sourdough starter and in the process found out that my yeast was coming into contact with my salt. I know put my yeast in before the flour. Much better results now that I have formed a barrier between the two.



Salt is a known inhibitor of yeast. I never add it to my yeast/flour/sugar mixture. Only to the main sifted flour pile.


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## erehweslefox

snowbeast said:


> From the replies in this thread I've decided to make a sourdough starter and in the process found out that my yeast was coming into contact with my salt. I know put my yeast in before the flour. Much better results now that I have formed a barrier between the two.




I still like to start a sourdough starter with a sourdough starter, not just commercial yeast, I think a lot of the commercial baking yeast are highly aggressive, and leave out some of the sympathetic bacteria that make a sourdough starter sour. 

Have at times had several starters going at once, so if you don't want to use say the 1847 starter, or King Arthur Flour's starter, and just want to make one from scratch, it just takes a little longer. You'll need a  2 quart container. 

Then do this, real easy, just be prepared if it doesn't work the first time, if you get something that smells foul, is orange or green, it didn't work.

I'd start out with 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup non-chlorinated water. You'll need a 2 quart container that should be covered, but not airtight. A porcelain crock works great. 

Work on this for six days, each day adding 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup water. 

You should be getting something here that is about two cups, yeasty and bubbling. Use a cup in most recipes, replace it with the same proportion of water and flour, let it sit for a couple hours, if this goes in the fridge, it goes quiet, has to be woken up, dump off a cup, replace with 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water and let develop for several hours.

Depending on what flour you use and your environment, there will be natural yeasts available or not. If you are having trouble, I'd suggest starting with a particular starter from a friend or from KAF or 1847 as above, I'll also be happy to send you a 1/4 cup of mine. 

If you get mold, things have gone wrong. Sterilize, start again.

The longer you keep a starter going, the more complex and interesting it gets, that is because it accumulates local yeasts, but also helpful friendly bacteria that make that sour taste. There are often not so friendly bacteria, but you can tell if they move in by the orange tint and bad smell. Our yeast friends will kill the heck out of them 95% of the time. 

It is kind of funny as if you move, your bread will suck for about two weeks, it will work, but not be as good as it was. That is because there is a yeast and bacteria battle going on in the starter. They eventually sort out their differences and make the bread even better. 

TBS


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## expatgirl

`i have had very good and very bad results making starters...........but when they're good they're very good and when they're bad they're very bad..........`i think that maintaining constant temps and keeping the bowl covered really does help


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## expatgirl

plus it helps if you live in an area that's not really polluted aereally-wise...............the less polluted your neck of the woods probably the better chances of a good yeast-starter..........


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## erehweslefox

expatgirl said:


> plus it helps if you live in an area that's not really polluted aereally-wise...............the less polluted your neck of the woods probably the better chances of a good yeast-starter..........



I sometimes take my sourdough starter camping, even if I'm not going to use it, just so it can get fresh air. 

Yes, I am a strange duck. 

But it makes sense, exposes it to new yeast and bacteria strains. 

TBS


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## Addie

erehweslefox said:


> I sometimes take my sourdough starter camping, even if I'm not going to use it, just so it can get fresh air.
> 
> Yes, I am a strange duck.
> 
> But it makes sense, exposes it to new yeast and bacteria strains.
> 
> TBS



Brilliant in my book! And new flavors.


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## expatgirl

I was thinking the same thing, Addie........though `i posted this earlier.......btw this mideast computer and my violating violinst that strums next door`i'm going mad.........`i don't know why the post didn't show  up.......oh, well, no ef, you are not a wild duck........would love to taste some of your starter.......`i bet it's great........


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## Cooking Goddess

erehweslefox said:


> I sometimes take my sourdough starter camping, even if I'm not going to use it, just so it can get fresh air...


I'm sure Sean Charles McYeastington appreciates a nice camp-out in the woods as much as you and your Beloved Rachel do. 

Finally dragged up a bag of bread and a 1# bag of Red Star yeast that I bought at the Amish general store this past summer. I think it's about time I thought of making homemade bread again. It has been years! My only fear is that we're gonna gain weight...


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## Addie

expatgirl said:


> I was thinking the same thing, Addie........though `i posted this earlier.......btw this mideast computer and my violating violinst that strums next door`i'm going mad.........`i don't know why the post didn't show  up.......oh, well, no ef, you are not a wild duck........would love to taste some of your starter.......`i bet it's great........



Unfortunately, I let my starter die. Time to start another one. I am going to buy some grapes this coming week and will use a couple of them for the starter. I just wish I could go camping and give it some fresh air like ef does every so often.


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## erehweslefox

Addie said:


> Unfortunately, I let my starter die. Time to start another one. I am going to buy some grapes this coming week and will use a couple of them for the starter. I just wish I could go camping and give it some fresh air like ef does every so often.



I have to say, grape skins and, it is the time of year for it, apple skins, have some very friendly yeasties. I will occasionally goose Mr. McYeastington with some grape skins or apple peels when he gets peckish. 

Currently as we just moved I am in the period where the starter is adjusting. While I am tempted to throw it some apple/grape skins to speed up the process, I think I will let it sit. Poor starter is traumatized from the move, I owe it to him to let him adjust on his own timetable, right?

So full non-sourdough bread for a while, lucky I have a container of good red star yeast. Those little bugs aren't upset by anything.


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## erehweslefox

Mad Cook said:


> I can recommend "English Bread and Yeast Cookery" by Elizabeth David. - all you could ever want to know about bread making past and present and lots of useful information about making it. Just be careful of her salt quantities as she uses the British equivalent of Kosher Salt which is a lot less salty than ordinary table salt.



Mad Cook, I just kind of ran into Elizabeth David, from another recommendation which yours came on top of. I've ordered her French Country Cooking book. I also think she is a very interesting individual and worthy of some of my reading attention. I adore and try to recreate historical recipes, so I very much appreciate her quite historical approach to cooking and baking. I really really love medieval recipes so that book is gold. 

If I might, I'd, as I usually do, recommend to you Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking. If you judge my cookooks by how stained they are, this is the best one, or the dirtiest? It certainly gets used quite a bit and it spends more time on the kitchen counter then on the bookshelf for sure. 

TBS


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## Mad Cook

erehweslefox said:


> Excellent book tenspeed, I recommend it. I also would recommend for bread one of my go too books on ALL things cooking. Darina Allen's "Forgotton Skills of Cooking" to wit:
> 
> Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The Time-Honored Ways Are the Best--Over 700 Recipes Show You Why by Darina Allen, Hardcover | Barnes & Noble®
> 
> It has an excellent chapter on breads and baking, including the best description I have seen on making your own sourdough starter, and maintaining it.
> 
> The Allen book also has quite a few other things to its credit. The chapter on tripe alone is worth buying it, and makes my Beloved Wife EXTREMELY NERVOUS when I start to look at. Poor wife, she is more often the victim then the beneficiary of my culinary adventurism.
> 
> I'm still not allowed to go to Chinatown unsupervised after the Jellyfish incident of 2009. In my defense the Jellyfish were on sale, and I got an excellent price for them. I mean can I be faulted for not knowing how to prepare jellyfish? Do you know how to prepare them?
> 
> Of course my sourdough starter has a name. Sean Charles McYeastington. If he were a person he would be a staid solid Englishman, prone to wearing tweed blazers with worn elbows perhaps with a touch of chalkdust about him. Takes his tea at four pm precisely he does. One lump of sugar, which he feels rather guilty about and no cream.




But have you any idea how disgusting tea is with cream in it. Milk or lemon please (and for me - semi-skimmed!)


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## erehweslefox

Mad Cook said:


> But have you any idea how disgusting tea is with cream in it. Milk or lemon please (and for me - semi-skimmed!)



Oh with a nice assam I'll put clotted cream in it. Now a Darjeeling is always made unadulterated, or perhaps with a little bit of lemon.

TBS


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## rodentraiser

If you're using grape and apple skins, don't you have to make sure to use the organic grapes and apples? I'd hate to make sourdough from insecticide-laden fruits.


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## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> If you're using grape and apple skins, don't you have to make sure to use the organic grapes and apples? I'd hate to make sourdough from insecticide-laden fruits.



You can still give them a good washing. Then let the grapes and apples (or any fruit that has a smooth skin for that matter) sit out on the counter for a couple of days. They will still catch the wild yeast in the air. BTW, whatever fruit you choose to use, will affect the flavor of the food you use for the final dough product. 

When I had the Girl Scouts, because we always had our first meetings at the very beginning of Sept., it was a perfect time for them to do this project. Each week they took their project home and had to feed it each day. Then come November. We met in a church with two large ovens. The troop monies provided the flour and each girl made a loaf of bread in time foor Thanksgiving dinner. Those kids were so proud of what they had made. Now that is definitely "cooking from scratch."


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## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> If you're using grape and apple skins, don't you have to make sure to use the organic grapes and apples? I'd hate to make sourdough from insecticide-laden fruits.



It's a myth that organic farmers don't use pesticides, and the ones they use are often more harmful than those used by conventional farmers, which are not very harmful at all with recommended use. So, no worries 

https://blogs.scientificamerican.co...101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/

https://www.geneticliteracyproject....demonization-organic-farmers-widely-use-them/


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## Addie

I make my produce organic myself with a good cleansing and scrubbing. For those veggie and fruits that can't stand up to this type of treatment, they get a good rubbing and water changing several times. Such as asparagus and peaches. Although I have been know for using a soft toothbrush on them when really in doubt. For foods that need to stay crispy such as lettuce, several cold water changes. More than normal. If I feel the produce can tolerate it, then it is several warm water and cold as the last.


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## Cooking Goddess

You can't make your produce "organic" by washing it, *Addie*. All you can do is make it clean. Some pesticides penetrate the tissues of a food. They don't get washed away with rinsing or soaking.

PRODUCE PURIFICATION 101: CAN WASHING FRUITS & VEGGIES REMOVE PESTICIDES?

From the article:  "The short answer is no, not entirely. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, washing produce reduces pesticide levels but doesn’t completely remove them."


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## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> You can't make your produce "organic" by washing it, *Addie*. All you can do is make it clean. Some pesticides penetrate the tissues of a food. They don't get washed away with rinsing or soaking.
> 
> PRODUCE PURIFICATION 101: CAN WASHING FRUITS & VEGGIES REMOVE PESTICIDES?
> 
> From the article:  "The short answer is no, not entirely. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, washing produce reduces pesticide levels but doesn’t completely remove them."



Thanks for the info. I am doing everything I can possibly do so I take in fewer chemical and fungi in order to try and keep myself healthy.


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## Souschef

Addie said:


> Thanks for the info. I am doing everything I can possibly do so I take in fewer chemical and fungi in order to try and keep myself healthy.


Since you do not eat anything, that should be easy


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## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> But have you any idea how disgusting tea is with cream in it. Milk or lemon please (and for me - semi-skimmed!)


Agreed. I'll put full fat milk in English Breakfast Tea or Irish Breakfast Tea if I don't have any 2%, but I really, really prefer 2% milk in my Earl Grey.


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## Addie

Souschef said:


> Since you do not eat anything, that should be easy



Sure is!


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## erehweslefox

I am rinsing out my apple skins from my stuffing this Thanksgiving, 20 minutes under clear water, and giving them to the starter. Mr. Seamus McYeastington has gone wierd, gotten very tart. I think there is a bacteria war going on. So I am going to add some apple peels for good soldiers.


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## JustJoel

*Yeast brand differences*

There is quite a bit of info in this yeasty thread, but I have a new question should I start a new thread?).

What are the differences in brands of yeast. Most bloggers and cookbook authors seem to have a preference, and it’s pretty much divided between Red Star and SAF (Red and Gold are whole nuther debate, it seems), but the most widely available brand here in Vegas is Fleischmann’s, which rarely receives a mention in the blogs or books.

What are the differences between brands? Taste? Rise efficiency? Shelf life? Or is it more a case of personal preference?


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## dragnlaw

*Yeast Brands*

I have never looked for others but I'm pretty sure that Fleischmann's is the only brand we even _have_ around here.

Good question *JustJoel*!


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## GotGarlic

I have no idea what the differences are. I use Fleischmann's Bread Machine Yeast and buy the 4-ounce jar. I use it for everything, not just bread machine dough, and it works just fine.

Unless a blogger is a professional baker, I wouldn't take their preference to mean much. Usually when a blogger mentions a specific brand, it's because they have a financial relationship.


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## Mad Cook

JustJoel said:


> There is quite a bit of info in this yeasty thread, but I have a new question should I start a new thread?).
> 
> What are the differences in brands of yeast. Most bloggers and cookbook authors seem to have a preference, and it’s pretty much divided between Red Star and SAF (Red and Gold are whole nuther debate, it seems), but the most widely available brand here in Vegas is Fleischmann’s, which rarely receives a mention in the blogs or books.
> 
> What are the differences between brands? Taste? Rise efficiency? Shelf life? Or is it more a case of personal preference?


I'm in England where we have , more or less, 2 brands of "Active dried yeast - odd name as _in-active_ yeast wouldn't be much use smile which you have to "wake up" with sugar and warm liquid - and two of the "quick" variety which go straight into the flour. And the same companies make both sorts. There isn't much difference in results although the method of use is different. It's purely my choice to use the "active" variety - for no very particular reason - but I do keep the odd sachet of the "quick" yeast in case I'm in a hurry. Always follow the "Use by" date on the packet and keep it in a screw top glass jar or a tupperware- type of container as you need to keep it away from damp 

I realise you aren't in the UK but I thought the info might be useful. You haven't had bread until you've tasted home-made. Good luck.


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## RPCookin

For me, there are only 2 kinds as far as the results I've seen - Live and dead.  Live is good.  Dead not so much.  

Actually I have used 2 kinds - instant or quick yeast, aimed at the inflexible time frame of the bread machine; and active, which is what I use for pretty much everything including bread machine recipes.  I don't use the packets because many of the breads I've made don't call for using that much yeast.  Each packet is 2½ teaspoons, and recipes like my ciabatta only call for 1½ teaspoons for 3 loaves.  What do I do with the leftover teaspoon?  With the jar, I just measure out what I need.

Regular active yeast work seems fine without proofing it, but I usually do that anyway for insurance.  It only takes 5 to 10 minutes to proof your yeast in a cup or less of warm (about 110°F) water.  You can feed the yeast by adding 1/2 tsp of sugar to it if you like - that won't change the taste or texture of your bread - but it seems to be about the same whether I add sugar or not.  The yeast and water still get sort of creamy looking and that tells me that the yeast is doing okay.

I keep my jar of Red Star in the freezer to help it last longer.  I've had a jar for as long as 1½ years still going strong.  Using water that is too hot, or too much salt before the rise, can kill your yeast too.


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## blissful

I just checked my yeast order history on amazon. I bought a 2 lb bag of yeast in 2010, portioned it into air tight jars, froze them and kept them in the deep freeze. When I need some, I use it right from the freezer.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KWEZTO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I made stollen the day before yesterday, the yeast is still working great.


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