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posted by janrinok on Friday April 03 2020, @05:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the grab-your-aprons dept.

How to make your own yeast for baking:

As more people bake their blues away while stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, yeast is reportedly becoming harder to find on grocery store shelves. There's no shame in turning to carbohydrates for comfort in times like these. But what's one to do when a key ingredient for satisfying that craving is becoming as elusive as a roll of toilet paper?

[...] There's a good chance you've already got what you need at home to get started. The Verge asked Stephen Jones, director of Washington State University's Bread Lab, for simple instructions. What you'll actually be doing is capturing wild yeast and bacteria that's already present in the air or in the flour to make a "sourdough starter." This is what bakers have relied on for generations before commercial yeast became available less than 100 years ago.

[...] "Sourdough" is often used to refer to bread that's made with a wild yeast starter rather than with store-bought yeast; following the instructions for this starter doesn't necessarily mean that the bread you make with it will taste sour. But since you're harvesting wild yeast and bacteria (the bacteria is what adds some sourness) that's naturally present in your kitchen, your bread will have a flavor that's unique to wherever you are in the world. That's why, Jones says, "There's a little more beauty in starting your own starter."

What you'll need: Jones says that although some recipes you'll find online call for things like fruit or juice, all you actually need are flour and water. White flour works fine, but whole wheat is best because it has more micronutrients like zinc and iron for the yeast and bacteria. You'll also need time; it'll take several days before your starter is ready, so it's best to plan ahead.

Step 1: Mix together equal parts flour and water in a small bowl. You can start with about a quarter cup of each. Stir well. Water activates the enzyme amylase, which breaks down starch into simple sugars that the yeast and bacteria can eat.

Step 2: Cover the bowl loosely with a lid or towel and leave the mixture on your counter at room temperature. Keeping it in a place that's a bit warm, but not too hot, will speed up the process of the yeast and bacteria colonizing your batter.

Step 3: Twice a day, in the morning and evening, add one to two tablespoons each of flour and water. By doing this, you're actually feeding the yeast. In about three to five days, your starter will begin to bubble. This is a good thing: the way yeast makes bread rise is by producing gas, like what you see in the bubbles. After day five, your starter should have at least doubled in volume and will be ready to use. As a rule of thumb, a bit of the starter should float in a glass of water when it's ready.

[I've been making bread for over a decade now, and sourdough is one of my favourites. If you have some time to spare give it a go. You will love the results. --Janrinok]


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  • (Score: 2) by hubie on Friday April 03 2020, @06:55PM

    by hubie (1068) Subscriber Badge on Friday April 03 2020, @06:55PM (#978830) Journal

    I presume you could also dry your modern culture and freeze it in the manner that a lot of sourdough maintainers do with their starters.

    YouTube is abound with videos along this line. I keep seeing in my Recommended section "How to make your own yeast in five minutes" and it shows somebody with a plate of what looks like commercial yeast. It looks too click-baity for me and I haven't bothered watching it.

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