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Grow-your-own fresh yeast?

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Comments

  • sticher
    sticher Posts: 599 Forumite
    Nice idea but it stank so bad that I darent use it and eventually I killed it by stopping its supply of fresh flour..... sorry but it was for the best :rotfl:

    That really made me laugh.

    I look forward to hearing how your bread turns out.
  • paddy's_mum
    paddy's_mum Posts: 3,977
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    It pongs already! Don't know what went wrong but I don't like the look of it. Might stick to the fast action dried in future so that at least when the Police come knocking, I know it's not me that poisoned hubby!

    Thanks for all your comments. It was worth a try but think I'll have to admit defeat on this one.
  • Angelina-M
    Angelina-M Posts: 1,541 Forumite
    It pongs already! Don't know what went wrong but I don't like the look of it. Might stick to the fast action dried in future so that at least when the Police come knocking, I know it's not me that poisoned hubby!

    Thanks for all your comments. It was worth a try but think I'll have to admit defeat on this one.

    No dont chuck it. It does stink... its supposed to!!

    You could always try it with one loaf. Make a nice sourdough bread and report back?:j
  • If you feed sugar or starch to yeast all you get is ethanol and CO2, and when the level of ethanol is high enough the yeast is killed - this is what brewers of wine and beer do. To multiply your yeast what you need to do is supply it with food and keep out oxygen (which encourages the smelly sourdough type bacteria to grow) .. yeast is a fungus like plant that likes Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus plus a trace of Magnesium and Sulphur ... professional brewers and bakers supply their yeasts with tiny amounts of simple inorganic fertilizers - Ammonium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulphate plus a few trace vitamins - if you cannot source these you could substitute any mix of fertilizer compounds that are also permissible food additives such as Potassium Nitrate ... but the simplest is to buy a $1 packet of yeast nutrient from a home brew shop which will keep you going for years if you also add a small amount of sugar to the mix - this kills off some of the yeasts ... which the other yeasts then consume as food ... and the layer of CO2 above the mix keeps out the oxygen which the bacteria need.
  • Some in this thread were asking how our ggg... grandmothers got yeast to make bread. I read a book a few months ago called Roughing it in the Bush or Forest Life in Canada by Susanna Moodie, written around 1825. The following is what she wrote about making “bran emptyings” to leaven bread:

    put a double handful of bran into a small pot, or kettle, but a jug will do, and a teaspoon of salt; but mind you don't kill it with salt, for if you do, it won't rise. I then add as much warm water, at blood heat, as will mix it into a stiff batter. I then put the jug into a pan of warm water, and set it on the hearth near the fire, and keep it at the same heat until it rises, which it generally will do, if you attend to it, in two or three hours' time. When the bran cracks at the top, and you see white bubbles rising through it, you may strain it into your flour, and lay your bread. It makes good bread.


    She mentioned “milk emptyings” can give a sour taste to the bread. She didn't describe how to make them though, other than by mixing milk and flour. I gather from these descriptions that the “emptyings” were colonised by wild yeasts. Not all wild yeasts will raise bread though, so I would follow the earlier recommendations for growing store bought yeasts.

    Some people were also asking how much fresh yeast to use in bread. I found a breadmaker recipe which uses fresh yeast (and gives an amount!) here: www(dot)Suite101(dot)com/content/easy-and-healthy-bread-maker-recipe-using-fresh-yeast-a274370. I just registered to post this reply, so I can't post a proper link yet.:)

    Good luck!
  • I like to make rye sour dough bread and the sour does keep forever! I guess that is one of the original ways of making your own yeast. You just have to keep renewing it by putting it all into your next fresh production sour, then remove some to keep on again before you make the final loaf. You can also keep it in the freezer, it loses a little potentcy but a quick refreshment usually does the trick.
  • What happened I am on the edge of my seat, considering growing yeast myself. x
  • 123-artee wrote: »
    If you feed sugar or starch to yeast all you get is ethanol and CO2, and when the level of ethanol is high enough the yeast is killed - this is what brewers of wine and beer do. To multiply your yeast what you need to do is supply it with food and keep out oxygen (which encourages the smelly sourdough type bacteria to grow) .. yeast is a fungus like plant that likes Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus plus a trace of Magnesium and Sulphur ... professional brewers and bakers supply their yeasts with tiny amounts of simple inorganic fertilizers - Ammonium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulphate plus a few trace vitamins - if you cannot source these you could substitute any mix of fertilizer compounds that are also permissible food additives such as Potassium Nitrate ... but the simplest is to buy a $1 packet of yeast nutrient from a home brew shop which will keep you going for years if you also add a small amount of sugar to the mix - this kills off some of the yeasts ... which the other yeasts then consume as food ... and the layer of CO2 above the mix keeps out the oxygen which the bacteria need.
    Just thought I should add some corrections here from my knowledge of biology. Yeast can respire aerobically (with oxygen) or anaerobically (without oxygen). In the presence of oxgen, aerobic respiration will breakdown glucose into carbon dioxide and water. This is the more efficient process and will lead to yeast cell growth and reproduction if other conditions are also favourable. If you want to grow yeast, then provide it with oxygen. Anaerobic respiration produces ethanol and carbon dioxide and is only viable for the yeast for short time. Look up the Pasteur effect if you're interested.
    I keep a starter for bread-making in a small bowl in the fridge made from packet dried yeast, white flour and water. Just put half in each batch of bread and make up the starter volume with more flour and water. Lasts indefinitely if used two or three times a week. I add a little dried yeast to the batch too (about half the usual amount). Saves on yeast and improves the texture of the bread.
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