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paddy's_mum
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For some days, I've been mulling over whether or not it is possible to grow your own yeast. It occurred to me that if yeast is an organism that with the right growing conditions will multiply, it should be possible to do so. Has anybody else tried this?
With a cracking good woodburner (so therefore a constantly warm kitchen or alternatively the airing cupboard) nugget of fresh yeast to start, warm water and food (ie sugar) I might be able to keep a culture going well enough to avoid having to buy dried yeast, which I think is relatively expensive since much of the product is packaging.
I clearly remember an American friend once telling me that her g-g-grandmother had crossed the prairies as a pioneer and those women kept their 'starter' alive and prospering by stuffing the culture in a jar down their bodices! Certainly, bread has been a British staple for centuries, long before shops were invented, so how did our foremothers obtain yeast for baking?
Well .. I'm going to try it and let you know (you would like to know, wouldn't you?!) how I get on.
PS You guys would be brave/kind/foolish enough to tell me, if you think this is taking OS too far !
With a cracking good woodburner (so therefore a constantly warm kitchen or alternatively the airing cupboard) nugget of fresh yeast to start, warm water and food (ie sugar) I might be able to keep a culture going well enough to avoid having to buy dried yeast, which I think is relatively expensive since much of the product is packaging.
I clearly remember an American friend once telling me that her g-g-grandmother had crossed the prairies as a pioneer and those women kept their 'starter' alive and prospering by stuffing the culture in a jar down their bodices! Certainly, bread has been a British staple for centuries, long before shops were invented, so how did our foremothers obtain yeast for baking?
Well .. I'm going to try it and let you know (you would like to know, wouldn't you?!) how I get on.
PS You guys would be brave/kind/foolish enough to tell me, if you think this is taking OS too far !
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paddy's_mum wrote: »For some days, I've been mulling over whether or not it is possible to grow your own yeast. It occurred to me that if yeast is an organism that with the right growing conditions will multiply, it should be possible to do so. Has anybody else tried this?
With a cracking good woodburner (so therefore a constantly warm kitchen or alternatively the airing cupboard) nugget of fresh yeast to start, warm water and food (ie sugar) I might be able to keep a culture going well enough to avoid having to buy dried yeast, which I think is relatively expensive since much of the product is packaging.
I clearly remember an American friend once telling me that her g-g-grandmother had crossed the prairies as a pioneer and those women kept their 'starter' alive and prospering by stuffing the culture in a jar down their bodices! Certainly, bread has been a British staple for centuries, long before shops were invented, so how did our foremothers obtain yeast for baking?
Well .. I'm going to try it and let you know (you would like to know, wouldn't you?!) how I get on.
PS You guys would be brave/kind/foolish enough to tell me, if you think this is taking OS too far !
sounds an interesting project..good luck...i'll be watching out for news on how you go.
Don't forget, that you can get free yeast at tesco bakery, by just asking for some fresh yeast, from the staff at the bakery section. They usually give me loads.0 -
I used to keep a sourdough starter going for breadmaking. I had to feed it flour and stir in water to keep it growing. The idea was you took some out to use in your bread and then fed the rest of it so it kept growing in your jam jar.
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:0 -
Jehosophat - it's already going great guns!
About two minutes before I typed up the op, I put 14 fl ozs warm water in an empty six pinter plastic milk bottle (my favourite, and free, containers) added a generous two large tablespoons of sugar, two scant tablespoons of Allisons dried yeast, stirred until smooth. Popped a piece of kitchen towel over the opening, secured with an elastic band. The kitchen is currently at 78 degrees.
The thing is going like a time bomb! Some is froth but unless I've had too much vino with my supper or I need another specsavers appointment, the level of base fluid has already risen substantially.
I realise that I can use a miniscule amount when hand baking and just leave to fully prove, even if that is some hours. Next test - how much to use in my new (thanks to all you Panasonic devotees) breadmaker. That might be a bit hit-and-miss. Watch this space for my references to unleavened dropscones, pitta bread or "burbling out the top" ultra light and aerated bread
recipes!!!
Wish there was a way to talk to my own g-g-g-g grandmother. Those women must have so much to teach us that has been forgotten over the years.0 -
I don't think that you'll be able to grow yeast that'll be the same as the commercial stuff you buy in a block. In effect, what you'll be doing is starting a yeast based sourdough culture which you'll need to divide and feed, and watch to make sure that it doesn't go off (you'll know by the smell, it should smell pleasantly sour, not make you gasp vinegary
). However I have heard of cultures like these going on for YEARS - I think there's one bakery in Switzerland somewhere that's using a culture that's descended from an original one started over a hundred years ago ... I hope you like lots of bread 
I'm not sure either that this kind of culture will work *that* well in a breadmaker. I've had a go at a few and they're tricky to manage, they need careful handling in terms of temperature/amount of flour/amount of water etc and I've never had much luck using them 'mechanically'.0 -
Gingernutmeg wrote: »However I have heard of cultures like these going on for YEARS - I think there's one bakery in Switzerland somewhere that's using a culture that's descended from an original one started over a hundred years ago ... .
God, can you imagine the b*llocking a member of staff would get for letting that die!! :rotfl: Bet there is no school leaver/apprentice allowed anywhere near it!!Joined SW 24/02/2011 :j71lb/28.5lb-6, -2.5, -2, -1, -2 -, -2 sow, +3
(holiday), -5.5 (*) +0.5, +1, -4, -0.5(*), -3(10%!!) +0.5, -3, -1, -1(2st:j)
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Well, I'm going to give it a go. If nothing else, my tribe of pet dogs like anything even remotely 'human grub' in their food bowls, and will thank me for a change of flavour. While they're eating that, I'm not paying out for expensive all-in-one commercial dried food.
I can see that it would be difficult to measure how much when using a breadmaker so thanks for that input, Gingernutmeg.
If nothing else, my 'biology' experiment may help someone else who is as tightfi .. sorry, as frugally minded as I am!0 -
annaangeluk wrote: »God, can you imagine the b*llocking a member of staff would get for letting that die!! :rotfl: Bet there is no school leaver/apprentice allowed anywhere near it!!
:rotfl:I can just imagine!
Makes me laugh imagining the British Environmental Health Officer who would let that happen ... 'So when did you make this culture?' 'Oh, 1908ish' ...0 -
Gingernutmeg wrote: »:rotfl:I can just imagine!
Makes me laugh imagining the British Environmental Health Officer who would let that happen ... 'So when did you make this culture?' 'Oh, 1908ish' ...
You can imagine the spotty 16 year old on work experience that just tipped it in the bin!! Realising what it was, nipping to Tesco to replace it!! :rotfl:Joined SW 24/02/2011 :j71lb/28.5lb-6, -2.5, -2, -1, -2 -, -2 sow, +3 (holiday), -5.5 (*) +0.5, +1, -4, -0.5(*), -3(10%!!) +0.5, -3, -1, -1(2st:j)
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paddy's_mum wrote: »Well, I'm going to give it a go. If nothing else, my tribe of pet dogs like anything even remotely 'human grub' in their food bowls, and will thank me for a change of flavour. While they're eating that, I'm not paying out for expensive all-in-one commercial dried food.
I can see that it would be difficult to measure how much when using a breadmaker so thanks for that input, Gingernutmeg.
If nothing else, my 'biology' experiment may help someone else who is as tightfi .. sorry, as frugally minded as I am!
If you can get it going well then I'm sure it'll be lovely. Breads made with these cultures tend to have lovely chewy crusts and great flavour that you just don't get much nowadays. There are some great websites for this kind of thing, and loads of tips - I was told that if you use mineral water it makes a better culture, as the chlorine in tap water can kill the yeasts, and apparently a proportion of rye flour mixed in when you refresh it gives a good flavour and can perk up a culture that's looking a bit tired. Organic flours are supposed to work well too, again because of the chemical issues. I gave mine up because it all gets too time consuming (and you have to make bread with it really regularly) but all this has made me think about starting one up again Apparently where you are can make a difference too, that's why San Francisco sourdough is so famous, because it's particular to that area because of the weather conditions etc. 0
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