Sunday, November 20, 2016

Sunday Shepherd's Bread - the story of two yeasts

Doug the Sourdough Starter comes through again.


Started out with a positively glacial rise.  I usually add some dry yeast to get an aggressive rise, especially in winter when it's not that warm, but this time the boost did nothing.  I think the store bought is just too old.  

Doug, on the other hand, is just as spry and vigorous as the day I caught him.  Feed that yeast the night before the bread bake, and he's a foaming monster the next morning. Next time I do this I'm going to ditch the store bought and double the dose of Doug.

If I can figure that out then I can avoid any expenditure of money at all on the factory made yeast, and rely on the free but swollen and angry captive yeast.

It's a plan.  Now, to melt some butter and heat the honey.  Fresh bread is waiting to be eaten!

4 comments:

  1. Obviously Doug is a superior strain - but aren't all yeasts created equal?

    Maybe not.

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    Replies
    1. It is said that wild yeasts are common on grape leaves, of all things. Maybe the Italian yeasts are best?

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    2. Best recipe for wild yeast starter around...

      http://www.weedemandreap.com/wild-yeast-starter/

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    3. Thanks for the link, I'm going to enjoy that website. When I went on the hunt for the elusive wild yeast, I used some pineapple juice to bring the fluid up to the correct Ph needed for the bread yeast I was looking for. Cuts down on that 17 day hunt by about a week.

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