Yeast free baking
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(Tigger2)
I am wondering if there is such a thing. I currently don't have a large stock of yeast, well I don't have a large stock of anything. but yeast I have enough for about a month. after that I would be on my own as far as baked goods goes. I have tried to make sourdough to no avail. aside from tortillas, is there anything I can make without yeast? I know bread is out, pizzas are out, etc.
(IceFire)
You can make biscuits, "quick" breads, cornbread, muffins and such without yeast. There are actually quite a number of things that can be made without yeast. You will need baking powder instead of yeast to get the batters to rise. You can also do a type of pizza crust that uses baking powder, rather than yeast. The texture will be a little..fluffier, (more biscuit-ey) but it still works.
(sbsion )
you can use baking soda in place of yeast and baking powder, BUT, remember, soda is quit salty, best to experiment without salt. Baking soda boxes usually have directions for substitution.........AND, there's no expiration date
(xdewit)
this is a good site with alots of information about sourdough baking. He even mentions how you can dehydrate your sourdoug starter!
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/233
Have fun, btw it is said that sourdough bread is the best ingested by human body.
Xant
(Alaska Rose)
Starter can die from a number of things, too hot, too cold, not enough food. Enclosed in a tight container it can become a small homemade bomb. I buy yeast in the large bags at Sam's Club, and tightly close after each use. It will work for at least a year, if kept tightly closed and not too hot. When it starts to slow down on activity when used, I dump the rest of the bag in the outhouse or someone's septic system. It will keep those working well, also.
A good sourdough starter can usually be made using a small amount of yeast to help get the right yeast growing in it, but mix a cup of warm water, a cup of flour and a pinch of yeast and let sit, loosely covered, for at least 24 hours at room temperature. It should start to have a slight sour milk smell to it, but don't add milk or usually it will get rather gross. If you still can't get a starter to start doing that, add a teaspoon of sugar to it, and let sit 24 hours. If it has the sour odor, not unpleasant, just slightly sour, then add another cup of flour and another cup of warm water to it, let work overnight and use one cup out of it the next day and add another 1 cup flour, 1 cup warm water.
You can make almost anything from sourdough, including log chinking, and doughnuts. Chocolate cake made from sourdough is excellent.
(Cin)
1 pyrex glass dish with lid
1 cup of warm water (110 degrees)
1 cup flour (I used Sam's Club bleached bread flour)
Mix, tuck away on the counter out of drafts, and if possible, in the sun for at least an hour or so a day.
When it begins to bubble, add 1/2 cup warm water, and 1/2 cup flour (about 3 days).
Let it go for a few days. Then add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour.
About 10 days later, it should develop a clear, yellowish liquid on top. This should have a pleasant sour, beer smell. Stir that back in, add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour. The 10th day is when you can begin to use it - if it is bubbling.
At least once or twice a week, add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour. When ready to use, stir the clear liquid back in and use.
Although people use it without using yeast, all my sourdough recipes called for making a yeast bread, then using 1/2 to 1 cup of the sourdough starter. It worked fine for me. When you use it - replenish with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour after you've taken out what you use. Also, occasionally change the container as gunkies (yes, that's an official word) build up on the sides.
I had a sourdough starter for 2 whole years, from the day I moved into our new house. One day, I planned to use it and took the lid off. I was rushing around getting ready for a Christmas party, and my sister and a friend came over to help. They dusted the top of the cabinet above my starter...and apparently some dust floated down into starter. I didn't realize that's what it was...and used it. 2 days later, we kept smelling this dead animal smell...my sourdough had died.
(Alaska Rose)
One more little note. That clear yellowish liquid that rises to the top, is "hootch" and extremely intoxicating. Not suggested for sampling, may lead to blindness. Some people pour the "hootch" off. I just stir it back in. The "hootch" should be stirred back in, no reason to pour it off, keeps things working well stirred in, LOL. Sourdough likes a snort now and then, too.
(theLight)
- On Hooch: It's alcohol, AKA waste, from the bacteria. You will keep a healthier colony going if you pour it off. To offset the loss of liquid, you will need to add slightly more water.
- On water, if you're on city water, let it air out the chlorine or else you'll kill your fragile colony off a little bit every time you feed it.
- If you keep it at room temperature, you will have to feed it every few days to keep a really healthy starter going. If you keep it in the fridge, once a month will do. I use the fridge method for now.
- To keep a really healthy and lively starter, pour out a cup of the starter (use it to bake bread!) and add back a half cup each of four and water. Leave it at the proper temperature to get the colony going before you put it back in the fridge to make it dormant again.
- The ideal temperature is 80 or so degrees for colony growth. I can hold this temp well in my oven with the lamp on inside. Test yours with a thermometer. Over 85-90 and the yeast start's dying. 140 and it's cooked.
- Your bread will probably need to rise longer because sourdough, even a good colony, is less powerful than store bought yeast. I let mine rise for an hour and a half to three hours depending on the temperature.
- To make a starter, there's some debate on where the yeast comes from. Some say the air. Some say the wheat itself. Others use grape skins. I got mine from Friends of Carl. The next logical thing to me (and most successful based on research) is getting it from fresh-ground flour. Not the air.
- Sourdough is a local thing. You can't make a reliable batch of San Francisco Sourdough in NYC for many batches. Apparently. My taste isn't that refined. My sourdough always tastes good to me! :)
- Sourdough is as much science as art. Read up on it.
- It's really easy to keep going once you get the hang of it. Don't give up! Home made sourdough is amazing!
- Clean your starter container well before you use it. No need to breed bacteria you don't want.
- Clean any utensils you use in your starter thoroughly. No need to introduce bacteria you don't want to.
- Use bleached, white flour to feed your colony if you want to keep your strain pure. It will have the least other bacteria in it.
- Don't use a bleached flour to try to start your own culture. Success with it seems low. Use Friends of Carl, get a starter from me, or get another commercial one. If you really want to do it yourself. Find a local miller or local source of wheat and grind it yourself. Failing that, get some local grapes.
Useful sites:
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/br ... dough.html
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/So ... tarter.htm
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4016/s ... emperature
http://www.breadtopia.com/sourdough-starter-management/ <-
REALLY GOOD SITE with videos.
http://carlsfriends.net/ <- Get your starter hear for the cost of a self addressed stamped envelope!