Homemade Yeast- Make Your Own and Save $$$

                                                                 Yeast is yeast  ??

Yesterday, at the store a three pack of Fleischmann's  yeast cost $2.25, now it is a great product, a solid and reliable brand, no fail ever for me, but it just cost too much .

Call me "green, frugal, cheap, or just smart" I do not buy store bought yeast anymore.

In the "old days" folks needed yeast to cook their daily bread-  Fleischmanns did not exist. What did they do?

"They extended the yeast that they already had," it is a simple natural process that  I have up-dated to modern ingredients and measurements.

3 Packets of regular active yeast - not rapid rise

2 Cups of Corn Meal- Approx.

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1/2 Cup of Flour

1 Teaspoon of Ginger (either fresh grated or powdered)

Enough potatoes peeled and cooked  to make 1 cup of mashed potatoes

Peel and cook the potatoes until soft drain and mash reserving 1/2 cup of the coking liquid.

In a medium bowl add the 1/2 cup of  potato liquid (cooled to between 105-107F.) to three packets of Active Dry Yeast- mix well.

Set this bowl aside for 10-15 minute until the mixture gets foamy.

 Into a large bowl add  the "working" yeast/potato water to:

1/2 cup flour

 1/2 sugar

  1 cup of coled mashed potatoes

  1 Tablespoon of ground Ginger


 Set the bowl aside loosely covered with a kitchen towel until the mixture has risen and is bubbly. The time it takes for this step depends on the warmth of the room.


 

Let the mixture "work" until it is nice and foamy - in warm weather, this should take just a couple of hours.

Start stirring in the cornmeal, a little at a time, until you have achieved a  thick solid base that can be rolled out.

Place on  cornmeal dusted waxed paper and dust  the  surface also lightly with cornmeal. I use a full sized baking pan with a waxed paper covering to sandwich in the mixture. roll out until about 1/8" thick.

After the "dough" has been rolled out 1/8" thick,remove top sheet of waxed paper. This can then be cut into packet-sized pieces and air dried or placed in a food dehydrator (on low setting).

It took 24 hours to air dry this batch.

When completely dry, use a food processor to grind yeast mixture until it is "crumbles."/ or wrap as "cakes"  The yeast will store in an airtight container for up to a year in your freezer.

When your supply starts to get low, just start over from Step One with 3 tablespoons of your homemade yeast mix.

I use 1 tablespoon of yeast to = one package of yeast.

This yeast mixture will be slower to proof/rise, but I'm never in a hurry when baking.

These are the bagels that I made using this "extended yeast mixture."

Eight were made, I just forgot to tell the folks I needed pictures.