"jmm1951" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Being a kind of perpetual advanced beginner when it comes to cooking,
> I am always playing around with different ideas and ways of
> economizing. SInce yeast is kind of expensive (relative to flour and
> salt) when you get it in individual packets, (though cheaper when
> bought at Sam's Club), I thought I would look at ways of using natural
> yeasts, etc.
>
> An old library book on breads (forget the title) gave me this recipe:
>
> ***
> Witch Yeast
>
> 1 cup mashed potato
> 1/4 cup sugar
> 2 teaspoons salt
> 1 cup warm water
>
> Stir together in jar and cover with cloth. Leave 2 days. Use or sea
> and refrigerate.
>
> ***
>
> So I gave this a whirl and it worked fine. Made a loaf of bread with a
> stirred batter of about 50% white bread flour, 50% rye flour, plus
> some water, salt and caraway seeds. Placed it in baking tin, covered
> it with cling film, and left it on the kitchen counter for a few
> hours. It eventually doubled in size. (My kitchen is a Florida kitchen
> and is not air-conditioned, so if you live in Greenland, you may get
> different results.)
>
> I baked it the normal way. (Pan of steaming H2O in electric oven, 10
> mins at 450, then 25 mins at 375.)
>
> Result perfect loaf, soft crust, chewy, tight crumb, nice flavor,
> except for one thing. IT SMELLS OF POTATOES. Well, duh, silly me, of
> course it does, and it went fine with my lunch today of borsch with
> sour cream and bread and butter.
>
> Now, I have another recipe for a sourdough starter, which is coming
> along fine:
>
> ***
>
> 2 cups rye flour
> 1 1/2 cups warm water
> 1 package dry yeast
> 1 slice onion.
>
> Stir, cover, stand 3 days. Remove onion. Use or seal and refridgerate.
>
> ***
>
> So far this smells wonderful, and I am sure it will work fine and make
> an even better bread, but it still has yeast in it. Anyone have any
> ideas on making a good sourdough starter for a rye loaf without using
> any yeast?
>
>
A bit OT, but I buy Red Star instant yeast in a two lb foil bag at Costco
and keep it frozen.
It lasts for years. It's extremely cheap. <$5/two lb bag.

Kent