OT thinking outside the box

[default]

I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

[Cloud Hobbit]

Post by default
almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always

goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have >subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a >different way.

Post by default
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

And got rid of your headache.😇😷

[Christopher A. Lee]

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

Why not make European-style pancakes, ie crepes?

[Yap Honghor]

Post by Christopher A. Lee

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

Why not make European-style pancakes, ie crepes?

We have the same preparation of crepe in the East, fun to cook...

[Don Martin]

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

And the pancakes make one's headaches go away (good news for those
hung over in the morning--_if_ they are capable of _eating_ any
pancakes).

(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

[LinuxGal]

Post by Don Martin
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

Pickup Artist: "In the morning how do you like your eggs?"

Me: "Unfertilized!"

[Don Martin]

Post by LinuxGal

Post by Don Martin
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

Pickup Artist: "In the morning how do you like your eggs?"
Me: "Unfertilized!"

And Father Falloppio had such high hopes, too!

[SkyEyes]

Post by LinuxGal

Post by Don Martin
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

Pickup Artist: "In the morning how do you like your eggs?"
Me: "Unfertilized!"

Ow. That made iced tea come out of my nose.

Brenda Nelson, A.A. #34
BAAWA Knight of the Golden Litterbox
Professor of Feline Thermometrics and Cat-Herding
***@cox.net

[d***@cox.net]

Post by LinuxGal

Post by Don Martin
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

Pickup Artist: "In the morning how do you like your eggs?"
Me: "Unfertilized!"

You wife as no choice but to agree.
the dukester, American-American

[unknown]

Post by d***@cox.net

Post by LinuxGal

Post by Don Martin
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

Pickup Artist: "In the morning how do you like your eggs?"
Me: "Unfertilized!"

You wife as no choice but to agree.

I don't know about that. I'm sure there's a turkey
baster in the kitchen drawer.

[%]

Post by unknown

Post by d***@cox.net

Post by LinuxGal

Post by Don Martin
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

Pickup Artist: "In the morning how do you like your eggs?"
Me: "Unfertilized!"

You wife as no choice but to agree.

I don't know about that. I'm sure there's a turkey
baster in the kitchen drawer.

yea but is it one you haven't pushed up your ass yet

[Yap Honghor]

Post by d***@cox.net

Post by LinuxGal

Post by Don Martin
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

Pickup Artist: "In the morning how do you like your eggs?"
Me: "Unfertilized!"

You wife as no choice but to agree.

While you don't have one to disagree your whole life....pathetic and pitiful!!!

[default]

On Wed, 20 May 2020 08:14:20 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

And the pancakes make one's headaches go away (good news for those
hung over in the morning--_if_ they are capable of _eating_ any
pancakes).
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

recipe?

I bake rolls on average twice a week and am pretty good at it after
all these years, but have yet to concoct a decent yeast-risen pancake
batter.

[Don Martin]

Post by default
On Wed, 20 May 2020 08:14:20 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

And the pancakes make one's headaches go away (good news for those
hung over in the morning--_if_ they are capable of _eating_ any
pancakes).
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

recipe?
I bake rolls on average twice a week and am pretty good at it after
all these years, but have yet to concoct a decent yeast-risen pancake
batter.

Pancakes (scalable recipe)

1 quart buttermilk
3+ cups flour
1 stick butter
salt to taste
yeast
1/2 cup water
4 eggs

The night before, heat buttermilk in saucepan with stick of
butter floating in it. When butter melts, take off heat. In
a large bowl, put in flour (all-purpose wheat plus oat or
barley flour is my favorite) and salt. Make pit in the
center, put yeast in pit and pour in 1/2 cup warm water to
start. When milk/butter is the temperature of a hot bath,
add to flour mixture and whisk in until smooth. Put a plate
over the bowl and leave out overnight.

First thing in the morning, whisk down frothy mix in bowl,
add four eggs and whisk in. I prefer thin pancakes, and add
regular milk to get the right consistency at this time. Set
aside to wait for everyone else to get up (cooks _are_ the
first up, right?); this is your chance to make bacon, sausage
or whatever your favorite source of your daily required
cholesterol may happen to be. Fry pancakes on a
hot, lightly oiled griddle until beautifully tan. Serve.

[default]

On Sat, 23 May 2020 09:38:03 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
On Wed, 20 May 2020 08:14:20 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

And the pancakes make one's headaches go away (good news for those
hung over in the morning--_if_ they are capable of _eating_ any
pancakes).
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

recipe?
I bake rolls on average twice a week and am pretty good at it after
all these years, but have yet to concoct a decent yeast-risen pancake
batter.

Pancakes (scalable recipe)
1 quart buttermilk
3+ cups flour
1 stick butter
salt to taste
yeast
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
The night before, heat buttermilk in saucepan with stick of
butter floating in it. When butter melts, take off heat. In
a large bowl, put in flour (all-purpose wheat plus oat or
barley flour is my favorite) and salt. Make pit in the
center, put yeast in pit and pour in 1/2 cup warm water to
start. When milk/butter is the temperature of a hot bath,
add to flour mixture and whisk in until smooth. Put a plate
over the bowl and leave out overnight.
First thing in the morning, whisk down frothy mix in bowl,
add four eggs and whisk in. I prefer thin pancakes, and add
regular milk to get the right consistency at this time. Set
aside to wait for everyone else to get up (cooks _are_ the
first up, right?); this is your chance to make bacon, sausage
or whatever your favorite source of your daily required
cholesterol may happen to be. Fry pancakes on a
hot, lightly oiled griddle until beautifully tan. Serve.

Thanks. I too am a believer in barley flour. Preferably the malted
variety "diastatic malt flour" or "crushed barley malt." You have to
use it sparingly (2 heaping Tbsp per 3 cups of wheat flour) or you
wind up with doughy bread but the enzymes do wonders for, the
lightness of the loaf, good flavor, and it keeps it fresh longer.

Crushed "crystal malt" is good for color and texture (along with fiber
since it contains barley hulls). It is malted barley that has been
toasted and the color ranges from pale to black. I put 70 lovibond
(color-pale),

Lately I've been toasting rolled oats and using that for an ingredient
and topping. Excellent IMO. I spray the rolls with water prior to
rising, and again after they are risen and I'm waiting on the oven to
heat - then the toppings stick very well.

I'll give the pancake recipe a go. (have to get some buttermilk)
Thanks again.

I've played around using store-bought buttermilk for a starter culture
- you end up with a much creamier and less acidic result. This was
primarily a way to keep milk for a few days without refrigeration back
when I was more nomadic.

[Don Martin]

Post by default
On Sat, 23 May 2020 09:38:03 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
On Wed, 20 May 2020 08:14:20 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

And the pancakes make one's headaches go away (good news for those
hung over in the morning--_if_ they are capable of _eating_ any
pancakes).
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

recipe?
I bake rolls on average twice a week and am pretty good at it after
all these years, but have yet to concoct a decent yeast-risen pancake
batter.

Pancakes (scalable recipe)
1 quart buttermilk
3+ cups flour
1 stick butter
salt to taste
yeast
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
The night before, heat buttermilk in saucepan with stick of
butter floating in it. When butter melts, take off heat. In
a large bowl, put in flour (all-purpose wheat plus oat or
barley flour is my favorite) and salt. Make pit in the
center, put yeast in pit and pour in 1/2 cup warm water to
start. When milk/butter is the temperature of a hot bath,
add to flour mixture and whisk in until smooth. Put a plate
over the bowl and leave out overnight.
First thing in the morning, whisk down frothy mix in bowl,
add four eggs and whisk in. I prefer thin pancakes, and add
regular milk to get the right consistency at this time. Set
aside to wait for everyone else to get up (cooks _are_ the
first up, right?); this is your chance to make bacon, sausage
or whatever your favorite source of your daily required
cholesterol may happen to be. Fry pancakes on a
hot, lightly oiled griddle until beautifully tan. Serve.

Thanks. I too am a believer in barley flour. Preferably the malted
variety "diastatic malt flour" or "crushed barley malt." You have to
use it sparingly (2 heaping Tbsp per 3 cups of wheat flour) or you
wind up with doughy bread but the enzymes do wonders for, the
lightness of the loaf, good flavor, and it keeps it fresh longer.
Crushed "crystal malt" is good for color and texture (along with fiber
since it contains barley hulls). It is malted barley that has been
toasted and the color ranges from pale to black. I put 70 lovibond
(color-pale),
Lately I've been toasting rolled oats and using that for an ingredient
and topping. Excellent IMO. I spray the rolls with water prior to
rising, and again after they are risen and I'm waiting on the oven to
heat - then the toppings stick very well.
I'll give the pancake recipe a go. (have to get some buttermilk)
Thanks again.
I've played around using store-bought buttermilk for a starter culture
- you end up with a much creamier and less acidic result. This was
primarily a way to keep milk for a few days without refrigeration back
when I was more nomadic.

I have used malt in the past, but got away from it when I made bread
less often (my late wife couldn't resist it and needed to). Back in
the 70s, I kept the same culture of starter going for five years, with
at least one batch per week, but more often two. I let the Kitchen
Aid mixer with dough hook do the heavy lifting until it broke (it was
the swing-up sort and its supporting arm was stressed by dough). I
couldn't afford to replace it at the time, so made bread less often,
losing the culture. I have a sturdier mixer now and should get back
into sourdough with a bit of malt.

[default]

On Sun, 24 May 2020 08:59:00 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
On Sat, 23 May 2020 09:38:03 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
On Wed, 20 May 2020 08:14:20 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

And the pancakes make one's headaches go away (good news for those
hung over in the morning--_if_ they are capable of _eating_ any
pancakes).
(Me, I start the batter the night before with yeast, and add the eggs
in the morning).

recipe?
I bake rolls on average twice a week and am pretty good at it after
all these years, but have yet to concoct a decent yeast-risen pancake
batter.

Pancakes (scalable recipe)
1 quart buttermilk
3+ cups flour
1 stick butter
salt to taste
yeast
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
The night before, heat buttermilk in saucepan with stick of
butter floating in it. When butter melts, take off heat. In
a large bowl, put in flour (all-purpose wheat plus oat or
barley flour is my favorite) and salt. Make pit in the
center, put yeast in pit and pour in 1/2 cup warm water to
start. When milk/butter is the temperature of a hot bath,
add to flour mixture and whisk in until smooth. Put a plate
over the bowl and leave out overnight.
First thing in the morning, whisk down frothy mix in bowl,
add four eggs and whisk in. I prefer thin pancakes, and add
regular milk to get the right consistency at this time. Set
aside to wait for everyone else to get up (cooks _are_ the
first up, right?); this is your chance to make bacon, sausage
or whatever your favorite source of your daily required
cholesterol may happen to be. Fry pancakes on a
hot, lightly oiled griddle until beautifully tan. Serve.

Thanks. I too am a believer in barley flour. Preferably the malted
variety "diastatic malt flour" or "crushed barley malt." You have to
use it sparingly (2 heaping Tbsp per 3 cups of wheat flour) or you
wind up with doughy bread but the enzymes do wonders for, the
lightness of the loaf, good flavor, and it keeps it fresh longer.
Crushed "crystal malt" is good for color and texture (along with fiber
since it contains barley hulls). It is malted barley that has been
toasted and the color ranges from pale to black. I put 70 lovibond
(color-pale),
Lately I've been toasting rolled oats and using that for an ingredient
and topping. Excellent IMO. I spray the rolls with water prior to
rising, and again after they are risen and I'm waiting on the oven to
heat - then the toppings stick very well.
I'll give the pancake recipe a go. (have to get some buttermilk)
Thanks again.
I've played around using store-bought buttermilk for a starter culture
- you end up with a much creamier and less acidic result. This was
primarily a way to keep milk for a few days without refrigeration back
when I was more nomadic.

I have used malt in the past, but got away from it when I made bread
less often (my late wife couldn't resist it and needed to). Back in
the 70s, I kept the same culture of starter going for five years, with
at least one batch per week, but more often two. I let the Kitchen
Aid mixer with dough hook do the heavy lifting until it broke (it was
the swing-up sort and its supporting arm was stressed by dough). I
couldn't afford to replace it at the time, so made bread less often,
losing the culture. I have a sturdier mixer now and should get back
into sourdough with a bit of malt.

Malt is good for the enzyme activity. One of the enzymes works up to
130F and the other 160. (the things you learn making beer) Yeast
really really likes barley malt and the sugars it produces (with
enzymes) more than the plain starch in wheat flour.

I have one of the ancient Kitchen Aid mixers with the crank lift. In
some 30+ years I've put in one set of brushes, replaced the dough hook
and swapped out the machine screws for hex head bolts on the mixer
head.

I use it to grind meat, grind/break grain, and bread making.

I've been buying flour in 25 lb sacks and using 3 gallon plastic
buckets for storage. Yeast is 1 kilo bricks of freeze dried which
keeps in a glass jar in the refer (for a year if it lasted that long).

What kind of mixer did you opt for? I've been lusting after a 15
gallon (insane I know) used Hobart 4 speed commercial mixer, but as
long as I can keep the KA working there's little point - and the
serious mixer takes up a lot of room.

I was never very successful with sourdough. The one time I had
excellent sour dough my (then girlfriend, now) wife made it. She had
it rising in front of the open oven on a summer day. I got to her
house and persuaded her to take a conjugal break. Some 5 hours later
we had the best ever sourdough. (and may give new meaning to "yeast
infection")

Bread and beer are complimentary skills. In prison they use bread to
start the fermentation of "raisin jack" (my sister worked in a prison
infirmary). It was whatever sugar or fruits they could use for mash,
and they'd drink the cloudy mixture yeast and all.

Wine made from Welch Grape Juice isn't bad either. I had to try
making it, one beer making season, after reading about how
compound-dwelling ex-pats get along in Muslim countries.

The Egyptians kept their beer making and bread making in the same area
they kept the sheep. Theory has it that the yeast was plentiful in
the straw used for sheep bedding. (an ancient funeral model housed in
the Metropolitan Museum in NY has/had it when I was there)

Bumming around the country with a tent and motorcycle, I could always
depend on a job cooking (often for minimum wage, but my living
expenses were next to nothing too, and I didn't pay tax). Places like
Yellowstone Park had free room and board (not too shabby when you
consider the 10:1 ratio of college age women to men) and rail road
work included room (a "camper car - stock car with bunks and a wood
stove) and board (the foreman's girl friend(s) moonlighted cooking for
us, if we signed over the food allotment)

[Don Martin]

On Sun, 24 May 2020 12:49:40 -0400, default <***@defaulter.net>
wrote:

[[snippage to shorten the load]]

Post by default

Post by Don Martin

Post by default
I've played around using store-bought buttermilk for a starter culture
- you end up with a much creamier and less acidic result. This was
primarily a way to keep milk for a few days without refrigeration back
when I was more nomadic.

I have used malt in the past, but got away from it when I made bread
less often (my late wife couldn't resist it and needed to). Back in
the 70s, I kept the same culture of starter going for five years, with
at least one batch per week, but more often two. I let the Kitchen
Aid mixer with dough hook do the heavy lifting until it broke (it was
the swing-up sort and its supporting arm was stressed by dough). I
couldn't afford to replace it at the time, so made bread less often,
losing the culture. I have a sturdier mixer now and should get back
into sourdough with a bit of malt.

Malt is good for the enzyme activity. One of the enzymes works up to
130F and the other 160. (the things you learn making beer) Yeast
really really likes barley malt and the sugars it produces (with
enzymes) more than the plain starch in wheat flour.
I have one of the ancient Kitchen Aid mixers with the crank lift. In
some 30+ years I've put in one set of brushes, replaced the dough hook
and swapped out the machine screws for hex head bolts on the mixer
head.
I use it to grind meat, grind/break grain, and bread making.
I've been buying flour in 25 lb sacks and using 3 gallon plastic
buckets for storage. Yeast is 1 kilo bricks of freeze dried which
keeps in a glass jar in the refer (for a year if it lasted that long).
What kind of mixer did you opt for? I've been lusting after a 15
gallon (insane I know) used Hobart 4 speed commercial mixer, but as
long as I can keep the KA working there's little point - and the
serious mixer takes up a lot of room.
I was never very successful with sourdough. The one time I had
excellent sour dough my (then girlfriend, now) wife made it. She had
it rising in front of the open oven on a summer day. I got to her
house and persuaded her to take a conjugal break. Some 5 hours later
we had the best ever sourdough. (and may give new meaning to "yeast
infection")
Bread and beer are complimentary skills. In prison they use bread to
start the fermentation of "raisin jack" (my sister worked in a prison
infirmary). It was whatever sugar or fruits they could use for mash,
and they'd drink the cloudy mixture yeast and all.
Wine made from Welch Grape Juice isn't bad either. I had to try
making it, one beer making season, after reading about how
compound-dwelling ex-pats get along in Muslim countries.
The Egyptians kept their beer making and bread making in the same area
they kept the sheep. Theory has it that the yeast was plentiful in
the straw used for sheep bedding. (an ancient funeral model housed in
the Metropolitan Museum in NY has/had it when I was there)

I suspect yeast is pretty plentiful everywhere. Grape skins, for
instance, are loaded with it (which is why I confront teetotaling
christians with the impossibility of Jesus sticking with grape juice
in the climate of Israel).

Post by default
Bumming around the country with a tent and motorcycle, I could always
depend on a job cooking (often for minimum wage, but my living
expenses were next to nothing too, and I didn't pay tax). Places like
Yellowstone Park had free room and board (not too shabby when you
consider the 10:1 ratio of college age women to men) and rail road
work included room (a "camper car - stock car with bunks and a wood
stove) and board (the foreman's girl friend(s) moonlighted cooking for
us, if we signed over the food allotment)

I have been a short order cook in a Richmond cafe where one satisfied
customer proposed marriage who whoever it was that had made those
biscuits. I declined his offer.

My current mixer is a Kitchen Aid, but the lever-lift sort, which is
much sturdier than the swing-up head type that broke. I once had the
joy of using a restaurant model that processed a ten-pound load of
flour and the other stuff with ease--I was making the pancakes above
for a summer art colony in which my wife was participating. Nobody
told me that they were essentially vegetarian, and I did up a
sufficient batch of bacon to go alone with the pancakes. Strangely
enough, neither a crumb of bacon nor a drop of batter was left over
afterward (artists are _so_ seduceable!).

The first thing about sourdough is to get a good starter (YouTube is
filled with clips on capturing your own, but the results are variable
accorting to what particular yeast species was floating around the day
you put out the potato water (or the bees collected the nectar). I
think it worthwhile to get an established strain, San Franciscan or
Alaskan) and run with it. Now you might luck out and catch a good
wild yeast the first time, but more likely you will need more than one
try to get bread that really tastes good, and you toss out the
attempts. Rising isn't everything.

The second thing is that you must make bread with it reliably, at
least once a week. You dump your starter (usually about a cup) into a
loose flour and water mixture the night before and let it work. The
next morning you put a cup of _that_ into the clean starter jar and
refrigerate it, while adding salt and flour into the overnight foaming
mix to make bread dough. I have a couple of Siamese twin baguette
pans in which I made baguettes with the dough. They may look long,
but they can disappear pretty fast.

One of my happiest memories with bread was in the 70s; my late son was
in a men's a cappela singing group, the Kokosingers, at Kenyon
College, and in the spring they went on tour to other colleges. As
they were headed for one on the other side of our home, they warned us
they would be stopping around noon. Braced for the onslaught, we did
a whole ham, a large beef roast, chicken, and three batches of bread.
There was a salad, too, of course, and some veggies for health's sake.
They arrived right on time, demolished the ham, beef, and chicken
along with the salad, and decimated the veggies. The bread vanished,
too (young males ~20: need I say more?). They sang us some their
songs, and got into the huge van they had hired. Our last view of
them was of the van headed south; an arm from a right-side rear window
waving a baguette.

[default]

On Sun, 24 May 2020 17:05:19 -0400, Don Martin

Post by Don Martin
I have been a short order cook in a Richmond cafe where one satisfied
customer proposed marriage who whoever it was that had made those

I have one woman who walks her dog early in the mornings who says the
smell of bread baking, bacon and coffee... The dog and her husband
are less engaging.

Post by Don Martin
biscuits. I declined his offer.
My current mixer is a Kitchen Aid, but the lever-lift sort, which is
much sturdier than the swing-up head type that broke. I once had the
joy of using a restaurant model that processed a ten-pound load of
flour and the other stuff with ease--I was making the pancakes above
for a summer art colony in which my wife was participating. Nobody
told me that they were essentially vegetarian, and I did up a
sufficient batch of bacon to go alone with the pancakes. Strangely
enough, neither a crumb of bacon nor a drop of batter was left over
afterward (artists are _so_ seduceable!).
The first thing about sourdough is to get a good starter (YouTube is
filled with clips on capturing your own, but the results are variable
accorting to what particular yeast species was floating around the day
you put out the potato water (or the bees collected the nectar). I
think it worthwhile to get an established strain, San Franciscan or
Alaskan) and run with it. Now you might luck out and catch a good
wild yeast the first time, but more likely you will need more than one
try to get bread that really tastes good, and you toss out the
attempts. Rising isn't everything.
The second thing is that you must make bread with it reliably, at
least once a week. You dump your starter (usually about a cup) into a
loose flour and water mixture the night before and let it work. The
next morning you put a cup of _that_ into the clean starter jar and
refrigerate it, while adding salt and flour into the overnight foaming
mix to make bread dough. I have a couple of Siamese twin baguette
pans in which I made baguettes with the dough. They may look long,
but they can disappear pretty fast.
One of my happiest memories with bread was in the 70s; my late son was
in a men's a cappela singing group, the Kokosingers, at Kenyon
College, and in the spring they went on tour to other colleges. As
they were headed for one on the other side of our home, they warned us
they would be stopping around noon. Braced for the onslaught, we did
a whole ham, a large beef roast, chicken, and three batches of bread.
There was a salad, too, of course, and some veggies for health's sake.
They arrived right on time, demolished the ham, beef, and chicken
along with the salad, and decimated the veggies. The bread vanished,
too (young males ~20: need I say more?). They sang us some their
songs, and got into the huge van they had hired. Our last view of
them was of the van headed south; an arm from a right-side rear window
waving a baguette.

Well, you've explained the problem with sourdoughs. That's more of a
commitment than I am willing to make. I can be gone for more than a
month so there'd be no way to refresh the starter, and I'm lazy enough
to overlook it too. Then I'd only want it on occasion.

But we put a man on the moon... Surely someone has already come up
with a freeze dried sourdough yeast.

Ah, here it is
Putting your sourdough starter on hold
For best long-term storage, dry it.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2015/05/01/putting-sourdough-starter-hold

and here:
https://www.amazon.com/Breadtopia-Sourdough-Starter/dp/B002C08SS2

I'll have to look into this a little more. I have had perfectly good
beers made from yeast in beers that have been stored, in bottles,
under normal fermentation pressure, from one year to the next.

Open a bottle of last years brew and tip it into the carboy filled
with warm wort and it is off and running...

While on the topic, I wonder what ever happened to the old time yeast?
I remember my grandmother baking bread with yeast cakes and dried
yeast years ago and the yeast gave it a distinct flavor. The yeast
available these days, works faster, works better, tolerates a higher
alcohol content and continues to work, but the taste isn't there, it
is almost totally neutral.


I transferred the pancake recipe to Word Perfect, calculated some more
reasonable batch sizes and will give it a try.

[Don Martin]

Post by default
While on the topic, I wonder what ever happened to the old time yeast?
I remember my grandmother baking bread with yeast cakes and dried
yeast years ago and the yeast gave it a distinct flavor. The yeast
available these days, works faster, works better, tolerates a higher
alcohol content and continues to work, but the taste isn't there, it
is almost totally neutral.

I think total neutrality is the new standard: that's why I want to
get back into sourdough. Thanks for the URLs for drying it out for
long-term storage. Probably everybody ought to do this as a backup.
When our house got running water (and an _inside_ toilet!), I was with
my mom when she went to a bakery and bought a couple of 1-pound blocks
of the old cake yeast, but not to make a few hundred loaves of
bread--it was a "starter" for the septic tank.

Wonderful stuff, yeast.

[Ivan The Terrible]

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

Put a cup of Strichnine in it

[default]

On Sun, 24 May 2020 06:36:13 -0700 (PDT), Ivan The Terrible

Post by Ivan The Terrible

Post by default
I almost never use baking powder and in this damp climate it always
goes bad before it gets used more than once, I had a rare desire for
pancakes this morning and no baking powder. I might have subbed
acetic acid or vinegar and baking soda, but hit on a different way.
Alka-Seltzer! Ground up some tabs and it worked like a champ.

Put a cup of Strichnine in it

Religious morality? got it.