I was told that you can put yeast in the freezer and it will last longer. Is that true? I put my yeast in my freezer and then started wondering if I got the wrong advise. If it was wrong advise, I would be without yeast come Y2K. Please advise. Thanks! Freddie.

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@hotmail.com), February 09, 1999

Answers

Take the yeast out of the freezer and bake a loaf of bread with it. If the dough rises, your ok. Let us know what happens.

-- creampuff (creampuff@cheeze.com), February 09, 1999.

Creampuff, I bought yeast in bulk and hate to open a large yeast bag just to bake one loaf.

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@hotmail.com), February 10, 1999.

I think a "hard" freeze on yeast will probably prevent it from working.

But my wife bought a jar at WalMart for $1 today, so running a test wouldn't be expensive. You're probably going to go to WalMary anyway.

I'm thinking along your lines now, though. Flour in bulk. Yeast in bulk, sugar, salt, butter, powdered milk.

Butter may be a problem, may have to make "dry" bread.

-- DoughMan (Bubba@Bubba.com), February 10, 1999.

Freddie: If you plan to become a baker of any sort, open the bag, take out 1 tablespoon of yeast (or whatever the recipe calls for), seal the bag back up and make your bread! That's the only way your going to find out if your yeast is going to be okay. Always store yeast in a cool, dry dark spot. P.S. I bet if you follow the recipe to a tee, your bread will rise, bake and taste splendid!

-- creampuff (creampuff@cheeze.com), February 10, 1999.

Doughman: I disagree with a "hard freezing will probably prevent it from working." Ever bought and baked "Bridgeford" frozen bread dough? You can make cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls and loaves of bread. The yeast will still work after it's been frozen. Yeast needs a warm atmosphere in order to work. You can even put Bridgeford frozen bread in the refrigerator and it will still rise!

-- creampuff (creampuff@cheez.com), February 10, 1999.

Re: butter or dry toast.....found this on North's food storage forum... haven't tried it yet but will tomorrow... ----- snip In Reply to: 2 recipes for canning butter...which is better? posted by Kim on February 03, 1999 at 23:36:10:

: I have gotten both of the following recipes from this forum. Which is better?

: The Indians (India) have been preserving butter for hundreds of years. Here is the recipie: (VERY EASY) : 1. Use sweet butter only (I do use salted though) : 2. Put the butter in a shallow frying pan and melt the butter. : 3. Turn the heat on the lowest setting possible so that the butter bubbles up one bubble or so at a time. Let this cook for 45 : minutes or till the solids seperate and turn golden. : 4. The milk solids will have settled to the bottom of the pan. Pour the butter through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to seperate the : solids. DO NOT sqeeze the solids : 5. Pour the oil into the container you are going to save it in. Keep it in a cool, dark area. Indians call this ghee, and in Western : cooking circles it is called clarified butter. Indians claim it has kept for up to 100 years. I don't think that I would want to try : that one, but it does keep. The nice thing about ghee is that it has nutty flavor. Supposedly it has an extremely high smoke point. : It will solidify at room temperature. Great for flavoring things.

: Recipe #2

: Place unsalted butter in sauce pan. Bring to slow boil. Remove butter fat foam with spoon. Pour in glass jar and seal. Requires : no refrigeration and lasts lifetime. East Indians have done this for thousands of years.

Not sure about 45 minutes, be careful not to burn. The use unsalted butter in their recipe.

Clarified Butter Instructions

1 Place one pound of unsalted real butter in a one quart sauce pan over low heat. Allow to melt completely then raise heat to medium. Skim off foam as it rises with large spoon. When butter begins to boil, lower heat, cook slowly for fifteen minutes. The butter cooked this way prevents it from mold.

2 The butter is done when the moisture has cooked out and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan have turned a light golden brown. Remove from heat, let cool, pour into clean glass jar and cover with lid. You can pour through a strainer, but it is not critical.

3 Store at room temperature or cooler. Will store indefinitely without refrigeration.

Note: In India clarified butter is called Ghee. It has been prepared this way for thousands of years. Ghee that is older than ten years is considered a medicinal food.

Reference books

Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra

Ayurvedic Healing by David Frawley

-- Shelia (shelia@active-stream.com), February 10, 1999.

I asked Red Star the same question about their granular (not cake) yeast. They said, sure, but noted that frozen or refrigerated yeast loses its potency at room temperature much more quickly than yeast which has not been refrigerated or frozen, but which has been kept cool, dark and dry. They've tested their yeast and found it good for one year in cool, dark, dry storage. Red Star never had the need to test it for longer but pointed out that a similar European yeast was fresh for several years when properly stored. You can also preserve yeast by means of a sourdough starter--search for "sourdough bread" with any good engine and you'll get lots of recipes.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 10, 1999.

Can you freeze beer??

-- Johnny (3@DD2.121), February 10, 1999.

No butter and can't bake bread?????? Then I've been doing something REALLY wrong for the past 8 weeks (at 1-3 loaves per week) by using olive oil in place of butter. I guess I won't tell the bread machine or the loaves that have come out almost better than perfect.

Chuck

-- Chuck, night driver (rienzoo@en.com), February 10, 1999.

Freddie: I don't know the answer to your yeast question but I can suggest an alternative-sourdough. My bread recipe uses sourdough-the starter is sugar, warm water and potato flakes. You use oil for the fat in the recipe. Makes wonderful bread. It's what I'm counting on during the "great adventure." Linda

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), February 10, 1999.

Newbiebutnodummy: Could we have the receipe for the bread? I've been trying out the bread machine boxed bread mixes (I paid $1.29 each), and they are great! You don't need a bread machine either to use these mixes. I plan to store 50 boxes, less hassle than storing the yeast, flour, etc separate.

-- creampuff (creampuff@cheez.com), February 10, 1999.

Absolutely, done it for years. Also keeps well in fridge. Hearty little boogers. Can refridge sourdough starter too so you don't have to use it as often (at least while your fride works) I keep my collection of 6 SD starters in quart jars. Use few times a year- no prob

-- EC (JHnck1776@aol.com), February 10, 1999.

I believe you can also dehydrate the starter for longer shelf life.

-- Chuck, night driver (rienzoo@en.com), February 10, 1999.

Creampuff-do you want the recipe given over this post or e-mailed to you. It's of medium length. Glad to oblige either way. Linda

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), February 10, 1999.

Over the net so others can copy it down! Thanks so much!

-- creampuff (creampuff@cheez.com), February 11, 1999.

Creampuff, etal: I'll try to make this as simple as possible. First: to START the starter: Mix together: 1/2 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoons potato flakes, 1 cup warm water and a little bit of yeast (1/2 teaspoon) sprinkled on top. (The yeast is only used to start your starter-you won't need it again.) Keep in glass quart jar at room temperature; cover with lid that's had holes poked in it. Starter is ready to use when it has begun to foam-usually 3 days or so. Now you have sourdough starter. Next: to mix up dough: In large bowl, mix: 1/4 c sugar, 1/2 c oil, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 c. warm water and 1 c starter. Mix with whisk. Add 2. cups flour, stir again with whisk. Add 4 c flour, stir with spoon. Cover bowl with cloth and leave on counter for 8 hours or overnight. Here, I depart from the original recipe which calls for kneading-I have carpal tunnel syndrome and can't knead bread, SOOO, I generously (1/3 c.?)sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, divide the dough in half and form it into loaves. Place in greased loaf pan. Cover with cloth and let rise until double-about 4 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. It's best to bake when no one is home, otherwise the bread never makes it to the dinner table. The thing I like about this bread is that 'tho the process is long(?) from start to finish, you only have a minimum of effort at any point along the line. I usually feed my starter in the morning, let it "work" all day, then mix up the dough at night. The next morning, I shape the dough into loaves, leave to rise and after lunch it is ready to bake. By dinner, it is cool enough to slice without tearing. (To FEED the starter, mix in 1/2 c sugar, 3 T potato flakes, 1 cup warm water.) By the way, this starter is not sentient so don't feel bad about throwing it out if you get too much in your jar. I've found that if you have more than about 1 cup of starter in your jar and then feed it, that it doesn't "work" very well. There are lots of variations: use half and half white and whole wheat flours-takes less flour; or substitute 1/2 c wheat germ for 1/2 c flour; make great cinnamon bread by rolling out the dough after the first rising. (Roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, spread with soft margarine, sprinkle with sugar first, then cinnamon, roll tightly and place into pan.) You can also make into rolls. And if the dough doesn't rise for some strange reason after you've left it for the 8 hours, dip it out with a large spoon and deep-fry it. Eat with honey butter or roll in cinnamon sugar. There's no way to lose. My next project is to figure out how to bake without my oven. Let's see-gas grill, Coleman stove, buddy burner? Enjoy the smell and taste! Linda

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), February 11, 1999.