February 15, 2015 - 6:34am
fresh yeast
If this is the wrong place for this apologies it's my first post here.
I have wanted tried a few times and it to make bread for some time, i have tried a few times and it has been real bad. My wife bought me a course in bread making course for christmas, i have done this and have made my first edible loaf of bread.
I live in the hampshire, surrey, berkshire area. Does anyone know where to get fresh yeast from in this area, i have tried big supermarkets and they do not have it for customers.
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Just ask them.
From the bakery counter. They will sell you 200g of yeast for about 70p. Enough to last many weeks.
The difference in making bread with fresh yeast vs. instant dried yeast is so minimal it's not worth the effort IME. Fresh yeast is cheaper, but only in large quantities - the sort of quantities that a home baker will need will result in most of it going off or stinking out your fridge.
If you want to buy it online, then there's a chap on ebay who sells it, or Bertiniet or Shipton Mill - who sell the only Organic yeast, fresh or dried that you can buy in Europe - If that sort of thing bothers you. (It bothers me, so I only buy the Bioreal stuff from shipton mill now)
Otherwise - some supermarkets and larger bakeries will give/sell you some. If they tell you its illegal to sell because it's a "live" product then smile, nod and walk away - they're spouting rubbish but it's not worth your while arguing with them. If they just cut off a block and give it to you, then great - but you won't know the shelf-life, so use it quickly. (It's 4 weeks from manufacture and hopefully any busy bakery will have such a high turnover that you'll get stuff with at least 2 weeks life left, hopefully) Keep it in clingfilm in a sealed tub - it will stink your fridge out.
Or get a sourdough starter going - then you can make your own yeast (organic or otherwise!)
-Gordon
"The difference in making bread with fresh yeast vs. instant dried yeast is so minimal it's not worth the effort IME. "
I disagree with this statement. Fresh yeast for me is far superior. It's 100% reliable, no chance that is has gone inactive or likely to give a poor rise. Requires no "pre-soaking" or fermenting, smells absolutely fantastic.
Fresh yeast is cheaper, but only in large quantities - the sort of quantities that a home baker will need will result in most of it going off or stinking out your fridge.
As per previous post, if you just want regular fresh baker's yeast you can get 200g of the stuff for 70p at Sainsbury's. It's almost free ! 200g will last me months.
"I only buy the Bioreal stuff from shipton mill now"
I've been meaning to try Shipton's bioreal stuff. Does it perform the same as regular fresh yeast?
"It's 4 weeks from manufacture and hopefully any busy bakery will have such a high turnover that you'll get stuff with at least 2 weeks life left, hopefully) Keep it in clingfilm in a sealed tub - it will stink your fridge out"
I've found it lasts many many weeks and doesn't smell the fridge out at all
I've tried both the fresh and dried. Both just work. I add dried directly into the flour. The fresh was tried just as an experiment. It worked too, but shelf life is limited (all fresh yeasts have a stated 4-week life from what I could find).
And you may be able to go to a supermarket to get the stuff - the nearest one to me that would give me any is a Tesco 17 miles away. I don't shop at Tesco, so it's never on my route for anything.
I've found dried yeast to be 100% reliable when I use it. My sourdough is also 100% reliable too which is what I use almost all the time anyway.
-Gordon
tastes better!
Does taste better, in my humble estimation as well. Of course, that opinion hasn't been qualitatively proven with controlled studies. Just a 'sense'. One day I will endeavor to do a side-by-side comparison and see what happens.
Franc
I have tried dried yeast but went to a evening bread making course and the bread we made there was mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Have tried various big supermarkets and they say no on Health and Safety grounds, what a load of bullshit. Anyway i went to a local baker and got half a kilo for one pound. Have divided it up kept two in the fridge for tomorrow and the rest in the freezer.
Thanks for the answers though i seem to have made some waves lol.
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