A question for serious bread makers... (ingredients, organic, health, cake)

[mrstewart]

I have always used instant and active dry yeast but am interested in trying fresh or compressed yeast. Does anyone have experience using this yeast?

Also, does anyone order their flour from a local mill? I would love any information about mills. Maybe they will ship to me in Virginia if they are not in my region.

Thank you so much! Happy kneading!

[buckhead]

I make bread frequently. Tonight I am baking some artisan rye bread...things ran very late today so I am still baking as I type this. As far as the refrigerated, compressed yeast goes, it works well, but down here in the South you won't find it...maybe once you get in Texas of farther west you can, but it does not ship or keep well here so the stores don't generally carry it. It is a fresh product so the shelf life is very short. Be very strict about not using expired yeast cakes for that reason.

I sometimes order flour, but I can usually find the items I need in local grocery and specialty shops. Good all around flours to use are the King Arthur products that your local store probably carries. Kroger and Publix around here are good at carrying the basic ones I use, King Arthur Bread Flour, King Arthur Organic All-Purpose Flour, King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour,and Hodgson Mill Medium Rye. Bob's Red Mill flours are also good. Kroger can probably special order much of the King Arthur line for you if they don't regularly carry it in a local store. For some special flours I search out local organic and health food stores and Whole Foods markets. For my breads using whole grain flours I also use either Bob's Red Mill or Hodgson Mill Vital Wheat Gluten to give the breads extra body and shape-holding ability. You can order from King Arthur and also from Amazon.com any other specialty flours you might need should the occasion arise since even around here those can be difficult to find. e.g., spelt, pumpernickel blends, etc. I tend to make free-form artisan breads on clay tiles...no pans...so my flour needs are fairly basic.

[mrstewart]

Originally Posted by buckhead

I make bread frequently. Tonight I am baking some artisan rye bread...things ran very late today so I am still baking as I type this. As far as the refrigerated, compressed yeast goes, it works well, but down here in the South you won't find it...maybe once you get in Texas of farther west you can, but it does not ship or keep well here so the stores don't generally carry it. It is a fresh product so the shelf life is very short. Be very strict about not using expired yeast cakes for that reason.

I sometimes order flour, but I can usually find the items I need in local grocery and specialty shops. Good all around flours to use are the King Arthur products that your local store probably carries. Kroger and Publix around here are good at carrying the basic ones I use, King Arthur Bread Flour, King Arthur Organic All-Purpose Flour, King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour,and Hodgson Mill Medium Rye. Bob's Red Mill flours are also good. Kroger can probably special order much of the King Arthur line for you if they don't regularly carry it in a local store. For some special flours I search out local organic and health food stores and Whole Foods markets. For my breads using whole grain flours I also use either Bob's Red Mill or Hodgson Mill Vital Wheat Gluten to give the breads extra body and shape-holding ability. You can order from King Arthur and also from Amazon.com any other specialty flours you might need should the occasion arise since even around here those can be difficult to find. e.g., spelt, pumpernickel blends, etc. I tend to make free-form artisan breads on clay tiles...no pans...so my flour needs are fairly basic.

Thank you! I use King Arthur, Hodgson and Lily but I was thinking about using the milled wheat for a change. It is supposed to give a more nutty flavor to the bread...mmm...doesn't that sound good???

[buckhead]

Originally Posted by mrstewart

Thank you! I use King Arthur, Hodgson and Lily but I was thinking about using the milled wheat for a change. It is supposed to give a more nutty flavor to the bread...mmm...doesn't that sound good???

Using some milled wheat does indeed sound good! I have milled my own just for the taste and texture, but don't get to do that much now. And I neglected to mention White Lily BREAD flour, which is of high quality, and of comparable protein content to King Arthur. Of course, don't use their all-purpose flour unless you add some extra vital wheat gluten because it is substantially lower in protein than their bread flour and also lower in protein than King Arthur and most other brands of all-purpose flour. On the other hand White Lily all-purpose (and self-rising) is superior for biscuits.

[stone-ground]

For years while baking for a living, used the fresh yeast .. which was fine, because you're doing a lot of baking and use it immediately. As buckhead pointed out, it doesn't last long and wouldn't think one would tend to use it fast enough just baking at home .. unless you're a relentless bread baker.

At home doing personal baking, I prefer and use the tradional. I like that you can see if it's still active or not before throwing it into the rest of your ingredients.

If you were ever serious about grinding flours, and also wanted a juicer, the champion is a great juicer and can purchase the grinder for milling flour also. Always meant to pick one up to try it, but can't speak from experience .. yet.

[mrstewart]

Originally Posted by stone-ground

For years while baking for a living, used the fresh yeast .. which was fine, because you're doing a lot of baking and use it immediately. As buckhead pointed out, it doesn't last long and wouldn't think one would tend to use it fast enough just baking at home .. unless you're a relentless bread baker.

At home doing personal baking, I prefer and use the tradional. I like that you can see if it's still active or not before throwing it into the rest of your ingredients.

If you were ever serious about grinding flours, and also wanted a juicer, the champion is a great juicer and can purchase the grinder for milling flour also. Always meant to pick one up to try it, but can't speak from experience .. yet.

Oooh, thank you! I'll try that if I get to that point! I have found breadmaking to be very relaxing. We all need that every now and then

[litlux]

I have been experimenting using my breakmaker machine. It says to use precise amounts of dry yeast for most breads, and never the cake yeast but I love the Irish Yeast which comes that way and have found that I can get about four 2 lb. loaves with 1 cake. I use all purpose flour with that since the bread flour makes the loaves too puffy. I may try using less of the yeast with the bread flour. Still experimenting.

I am also working on sourdough breads, and have a nice authentic crock of the stuff in my fridge at all times. Some sourdough rye is cooling now and I can hardly wait to see if this one measures up.

I go to the Walloomsac Farmers' Market in Bennington, VT on Saturday mornings and there is a seller there with fresh ground Vermont organic 100% whole wheat in various grades from coarse to bread. It does have a bit more moisture to it than store bought, but it does indeed have an elusive flavor which I like a lot. When it is out of season, I do like King Arthur, but for me, it is a local company. They have a great mail order service, too.

[stone-ground]

I'll bet your kitchen has some great bread baking smells coming from it litlux.

Used to have a rye sour going, with fresh diced onion thrown into the starter. It made some pretty tasty rye bread, if you're into that kind of flavour.