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Mauser posted:help my kitchen is 57 degrees and it takes forever for my bread to rise Put a cup full of water in the microwave. Boil it. Quickly open the door, put your bread in, and close it. Instant proofing box. (of course, we have a big microwave, like they used to was.) Two weeks ago I made rye crackers that I wasn't impressed with. However, they rose.Yesterday I decided to make the dough for a different kind of cracker. The yeast was dead. A-loving-gain. Not just the jarred yeast opened this summer, but a sealed packet that expired in 2025. When I say "dead", I mean "put it in warm liquid and not a single bubble rose". Not slow-rising, but rather not even able to make CO2. This has happened to me before with bulk Red Star yeast and with another baker's brand I forget. This has happened to me both with yeast in the fridge and yeast in the freezer. I tested the fridge yesterday, and it was 41F, right in the zone. Four times in the last two years I have pulled the yeast out and found it dead. My husband jokes that I have a black yeast thumb. Does anybody have suggestions on how to coddle my next batch of yeast?
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Dec 21, 2023 18:24
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| # ? May 16, 2024 00:50 |
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Keep a sourdough starter and split a pound of yeast between friends so you only have a little bit to go bad? Freezing it should be fine, so should the fridge, but... Maybe not for you! And you're adding sugar to the lukewarm water, right? I've had some yeast that's fine, it just wanted food to bubble.
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Dec 21, 2023 18:28
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Don't get yeast packets. Get a big fuckin' brick of SAF red, put it in a airtight container, and stick it in the fridge. This is what I do and it lasts a whole year. Towards the end of the year, I dump out whatever is left and replace it with fresh yeast. No problems so far.
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Dec 21, 2023 18:35
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null_pointer posted:Don't get yeast packets. Get a big fuckin' brick of SAF red, put it in a airtight container, and stick it in the fridge. This is what I do and it lasts a whole year. Towards the end of the year, I dump out whatever is left and replace it with fresh yeast. No problems so far. effika posted:Keep a sourdough starter and split a pound of yeast between friends so you only have a little bit to go bad? Freezing it should be fine, so should the fridge, but... Maybe not for you! Sometimes I like to bake something that can't be done with sourdough.
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Dec 21, 2023 18:40
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Have you tried just baking with it and seeing if you get a result? The "stick it in a jar in the freezer" method has never let me down either, but I've had lovely luck with the little foil packets.
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Dec 21, 2023 18:47
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The dough doesn't rise. At all.
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Dec 21, 2023 18:53
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That sucks. I'm sorry about your bread. 
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Dec 21, 2023 18:54
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I vacuum-pack a big bag of red star and freeze it. Usually lasts a good couple of years that way. I open it up every few months to refill the jar in the fridge, then re-vac it.
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Dec 21, 2023 18:55
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Idk if you're Phoenix or something but really only 110+ should be killing the yeast
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Dec 21, 2023 19:13
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Actually, I live in a very moderate climate; it's cool most of the year. I am straight beside the sea, and I wondered if the salty air had an effect -- it started rusting a chrome toilet paper holder a year after we bought it -- but that doesn't apply to the packages.
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Dec 21, 2023 20:22
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Arsenic Lupin posted:That's exactly what I did, twice. It died. (Throws hands up into the air) welp, I'm out of ideas 
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Dec 21, 2023 20:26
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You're keeping it in the freezer, right, not the fridge? Anyway, todays bread recipe: 300g Wholemeal Rye flour 480g Starter (240g water. 240g rye, +/-30g of a previous starter, which is mainly matzo meal and startch atm. Let sit for 30 hours or so on the counter, stir a couple of times) Half of the contents of a fresh earl grey tea bag. Wait no! That was meant to go into the biscuit dough, not the starter! poo poo! Oh well. Carry on. We can save this. 450g water 20g salt 7g dried yeast. Let proof on the counter for 3 hours or so, and then knocked back into the big pullman tin for an hour, before baking for 40 minutes or so at 180*c. I probably should have given it another hour to rise in the tin, but it came out lovely, if dense. Next time I'll try baking it with the lid on I think. The teabag went in when the starter was about an hour old and I could only pour about half of it out, but it smelt very good as it aged. The bread has a nice subtle fruity taste, you can only pick up on the tea if you concentrate on it. Went nicely with beans and egg last night for dinner. Anyone who tells you baking is an exact science has never seen me bumble my way through bread.  Edit: As I was writing this, my partner handed me a slice with aldi's cheapest hazelnut spread and orange zest on. It's possibly the most delicious thing I've ever taken a single bite out of. 
Nettle Soup fucked around with this message at 14:47 on Dec 22, 2023 |
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Dec 22, 2023 12:31
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Mauser posted:help my kitchen is 57 degrees and it takes forever for my bread to rise I have a heat mat you use for seedlings and a temp probe to make a little proofing drawer.
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Dec 22, 2023 17:36
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Nettle Soup posted:You're keeping it in the freezer, right, not the fridge?
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Dec 22, 2023 17:49
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What percent of salt are you using
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Dec 22, 2023 19:31
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Arsenic Lupin posted:I have tried both keeping it in the freezer and in the fridge. Same result. What water are you using? Have you tried filtered or bottled?
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Dec 22, 2023 19:49
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Oven light trick is great. Balmy 81° in there
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Dec 22, 2023 21:07
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therattle posted:What water are you using? Have you tried filtered or bottled?
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Dec 22, 2023 21:43
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Arsenic Lupin posted:This happens in milk as well as water. Have you considered seeing an exorcist or similar to lift the curse placed on you and/or your residence?
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Dec 22, 2023 22:09
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What's the name of the speciality wheat that has a golden colour? I believe the rights to it are rather strictly controlled by one family who developed it in the 90s, or something like that.
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Dec 24, 2023 15:44
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In this list of wheats (lol) there's only one with a person's name for developer (Triumph), and one developed by "Golden K." Are these your wheat?
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Dec 24, 2023 16:21
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An interesting list to peruse, but I was thinking of Khorasan wheat - the only name I could come up with was Saracian for some reason.
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Dec 24, 2023 16:56
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So, started Bon Appetit's sour cream chive rolls today. Made the tangzhong, added the eggs, added the sour cream, then started proofing a brand new packet of yeast. I think you can all guess what happened next. So, in desperation, I had my husband proof two ramekins of yeast, one from an open jar and one from a sealed packet. Both of them were as foamy as the birth of Aphrodite. By this time the tangzhong was a solid sheet of sludge, so I yanked it out of the mixer, wiped it off, made another tangzhong, stirred it in, and added the proofed yeast. So far, so good. I do always test the temperature of proofing water with a pinkie. I am guessing that yeast doesn't like something about my body chemistry. No, we don't use bactericidal hand soap. In any case, husband will be proofing the yeast from here forward. 
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Dec 26, 2023 00:23
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My wife got me a Mockmill for Christmas, mostly for other things, but excited to grind some flour. Need to do some experiments to work out how long to leave it to develop the gluten though.
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Dec 26, 2023 00:34
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Arsenic Lupin posted:So, started Bon Appetit's sour cream chive rolls today. Made the tangzhong, added the eggs, added the sour cream, then started proofing a brand new packet of yeast. So there was a curse all along! Good job finding a way to bypass it!
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Dec 26, 2023 01:17
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Arsenic Lupin posted:So, started Bon Appetit's sour cream chive rolls today. Made the tangzhong, added the eggs, added the sour cream, then started proofing a brand new packet of yeast. Is there any chance you are handling anything with chlorine regularly? Is your water excessively chlorinated?
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Dec 26, 2023 01:46
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Who's got two thumbs and got a stand mixer for Xmas? This gal. Anyone have a recipe or suggestions for using a stand mixer?
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Dec 26, 2023 02:41
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bengy81 posted:Is there any chance you are handling anything with chlorine regularly? Is your water excessively chlorinated? We have a well that is cleaned by UV light, so no.
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Dec 26, 2023 03:12
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tokin opposition posted:Who's got two thumbs and got a stand mixer for Xmas? This gal. If it's a KA be sure to scrape down and rotate the dough if it doesn't ride
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Dec 26, 2023 03:14
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tokin opposition posted:Who's got two thumbs and got a stand mixer for Xmas? This gal. There are many variations on star bread, both savory and sweet. Pick one, or make up your own! It looks very showy.
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Dec 26, 2023 03:19
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tokin opposition posted:Who's got two thumbs and got a stand mixer for Xmas? This gal. Make doughnuts!
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Dec 26, 2023 11:18
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Nettle Soup posted:So there was a curse all along! Good job finding a way to bypass it! I TOLD YOU! tokin opposition posted:Who's got two thumbs and got a stand mixer for Xmas? This gal. Nice! I’ve got a KA and it gives a very specific setting for dough kneading. Check yours. The wrong setting is bad for the motor.
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Dec 26, 2023 12:16
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therattle posted:Nice! I’ve got a KA and it gives a very specific setting for dough kneading. Check yours. The wrong setting is bad for the motor. I've got a Kenwood and it says to max out the mixing speed at 2. Never had a problem with it until I made croissant dough which made it a little sad. That said I once left it kneading dough and it shook itself off the counter, did a flip and landed head first on my tiled floor. It was completely fine, no damage at all.
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Dec 26, 2023 12:38
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Yeah I dropped mine from 6ft up once and it left a massive dent in the dishwasher, but was itself uninjured. They're built like tanks. A shame all the accessories are built like poo poo, I guess to make up for it.
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Dec 26, 2023 14:07
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So question about kneeding bread. If I'm making a basic white bread and the dough gets sticky and seems to form 'stretch marks' on the surface as I'm kneeding it, does that mean I need to kneed longer and add more flour until it isn't sticky any more, or what? I made bread yesterday for Christmas and it was really good (and the rolls I made from the same dough were gone within a few minutes), but this is more just a general question. 4 tablespoons rapid yeast 1/4th cup sugar 1/3rd cup oil 5 oz can of condensed milk 2 cups warm water Add flour until it comes away from the bowl, was about 5ish cups then probably about 2-3 more cups as I was kneeding it. The dough never got super smooth, always seemed to have the stretch marks after a few minutes of kneeding.
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Dec 26, 2023 22:11
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Cimber posted:So question about kneeding bread. If I'm making a basic white bread and the dough gets sticky and seems to form 'stretch marks' on the surface as I'm kneeding it, does that mean I need to kneed longer and add more flour until it isn't sticky any more, or what? I'm not an expert, and you will probably get better advice, but here are my thoughts. If you added 2 more cups while kneading, I would think that the flour wouldn't fully hydrate, and it's gonna take longer for the gluten to fully develop. That dough should probably feel tacky, and pretty smooth, but not sticky when it's kneaded correctly. So sometimes when I'm making a dough, especially if I'm using my stand mixer, I'll mix all the ingredients and let it sit for 10 minutes before kneading it, or I'll knead for 5 minutes, let it rest for 5 mins, and then continue kneading. Basically, you should be able to stretch the surface of the dough and create a lot of tension without it tearing, that will help the structure of the finished bread. Were you happy with the bread or was there anything you would have liked to be different?
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Dec 26, 2023 22:33
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Cimber posted:So question about kneeding bread. If I'm making a basic white bread and the dough gets sticky and seems to form 'stretch marks' on the surface as I'm kneeding it, does that mean I need to kneed longer and add more flour until it isn't sticky any more, or what? I don’t work with fortified dough very often but generally if you’re kneading and the bread starts to tear it’s due to some combination of: Not enough time to proof Too dry Too much kneading In your recipe you have about 850-1000g of flour (1 cup is 120g, let’s say) for about 750g of liquid, which is 88-75% hydration so pretty reasonable. How did your proof go? Or wait, was this a recipe where you mix and then knead immediately?
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Dec 26, 2023 22:34
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tuyop posted:I don’t work with fortified dough very often but generally if you’re kneading and the bread starts to tear it’s due to some combination of: Yeah, i mixed all the liquids (and sugar) together, added the yeast and let that sit for about 15 minutes to start fermenting, then added flour until it pulled away from the bowl edges. Immediately started kneeding for 5ish minutes, adding just enough flour to make it not sticky any more. Let it rest for five minutes while I washed the bowl that it rises in, then kneeded for another 5 or so minutes.
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Dec 26, 2023 22:45
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therattle posted:I TOLD YOU! If only I had listened 
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Dec 27, 2023 03:36
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null_pointer posted:If only I had listened I am a veritable fount of wisdom.
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Dec 27, 2023 10:14
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