baking bread with beer yeast

[hiphops]

Anyone every do this? I'm wondering how much yeast slurry is required.

I hear that, in terms of recycling yeast, about 2 generations is all you should do. Can you continue with a 3d or 4th or 5th generation if you're gonna use it to bake bread, rather than brew?

Also, in comparison to brewing, how necessary is sanitation?

 

[Revvy]

Here's the basic brewing video on using bread yeast. ANd vice versa.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=september-28-2007---trading-places-beer-and-bread-yeast .

 

[TromboneGuy]

I'd do some internet searching on sourdough starters. It's essentially the same thing, and you can keep one going for a very long time if you treat it right. (As in, some place in San Francisco - known for soudough - claim to have been using the same starter culture for nearly 200 years.)

 

[Bob]

I do this All. The. Time. The dough rises like Dracula going after a particularly fetching girl, and the bread tastes awesome.

I don't really do generations with bread yeast, though; I just make sure I have the dry ingredients ready to rock on a day when I empty a primary and don't plan on harvesting the yeast for re-pitching.

Bob

 

[hts]

Just from my experience in using beer yeast slurry for bread making, I would use about 4 times the amount of slurry to sub. for dry bread yeast. (i.e if your recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of dry baker's yeast use about 4 tablespoons of "yeast cake" out of your fermenter.) If your yeast cake is not really fresh you may need to use more. I've read that even if you store your yeast in a sanitized closed container in the fridge that it can lose up to 25% of it's vitality per week. (I have no way of knowing if this is true or not)

Also----I have read that pro brewers use their yeast straight out of their fermenters for 10-15 generations. I have used one pack of Nottingham yeast for over 10 generations and have not noticed any ill effects or off flavors. The notion that a beer yeast strain mutates after a couple of generations is b.s. IMO. I think that it's more of a concern over poor sanitation after many generations.

 

[Bob]

I've read that even if you store your yeast in a sanitized closed container in the fridge that it can lose up to 25% of it's vitality per week. (I have no way of knowing if this is true or not)

It is true. I and others have done viability testing with instruments. It's true.

Also----I have read that pro brewers use their yeast straight out of their fermenters for 10-15 generations.

Also true.



Bob

 

[hts]

Ok. Thanks Bob. Glad to know my b.s. meter works at least some of the time!