Using yeast......for bread?

[schmaltzy]

I have some Nottingham yeast that I washed from my Fat Tire clone. I had the idea of using washed beer yeast to make bread. I've made beer bread before, but beer yeast....? Thought it would be a fun little experiment.

So on Saturday, with the help of SWMBO, I went to work. She uses dry yeast to make her bread and rehydrate it first in a mixture of milk and a little sugar. This is what she has always done and what has always worked for her. Since I'm the brewer in the family and not the baker, I thought I would let her try this method to see if we can get the sleepy, washed yeast going. I put the yeast in the mixture, waited for a 10 minutes and there was no activity. I thought it maybe needed more time so I gave it an hour, still nothing.

I have one more mason jar with Notty in it and would really like to give it a whirl again. Has anyone out there tried making bread with beer yeast? If so, pros? Cons? Things to maybe do different?

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

The strains are very different. Beer yeast takes too long to act to be usable for bread.

M_C

 

[McGarnigle]

I read somewhere that you just have to give the dough more time to rise when using beer yeast. No idea what it will taste like. No idea whether proofing the yeast is needed.

ADD: here's a link

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Beer-2269/2009/3/Bread-using-ale-yeast.htm

 

[GodsStepBrother]

I make bread all the time with beer yeast. Maybe you didnt us enough? McGarnigle is right it just takes a little longer to rise that is all. I dont make a stater with milk for them though?

 

[schmaltzy]

I make bread all the time with beer yeast. Maybe you didnt us enough? McGarnigle is right it just takes a little longer to rise that is all. I dont make a stater with milk for them though?

What do you use for your starter then? And how long to you let the started sit? Hours? Overnight? I saw ZERO activity, which is why I thought it was a big bust.

 

[McGarnigle]

The link I gave creates what I think is called a sponge starter. The starter uses flour. It's like making a small bread dough.

 

[weirdboy]

The strains are very different. Beer yeast takes too long to act to be usable for bread.

M_C

Um, what? Please tell that to my delicious bread that I have made using various strains of beer yeast.

You definitely can pick up on the different characteristics of each yeast in the bread. e.g. I made a bread using a Belgian abbey ale yeast and it was really spicy/phenolic.

I don't make a starter, I just take some leftover yeast cake or washed yeast and just mix it into the dough. Proof it just like regular bread. Some may take a bit longer than bread yeast, but it's really temperature dependent just like with regular bread yeast.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Milk isn't fermentable by brewer's yeast, so it shouldn't matter if you use sugar water or sugared milk to rehydrate.

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

Not only you can make bread with beer yeast. All bread is made with beer yeast. The difference is in the amount you use.

When I was a teenager, I worked at a bakery. We used 125 grams of beer yeast (it comes in 500g blocks (sorry for the link in Spanish)) for every 70 kg (154Lbs) of flour. At that concentration, it takes 8-9 hrs @ about 110*F for the bread to rise. Ever since, I regularly bake my own bread and pizza. I use 50g of yeast, for 1 kg of flour. At that concentration, it takes about 1 hr @ 90-100*F for the bread to rise.
Either way, I've never used washed yeast. For fresh (or dry) beer yeast, you don't need to make a starter. Just hydrate the yeast in some warm water (not too warm) with some sugar. When you start seeing some activity, pitch it into the dough.

 

[GodsStepBrother]

What do you use for your starter then? And how long to you let the started sit? Hours? Overnight? I saw ZERO activity, which is why I thought it was a big bust.

Well, its sounds like your yeast was dead maybe.

To answer your question, I usually make a starter with a cup or two of warm water and mix in some table sugar until dissolved (about a tablespoon or two). I then add the yeast in and let it foam up for about half an hour. I slowly add the flour and usually a cup or two of spent grains. (The measurements depend on how much bread I am making).

Make sure your yeast is at room temperature that way you don’t shock them.

I like to make burger buns with beer yeast and grains, and make a stout sauce with my homebrew to put on the burger. Along with drinking a beer while making and eating it!

 

[BoundForBeer]

Check out Basic Brewing Video April 30, 2009 - Beer and Bread, Together Again
They go over using bread yeast for beer and beer yeast for bread.

 

[schmaltzy]

Well, its sounds like your yeast was dead maybe.

To answer your question, I usually make a starter with a cup or two of warm water and mix in some table sugar until dissolved (about a tablespoon or two). I then add the yeast in and let it foam up for about half an hour. I slowly add the flour and usually a cup or two of spent grains. (The measurements depend on how much bread I am making).

Make sure your yeast is at room temperature that way you don’t shock them.

I like to make burger buns with beer yeast and grains, and make a stout sauce with my homebrew to put on the burger. Along with drinking a beer while making and eating it!

Yea, I pulled my washed yeast straight from the fridge and put it in 70-80 degree water. Maybe some shock? Pour yeasties.......services will be this Sunday, followed by a swift burial....