Yeast Recipe

Boil a small handful of hops in a couple of quarts of water. When the

strength is obtained from them, strain the liquor--put it back on the

fire--take a little of the liquor, and mix smoothly with three heaping

table-spoonsful of wheat flour--stir it into the liquor when it boils.

Let it boil five or six minutes--take it from the fire. When lukewarm,

stir in a tea-cup of yeast--keep it in a warm place till risen. When of

a frothy appearance, it is sufficiently light. Add a table-spoonful of

salt, turn it into a jar, and cover it tight. Some people keep yeast in

bottles, but they are apt to burst--some use jugs, but they cannot be

cleaned so easily as jars. Whenever your yeast gets sour, the jar should

be thoroughly cleaned before fresh is put in--if not cleaned, it will

spoil the fresh yeast. Yeast made in this manner will keep good a

fortnight in warm weather; in cold weather longer. If your yeast appears

to be a little changed, add a little saleratus to it before you mix it

with your bread. If it does not foam well, when put in, it is too stale

to use. Milk yeast makes sweeter bread than any other kind of yeast, but

it will not keep good long. It is very nice to make biscuit of. Take

half the quantity of milk you need for your biscuit--set it in a warm

place, with a little flour, and a tea-spoonful of salt. When light, mix

it with the rest of the milk, and use it directly for the biscuit. It

takes a pint of this yeast for five or six loaves of bread. Another

method of making yeast, which is very good, is to take about half a

pound of your bread dough, when risen, and roll it out thin, and dry it.

When you wish to make bread, put a quart of lukewarm milk to it, set it

near the fire to rise--when light, scald the flour, and let it be till

lukewarm--then add the yeast and salt. This will raise the bread in the

course of an hour. The dough will need a little fresh hop liquor put to

it, in the course of three or four times baking. Potato yeast makes very

nice bread, but the yeast does not keep good as long as when made

without them. It is made in the following manner: boil a couple of good,

sized potatoes soft--peel and rub them through a sieve--put to it a

couple of table-spoonsful of wheat flour, and a quart of hot hop

tea--when lukewarm, stir in half a tea-cup of yeast--when light, put in

a couple of tea-spoonsful of salt, put it in your yeast-jar, and cover

it up tight.