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Yeast, Home-Made
No. 1. Boil two ounces of best hops in two quarts of water for half an hour. Strain the liquor, and let it cool down to the heat of new milk. Put into it a small handful of salt and half a pound of moist sugar. Beat up a pound of fine flour with some of the liquor, and mix all well together. Two days afterwards add three pounds of potatoes which have been boiled and mashed. Let the preparation stand for twenty-four hours, then strain it, and bottle for use, but do not cork it till it has ceased working. Whilst making it, stir frequently and keep it near the fire. Before using, shake the bottle well. It will keep in a cool place for two months. Yeast made from this recipe is excellent, but it must be prepared with great care. Bread made from it needs to rise longer, both in the sponge and in the dough, than when fresh brewer's yeast is used. No. 2. Put two gallons of cold water into a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of moist sugar and one ounce of salt. Put it on the fire, and as it beats, stir in with it one pound of flour. Let it boil for an hour. Pour it out, and when milk-warm bottle it closely. It will be fit for use in twenty-four hours. Half a pint of this yeast will make nine pounds of bread. No. 3. Put a handful of hops into a quart of water, either hot or cold; let them boil for twenty minutes. Mix in a bowl two table-spoonfuls of flour with one table-spoonful of salt and one of moist sugar. Pour the boiling liquor through a sieve upon the mixture, and stir briskly. When it is almost cold, stir into it a tea-cupful of good brewer's yeast. Let it stand in a cool place for twenty-four hours or more, and bottle for use. In winter-time this yeast should be kept in a warm place. It should be stirred before being used. It should stand to sponge all night, and will then require to rise about two hours after being kneaded. When a fresh supply is to be made, a pint of this preparation may be used instead of a tea-cupful of fresh yeast. A large tea-cupful of this yeast will raise fourteen pounds of flour.