old yeast, and old flour ??

[pamcat]

Ladies: I made yeast bread last night and ended up with sour dough bread which is not what I wanted. The yeast was not out of date but the flour was pretty old Any ideas what I did wrong? Can you tell me how to tell if the yeast is still good? Thanks pam

[MommyofSeven]

Proof the yeast. Add it to some sugar water and if it's good it will start to do it's thing within 15-30 minutes.

 

If yeast gets too hot it doesn't work.

 

Mo7

[Cat]

Ummmm... sourdough...

 

 

It's great for grilled sandwiches, if you don't like it otherwise.

 

 

I'm guessing it was the flour. Was it white flour, or whole wheat? Whole wheat has the bran, which will turn rancid/"old".

 

 

 

[pamcat]

Ladies thanks i think it was the flour just white flour but pretty old

[MommyofSeven]

Yeah I've had white go bad on me, too-and that would account for the sour flavor.

 

Mo7

[ArmyOfFive4God]

Dates on yeast are very sketchy. Be sure when you buy it to store it in the freezer. I have some a couple YEARS past the date that is still working great because it's been in the freezer. Keep in mind, we don't know how things are stored or shipped prior to them hitting the store shelve.

[westbrook]

all yeasts are not created equally!

 

If you have a costco or sam's club or similar... see about buying of their 2 pound bag of yeast. Keep it in the freezer.. will last 5 years but... mine is 11 years and still good.

 

Maybe you could split one of these bags with a friend. Cheap enough.

 

Of course you can purchase yeast in individual packages in the baking section at the store.. the problem is.. how long has it been there? check the dates.. most are past their expiration dates.

 

I know this is going too sound snarky... but learn to love sourdough! learn to make it from scratch, keep it alive, bake with it, bread, pancakes, and etc.

There may come a time when that is all you have.