Grandmother’s Old Fashioned Yeast
A historical recipe from Cook book of tested receipes, by Ida Lee Cary (1920).
A historical recipe
Cook book of tested receipes, by Ida Lee Cary (1920). Project Gutenberg eBook #68983.
From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.
Source and licence
From Cook book of tested receipes, by Ida Lee Cary (1920). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #68983 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68983). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.
Read the original Public domain in the USA
What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.
Create an image with FoodStudio Made by our AI generator from your own prepaid SecondMem credits. We keep no picture from the source.
Ingredients
- ¹⁄₂ cup of flour
- a tablespoon of salt
- 2 cups of water
- 2 quarts of yeast
- 1 cup will raise a sponge
- 6 large potatoes
Method
- Wash pare and boil 6 large potatoes until soft.
- If the water boils away very much, add enough more to make about 3 pints.
- After removing the potatoes from the kettle, add to the water in which they were boiled a very small pinch of hops.
- The water should be but slightly colored.
- Let the water boil hard for 10 minutes, now take a large pitcher or earthen crock which will hold 2 to 3 quarts.
- Put the potatoes in the pitcher and mash them smooth.
- Then add ¹⁄₂ cup of flour, the same of sugar and a tablespoon of salt, being sure to rub out all the lumps.
- Place a fine strainer in the top of pitcher and as the hop water boils, add 1 or 2 cups of water and stir again until all is smooth.
- Then add the rest of the water.
- There should be about 2 quarts of yeast.
- When just warm add ¹⁄₂ cake of magic yeast.
- 1 cup will raise a sponge for 5 or 6 loaves.
- This yeast should be as thick as thin cream and about the color.
- This yeast will rise very quickly and when it begins to foam, stir 2 or 3 times.
- Do not bottle yeast but keep in the pitcher and place a saucer over the top.
- Keep in a cool place in winter and in the refrigerator in summer.
- It will keep sweet for two or three weeks.