Scientist shares home-made yeast recipe after supermarkets sell out (2024)

  • Scientist Sudeep Agarwala, from Boston, shared the easy-to-follow recipe on Twitter after reading reports that frustrated bakers couldn't find yeast anywhere
  • He shared a thread detailing how to make your own yeast safely at home
  • Revealed that dried fruits such as apricots or raisins mixed with water and flour make the raising agent that helps bakers make bread
  • Supermarkets have been selling out of yeast as people turn to home-baking during lock-down - with Amazon also out of stock
  • 112,000 people on Twitter have since liked the biologist's thread

By Jo Tweedy For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

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A biologist has revealed how people who can't get hold of yeast for baking can create their own at home - using just a little water and some flour and dried fruit.

ScientistSudeep Agarwala, from Boston, shared his makeshift recipe to help bakers after yeast became one of the ingredients to fly off the shelves in supermarkets when people began preparing for lock-down. Sachets of the baker's essential has also sold out on Amazon in recent days.

Writing on Twitter under the handle@shoelaces3,Agarwala penned his own step-by-step guide to making yeast that can then be used to bake bread.

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Scientist Sudeep Agarwala, from Boston, has been sharing photos of his own successful bakes - and revealed how to make your own yeasts after supermarkets - and even amazon - sold out of the essential bread-making ingredient

He told his followers: 'Friends, I learned last night over Zoom drinks that ya'll're baking so much that there's a shortage of yeast?! I, your local frumpy yeast geneticist have come here to tell you this: THERE IS NEVER A SHORTAGE OF YEAST.'

The scientist then unleashed a thread revealing how to make your own yeast using dried fruits, flour and water - with a good dash of time thrown in.

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He instructed people to 'scour' their kitchen for fruits such as apricots, raisins, grapes and prunes.

'Take your fruit (or, if using fresh fruit skins - please use your judgement), pop it into a jar, and add a little bit of water to it. 2 or 3 tablespoons (30-40 mL) is more than enough. If you stir the fruit around, you'll notice the water gets slightly cloudy. That's the yeast!'

THE BIOLOGIST'S RECIPE: MAKING YOUR OWN YEAST USING FRUIT

  • Put some dried fruit, raisins, apricots or prunes, for example, into a jar with 30 to 40ml of cold water
  • When the water turns cloudy, add 30 to 40 grams of flour to the mixture
  • Leave somewhere warm for 12 hours to allow the yeast bubbles to grow
  • Take some of your mixture and repeat the water and flour process, adding 30 to 40 ml of cold water and 30, 40 grams of flour - leave for 24 hours
  • Your yeast - now very bubbly - should be ready to use in baking

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Time to get that dried fruit from the back of the cupboard - apricots and water secrete yeast which can then be added to flour to create a useable raising agent

Even an empty beer bottle can contain enough yeast to create your own agent with, saysAgarwala

After that,Agarwala advised people to add an 'equal mass' of flour to the mixture - any type will do, before writing: 'And then you wait. You'll want to keep this warm (but not hot).

'Hug it while you binge Netflix. Cuddle it while you yearn for human touch once again. Or put it on the counter while your dishwasher is running. Do it right and after 12 hours you'll see bubbles. These will grow.'

After another day of waiting, he advises to 'take a tiny bit of the fruit/flour/water mix, and add it to 30-40mL of water, add flour, and repeat. This time, it should come to life and those bubble should pop up much quicker.'

And, ta da, bakers should be able to rise a loaf using the mixture, although he warns the technique might take some practise.

He also suggested dregs of beer in near-empty bottles could make yeast, as could sugar-heavy water from boiled potatoes.

He signed off his educational lesson, which has already been liked by 112,000 people: 'Yeast is everywhere! Also: please wash your hands and stay away from other people. <3, your local frumpy yeast geneticist.'

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Scientist shares home-made yeast recipe after supermarkets sell out (2024)

FAQs

What is the science behind baking with yeast? ›

This is called alcoholic fermentation. The carbon dioxide produced in these reactions causes the dough to rise (ferment or prove), and the alcohol produced mostly evaporates from the dough during the baking process. During fermentation, each yeast cell forms a centre around which carbon dioxide bubbles form.

Can you make your own yeast at home? ›

Combine flour and spring water in a medium bowl; stir well. Cover loosely with a cloth and let sit on a kitchen counter for 2 to 3 days, or until bubbly. To use and feed your starter; take out the amount needed for your recipe and then replace that amount with equal parts flour and spring water.

Do supermarkets sell fresh yeast? ›

Pretty much all supermarkets sell bakers yeast, many shops sell brewers yeast (both dried) and my local Morrison's sells fresh yeast in its refrigerated section. I don't know where you got the idea that they can't or don't.

What ingredient does the yeast eat so it can grow? ›

Yeast cells digest food to obtain energy for growth. Their favorite food is sugar in its various forms: sucrose (beet or cane sugar), fructose and glucose (found in white sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup and fruit), and maltose (derived from starch in flour).

What is the science behind baking? ›

Sugar Reacts With Heat and Proteins to Create the Perfect Crust. You know your cake is done baking when you pull it out of the oven and see that perfect golden brown crust on top. That sweet, toasted crust is the result of a chemical reaction between sugars and proteins called the Maillard reaction.

What is the science experiment of yeast? ›

Mix a packet of active yeast with ¼ cup of warm water and a tsp of sugar in a bowl. After 10 minutes, your child will see the mixture foaming--a sign that the microbes are feeding and producing carbon dioxide. Talk about the role those CO2 bubbles play in making dough rise!

What is a natural substitute for yeast? ›

You can substitute yeast with equal parts lemon juice and baking soda. So if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of yeast, you can use half a teaspoon of lemon juice and half a teaspoon of baking soda. Keep in mind that the bread will not need the typical proofing time and the dough will begin rising right away.

How to get yeast naturally? ›

Natural, wild yeast can be found in flowers, trees, fruits, and vegetables—and yeast strains even live in the grains you're baking with and throughout the air in your home. To make your own natural yeast, all you need is flour and water, along with time and attention.

How to make fresh yeast from scratch? ›

How to Grow Baker's Yeast
  1. Step 1: Combine Equal Parts Flour and Water. Measure ingredients by weight! ...
  2. Step 2: Mix Well. Stir everything together until there are no more clumps of dried flour. ...
  3. Step 3: Let Sit. Let sit for 24 hours at 70°F. ...
  4. Step 4: Feed Your Starter. ...
  5. Step 5: Switch to 12 Hour Feedings.

Where do grocery stores keep yeast? ›

Many supermarkets carry fresh yeast, but you won't find it in the baking aisle, because it needs to be kept chilled. Depending on where you shop, you may find it in the dairy case, or near the eggs. And if your supermarket doesn't carry it, you may be able to buy a few packages of fresh yeast from a local bakery.

Where does store bought yeast come from? ›

Where does yeast come from? Most commercial bread yeasts are manufactured by different companies but yeasts can naturally grow on different fruits. The most common bread yeast, saccharomyces cerevisiae, can also be grown by simply combining flour and water.

Do they have yeast at Aldi? ›

The Pantry Yeast 56g | ALDI.

How was yeast made in the old days? ›

Besides brewer`s yeast, homemakers in the 19th Century used specially brewed ferments to make yeast. The basis for most of these ferments was a mash of grain, flour or boiled potatoes. Hops were often included to prevent sourness. Salt-rising bread was made from a starter of milk, cornmeal and, sometimes, potatoes.

What kills yeast from rising? ›

Once water temps reach 140°F or higher, that is the point where the yeast will be completely killed off. If you're doing the wrist test, 120°F feels pretty hot, whereas 140°F feels extremely hot.

What plants have natural yeast? ›

Good Sources of Wild Yeasts

Grapes, plums, fruits that have a white bloom. From your garden or farmer's market. Make sure they're organic. Gingerroot.

How does yeast help with baking and the baking process? ›

The two primary purposes of yeast in fermentation are:
  • To cause the dough to rise and aerate by converting sugar to carbon dioxide gas.
  • To condition and mellow the dough's gluten to uniformly absorb and contain the expanding gases.

What activates yeast in baking? ›

To activate dry yeast, you'll need to leave it in a bowl of warm water (100–110℉) mixed with a pinch of sugar for 10–15 minutes. You can also use warm milk if you nix the sugar. Yeast is used in baking as a leavening agent, meaning it makes cakes and bread rise.

What does baking yeast do to the body? ›

Yeast can naturally contribute significant amounts of numerous nutrients to bread and baked goods. VITAMIN D (PHYTOSTEROLS) Phytosterols are natural plant sterols that have been shown to effectively lower blood choles- terol, enhance the immune system, and decrease the risk of certain cancers.

What is the chemical reaction that the yeast performs? ›

The chemical reaction of yeast takes one molecule of glucose and transforms it into two molecules of ethanol and two molecules of carbon dioxide.

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