Organic Yeast
ORGANIC YEAST………………
Traditional British bread is characterised by two things largely, it is/was raised or leavened with the top of brewers yeast, barm, and it was an overnight, long fermentation. The making of barm is one of the most difficult of the culinary arts, particularly making it with consistency so it was reliable. The master bakers of the past were also master brewers and many of them brewed their own barm, and the best bakers were the best brewers (of barm) as well. The brewing process for beer is different as the bakers only wanted the top yeasts off the ale brew.
Ive done this a few times and it’s a tricky process. Ive also read the descriptions of bread making by some old time British bakers…albeit in Australia…and was shocked at the high skill level required to achieve a consistent barm, not to mention the investment of time these bakers put it. The sourdough process is easy by comparison.
Fortunately, this is now done for us, and we can purchase the equivalent of a barm in bio-real`s organic yeast which is available from Shipton mill. It marries beautifully with our traditional flours. It is the equivalent of barm, but likely to be less “barmy” in that it is predictable and reliable, being made with the same care as a traditional baker, but with the advantage of scientific controls to make sure the process doesnt go awry…stories of either soured or exploding barm are common in folk culture..
The barm was always a polyculture which could never be replaced by modern yeast, this being a highly selected strain of a highly selected strain…and even more so. The barm also engendered the development of subtle acidity from lactic acid bacteria which helped give the bread character and made it more digestible. The acids dissolve flavour components which become volatile during baking and develop the famous aromas which make most of us quiver down to our genes….and which curiously is the opposite of the aroma experience I have in the bakery department of supermarkets…I wonder how they get the bread to smell so awful, as though old Hessian bags once used for fertilizer had been somehow infused into the bread….well that’s the analog aromas I experience, not wheaten malty wholesomeness, which is good bread`s signature.
The organic yeast is brewed in an organic medium, which is a wort of malted barley most likely, pure spring water and with no GMO`S. The process of course uses no chemicals and organic sunflower oil is used as an anti-foaming agent. Usually the process of making commercial yeast produces heavily contaminated waste water which requires complex purification, but the wastewater from Bio-Reals process is uncontaminated and can be used for other processes. An ideal paradigm of manufacturing.
Conventional yeast production utilises chemical nitrogen sources such as ammonia, ammonium salts and lyes, plus a variety of acids, synthetic vitamins and growth substances. The substrate is molasses, a cheap by-product of sugar manufacture, a far cry from the malted barley of the past. This all produces strains of yeast with a very different character than those in a barm, and makes it impossible to achieve really good results in yeast baking…there is always something lacking no matter how assiduous ive been in the long term fermentations and fussing over sponges.
The new Organic yeast however produced aromas and flavours ive been looking for, particularly in combination with excellent flour such as Shipton Traditional white and wholemeal flours which include heritage wheats…NOW we are getting somewhere with re-creating excellent breads of the past, which aren’t just a foodies fantasy, but exemplary foods worthy of recreation, and also a cultural heritage too precious to throw away….and it has been thrown away not by us, but by corporate bakeries which have simply imposed the tyranny of bad bread…did anyone actually request the Chorleywood Frankenstein?
To use the organic yeast, its not necessary, but is best practice to make even a quick flying ferment if a longer process is not possible. Simply dissolve the fresh or dried yeast in a little wholemeal flour with warm water. This activates quickly and is ready for addition to the recipe in 15 minutes, and this works with a bread machine. Even with a flying ferment /sponge like this it is possible to discern the pleasing wholesome aroma of fresh yeast.
The significance of this yeast having no GMO`s should not be lost on us. Those strains of GM yeast which are at present in commercial yeast in Britain, multiply exponentially in a dough and the “just a pinch” turns into a seething population within minutes, which are then liberated within you as you eat products made from such yeast. They also escape into the atmosphere and are breeding as we speak with airborne yeasts and nobody (trust me im a Scientist…right) knows where this will lead?
More on baking real traditional British breads soon
Added by: johndownes