From War-Time Breads and Cakes (1918)

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Buttermilk Dry Yeast

PUT one quart of buttermilk in a double 
boiler, and when it is scalding hot add one 
and one half quarts of corn meal and one 
teaspoonful of salt, and stir well. Let this 
mush cool, and then add one yeast cake that 
has been dissolved in one half cup of luke- 
warm water. Set the mixture in a warm 
place, and when it rises stir it down and let 
it rise again. Repeat this process three times, 
and then add more corn meal and enough 
whole wheat flour to bind it so that it can 
be made into cakes. Use a rounding table- 
spoonful to each cake if they are to be used 
in winter, less if for summer use. Let them 
dry as quickly as possible, but do not put 
them in the oven or in the sun. A rack hung 
high over the stove is a good place to dry 
them. They should have a sour, but not dis- 
agreeable, smell. These will keep all summer 
on a dry pantry shelf. 

Potato and Hop Dry Yeast 

BOIL together four small potatoes and one 
half cup, packed, of dry hops, using three 
pints of water. When the potatoes are done, 
take them out and put through a sieve or 
ricer. Add two cups of whole wheat flour and 
mix well. Strain the boiling hop water over 
this mixture and beat till it is a smooth bat- 
ter. Add one tablespoonful of salt and the 
same of ginger and one half cup of sugar. 
When lukewarm, add one yeast cake that 
has been dissolved in one cup of lukewarm 
water. Let this stand one or two days, the 
time depending upon the temperature of 
the room, stirring it down occasionally. 
When it smells good and sour, add corn meal 
till it is thick enough to handle. Make into 
cakes, using a rounding tablespoonful if they 
are to be used in winter and less for summer 
use. Dry quickly, but do not put in the oven 
or in the sun. It will take a few days before 
they are dry enough to put away. These 
will keep in a box on a dry pantry shelf win- 
ter or summer. 

One cake is equal to a cake of compressed 
yeast. 

Continental Dry Yeast 

WHEN putting the bread in pans save out 
a pint of the dough. Roll this half an inch 
thick, put it on plates, and leave it on the 
pantry shelf, turning it occasionally. It will 
become quite sour as it dries. After a few 
days the drying may be hastened, but do 
not overheat it or the yeast plant will be 
killed. When dry, break it into convenient 
pieces and put in a box or jar. To use, break 
into small pieces, enough to half fill a cup 
and soak till soft in lukewarm water. Use 
like any yeast. I have had satisfactory re- 
sults using this yeast for raising a sponge. 

Liquid Yeast 

THIS will keep one or two weeks in summer 
and five or six in winter if not allowed to 
freeze. Scalding or freezing kills the yeast 
plant. 

Add one cup of dry hops to two quarts of 
boiling water and boil gently for fifteen min- 
utes. In the meantime peel and grate five 
large potatoes into enough water to cover 
them; this is to prevent them from turning 
dark. Add one cup of sugar, one tablespoon- 
ful of salt, and the same of ginger. Put this 
mixture into a saucepan and pour over it 
the water in which the hops have boiled. 
Cook, stirring all the time till it thickens, 
turn into a perfectly clean crock or jar, and 
when lukewarm add two cups of good yeast 
or two yeast cakes that have been dissolved 
in two cups of lukewarm water. Keep the 
jar where it is moderately warm and stir 
the yeast down as often as it rises. When 
fermentation stops, it will be quite thin. It 
should then be covered closely and put in a 
cool place. It is good as long as it smells 
sour but does not taste so. When yeast loses 
its smell it has no more rising power; in 
other words, the yeast plant is dead. 

One half cup of this yeast is equal to one 
cake of compressed yeast. 

The potatoes may be boiled and mashed 
through a sieve, but practical bread-makers 
say that the grated potatoes make the best 
yeast.