Baking with Natural Yeast - The MAKING of Dehydrated Yeast Flakes

There's been a trend the last few weeks... I've seen it.  There has been an up-tick with baking at home (and now NO flour or sugar in the store!).   In addition to baking, there's been lots of things going on at home - homeschooling, guest room closet organizing, home-project-to-do-lists, and (in addition to all of these) I think one of them has been cleaning out the fridge.

...AND I would bet money more than a few of you cleaned out your fridge at some point in the last 3 weeks, found your supply of "Dotty" (what I named my Natural Yeast a LONG time ago) dried up, stored in a ziplock at the back of your fridge and realized that you had in your hand the ability to make your own bread; and not just ONCE - the ability to make bread for as LONG as necessary.

I need to apologize and I will do it quickly here and now:  I laughingly said at nearly every basic natural yeast bread lesson "OK! This dehydrated yeast is for when the zombie apocalypse happens and there's no bread in the store!  Keep this in your fridge until then... "  Again, I am so sorry.  Much to my boy's disappointment, there are no zombies.  Regardless - zombies or NO zombies - store bread is indeed either gone or in short supply with COVID-19 either keeping people in their homes and/or making huge grocery shopping trips.

Back to the dehydrated Natural Yeast in your hand as you clean out your fridge...

Over the last few years I've sent dry natural yeast flakes in the mail, handed them out the car window in the parking lot at church, and MOSTLY there has been an ample supply of them given freely at any of the basic natural yeast bread lessons I've done individually or in large groups.

My blog post to re-hydrate said flakes has been viewed more than anything else the last few weeks...

You've brought your supply of "Dotty" back to life!  The perpetuation makes me happy!

Now let's use it to re-supply that corner at the back of your fridge - perpetuate "Dotty" a few more years; share her a few more times...

PLUS - knowing that this blog post is now wanted is the push I needed.  I had been meaning to post this post for far too long.



I usually give myself 2-3 days to leave this out on the counter.  I definitely don't plan on having people over for dinner if I'm in the middle of this... I already decorate like an old gypsy - I don't need to add everything else I do to the decor!

You can start this process without making bread, however, the photos for this post will show the process with.  I just do it all at once - starting the dehydrating process pairs perfectly with making natural yeast bread as follows:


NOTE:  These are NOT the same "natural" yeast flakes that you find/buy at the grocery store.  These are a living organism used for the leavening of bread and other baked goods.


CLICK  LINK  FOR:    Baking with Natural Yeast - BASIC LOAF

Gather your supplies!

Ready to use Natural Yeast from the fridge.
(HAPPY and HEALTHY yeast is preferred... 
and dare I say required)

Parchment paper

Cutting board
 (to move your drying Natural Yeast if needed)

Flour

Filtered drinking water

Fork

You'll need a piece of parchment paper
large enough to
cover your cutting board.

IF you're making bread - use the Natural Yeast
amount needed and then feed your jar as normal.

Add flour and water to feed your jar of Natural Yeast.

NOTE:  When adding your flour and water,
do NOT exceed 1/2 of the amount of Natural Yeast in your jar.

EXAMPLE:  After adding Natural Yeast to my bread mix shown in the above photo on the right,
my jars each had a 2 cups remaining.
I added 1 cup flour and 1 cup water to each
jar and mixed thoroughly. 

Place 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup of mixed Natural Yeast
on your parchment paper.

Spread out as THIN as you can.
There will be thicker spots than others... No worries!
It will all eventually dry-out!
EVEN in Houston in the summer it will dry out...
It just takes a lot longer.

DAY  1 - 7PM

(Made pizza the next day with the dough)

DAY  2 - 12 noon

DAY  2 - 8PM

DAY  3 - 10AM

(Made bread with the dough)

The parchment paper will conform
to the dryness of the Natural Yeast.
It will likely start breaking into large pieces -

MOST  IMPORTANTLY  -
It will be dry to touch and you won't see ANY
wetness, even in the thicker parts of it.

Grab your supplies to store your now
dehydrated Natural Yeast.

Sharpie
Quart-size "freezer" bag
rubberband

The pieces will brake and crumble easily.
Some may need a little more help
to break than others.

Perfectly fine!!!
It will all re-hydrate when needed.

Get as much air out of your bag as
you can before sealing it up -

I prefer using a "freezer" quart size
for the thickness and
long-term storing abilities of the plastic.

Secure with a rubber band -
and remember to date your yeast!

I usually have 2 or 3 of these bags
stored in the back of my fridge.

Putting on the date you stored it will
help you use up or share
the oldest one first...

DONE.  READY!

Store in your fridge for sharing,
First-Aid for your jar of natural yeast,
or for the next (hopefully NEVER!) quarantine.

CLICK  LINK  FOR:    Mama Jo's Recipes - Table Of Contents

CLICK  LINK  FOR:    Baking with Natural Yeast - Rehydrating Yeast Flakes

CLICK  LINK  FOR:    Baking with Natural Yeast - PIZZA

CLICK  LINK  FOR:    Baking with Natural Yeast - Bret's Dinner Rolls

Potato Waffles

NOTE to self:   Your waffle maker isn't just for breakfast!!!

I think the thing I miss most about watching T.V. is that I no longer enjoy all the ideas from the Food Network channel.  This is one of them... Your waffle maker can be used in creative ways!  THINK:  Easy-Bake-Oven.  It's not just for breakfast waffles: waffle ice cream cookies, or prepped cake mix and you have spongy ice cream sandwich layers; leftover mashed potatoes and you have an enormous savory hash brown...  What else can we come up with???  Please comment with anything else you want to add!  

The following recipe will be for the potato waffle.  I  LOVE  IT!  And in my opinion it is the easiest, tastiest, fastest way to reheat and use up any leftover mashed potatoes.  

BONUS:  You don't need a huge amount to feed everyone this side dish.

2 cups mashed potatoes - (i.e.: the leftovers)

3 eggs beaten

1/3 cup Gluten-FREE flour  OR  All-Pourpose flour

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Cooking Spray

Waffle Maker

Pre-heat your waffle maker for 10 minutes.

Beat eggs.  Add the flour of your choice, salt and pepper.

(NOTE: Gluten-FREE flour mix recipe at the end of this blog post.)

Flour will be lumpy.  Mix until minimally lumpy.  :0)  

Combine with mashed potatoes and mix throughly.

Spray both the upper and lower portions of the waffle maker.

Scoop 1/4 - 1/3 cup of mixture in to the center of each waffle section.

Cook until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

Serve with leftover gravy, ketchup OR if y'all are in Texas - Whataburger Spicy Ketchup.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

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Click Link FOR:    Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAMA JO’S CORNMEAL PANCAKES / BOTH Gluten-FREE & All-Purpose Flour Recipes

Greg Schroeder look away... This breakfast item is indeed listed under DINNER and BREAKFAST.

Breakfast for dinner will never be on Greg's "YES!" list, but it is on our's!!!  Especially this one.

This southern recipe was handed over to my mother years and years ago when I was a little girl.  She was taking oil painting lessons from Tom.  I never met him; and I never knew his last name (I still don't!) but this was originally his recipe and called "Tom's Southern Pancakes".

The original recipe was a little too ambiguous on the amounts and I have had to converted it in recent years to a Gluten-FREE version... and then as a waffle version (MAKE  IT  WITH  BACON  PIECES  IN  IT!!!)...

Sssooooooo...  the following is the Mama Jo version(s) of the Tom's Southern Pancakes.

And if your name is NOT Greg Schroeder PLEASE enjoy this for dinner OR breakfast.  I promise you'll love them as much as we do... day or night.   :0)

MAMA JO’S CORNMEAL PANCAKES: 

Gluten-FREE

3 cups Gluten-FREE flour mix

2 cups cornmeal 

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda 

8 egg yolks (Gavin, don't throw these out... )

1/2 cup vegetable oil

5 cups buttermilk

8 egg whites, beaten until foamy

In a LARGE bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Mixing by hand, combine with dry ingredients in the following order:

- Add buttermilk and mix 

- Add oil and mix 

- Add egg yolks and mix.

Mix thoroughly by hand.

Beat egg whites and FOLD into mixture.

Use PAM or some form of cooking spray for your griddle.  

Makes 20-30 pancakes.

FOR  WAFFLES:  

Add 2 additional EGGs (egg yolks/egg whites) and an additional 1-2 cups buttermilk.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

RECIPE  WITH:  Un-Bleached  All-Purpose  FLOUR

3 cups flour

2 cups cornmeal 

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 quart buttermilk (4 cups)

6 egg whites, beaten until foamy

In a LARGE bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Mixing by hand, combine with dry ingredients in the following order:

Add buttermilk and mix - Add oil and mix - Add egg yolks and mix.

Mix thoroughly by hand.

Beat egg whites and FOLD into mixture.

Use PAM or some form of cooking spray for your griddle.  

Makes 20-30 pancakes.

FOR  WAFFLES:  
Add an additional EGG (egg yolk/egg white) and an additional 1 cup buttermilk.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

(It's a recipe FOR your recipe!)

CLICK TO GO TO: 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 

Click Link FOR:    Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

My favorite oil painting that my mother did of
Mirror Lake at Mt. Hood, Oregon.
So lovely!

CREAMY White Bean, Potato and Bacon Soup (Surprise! ...NON-DAIRY)

Surprise!
This creamy soup is "NON-dairy".
"SANS-dairy".
Or you could say "dairy-FREE".

Really doesn't matter how you pose the phrase.  Still creamy.  Still NON-dairy.

"How???"  you're asking...

My answer is it's the potatoes (make sure you have at least 2 different kinds if not all three!), all the beans, and then a slow/low simmer.

BONUS:  it's even creamy (if not more so!) after coming out of a deep freeze in the freezer.

Enjoy!





1 pound bacon - cut into 1 inch pieces

1 VERY large or 2 medium onions - diced

12-15 potatoes - peeled and cubed into small pieces
POTATO  NOTE:  USE  2 or all 3 of the following:  Red, Yellow Yukon, and/OR Russett

1 garlic bundle (8-10 cloves) - minced
1-2 cups ham - diced  (OPTIONAL)

6 cups water
1/4 cup CHICKEN "Better Than Bullion"
3 teaspoons - SMOKED paprika
3 teaspoons Kosher salt

4 cans (15 oz. each) Great Northern Beans - drained and rinsed
OR
2 pounds DRY Great Northern Beans - pressure cooked - drained and rinsed

In an LARGE cooking pot brown the cut bacon until very crisp.

Remove and set aside.

DO NOT DRAIN BACON GREASE.

COOK diced onion in bacon grease on MED-HIGH until slightly brown and caramelized.

ADD cubed potatoes and stir mixture consistently - and be diligent!
NOTE: The potatoes tend to stick to the bottom of the pan!
Cook for 15-20 minutes.

When potatoes are tender, add minced garlic and turn heat down to a  HIGH SIMMER; cook for 5 minutes stirring mixture consistently.

OPTIONAL  ADDITION:  diced ham

ADD:  water, chicken "Better Than Bullion", smoked paprika, Kosher salt and Great Northern beans (remember to drain and rinse either way you did your beans!).

COOK at a low SIMMER for 30-45 minutes until beans and potatoes are tender.

ADD additional smoked paprika and Kosher salt to taste.

ADD your very crispy bacon!

Serve hot with toasted Natural Yeast Bread slices.


If by chance you have any leftovers, this soup freezes up beautifully!  :0)  Having leftovers doesn't happen very often any more!  Recipes that used to feed our family twice feed us once!  Someday I hope to have my freezer full of leftover soups and chilis to pull out after a crazy-busy day... I used to!  For now I am grateful for a house full of happy (and hungry!) kids.

This recipe is a pantry cleaner for sure!
It seems like I am always making this towards the end
of the month when I am using up what I have left in the pantry...
Hence the ambiguous numbers for the potatoes.
No need to go to the store and buy 4-5 of each kind.
WHAT  DO  YOU  HAVE  IN  THE  PANTRY?

BREAD  LINK:      Baking with Natural Yeast - BASIC LOAF

Clink Link FOR:   Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS

A special acknowledgment for Preston:  

THANK YOU for your amazing patience!  

I think I promised to share this recipe with your mother nearly 2 (maybe 3???) years ago...  

So glad to find out that this is still a favorite of your's!!! 

Split Pea Soup - Tried and True

2 pounds split green peas

1 pound bacon

1 large onion

12 carrots

1 bundle of garlic

12 cups cold water

1 ham-hock (OPTIONAL)

3 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Before you start cooking:
take your 2 pounds of split green peas and soak in filtered water.

In the large pot you are going to use for your Split Pea Soup, brown: 

1 pound of bacon; cut into 1 inch pieces before browning.

Set aside your brown and crispy bacon for when your soup is done cooking.

In the pot, leave the bacon grease and add:
1 large (2 medium/small) onion, diced

When onion is translucent and starting to caramelize, add:

10-12 carrots (2 pounds), peeled and sliced

1 bundle of garlic, minced

Add to everthing you’ve cooked in a soup pot:
12 cups cold water

2 pounds split green peas - rinsed

Optional:  Add a ham-hock bone for the remaining cooking time.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour.

Stir consistently - you DO NOT want to scorch the bottom of your lovely soup.

Add water WHEN and IF necessary; IE: the cooking water is gone and your split peas are still looking crunchy...

Add 3 teaspoons Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper.

Simmer for an hour - (ADD 1 cup of water... if necessary.  See note above about adding water!)

Simmer for one more hour and TASTE - ADD Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste.

Stir in your browned bacon into the soup.

Serve with cornbread or or toasted natural yeast bread.

Before you start cooking:
take your 2 pounds of split green peas and soak in filtered water.

When onion is translucent and starting to caramelize, add:

10-12 carrots (2 pounds), peeled and sliced

1 bundle of garlic, minced

Add to everthing you’ve cooked in a soup pot:

12 cups cold water

2 pounds split green peas - rinsed

Optional:  Add a ham-hock bone for the remaining cooking time.

Simmer for an hour - 

(ADD 1 cup of water... if necessary.  

See note above about adding water!)

Simmer for one more hour and TASTE 

- ADD Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste.

Stir in your browned bacon into the soup.

Dear Blake Brown:
In your defense - coarse black pepper and chia seed look nearly identical.
  
Dear Everyone else:
Make sure you are adding coarse black pepper - and NOT chia seed.

Link to recipe for:    Basic Natural Yeast Bread

Link to recipe for:    Cornbread - Gluten FREE


Click Link FOR:     Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS