Unit alert! (was: SC - Long-Period food, bread, etc.)

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Par Leijonhufvud wrote:

> > It is two envelopes primarily to get a good rise quickly.  I'd use two
> 
> > can tell, bakers prior to this century used about 1 package of yeast to
> > 2 pounds of flour and made extensive use of sponges and extended rising
> 
> When you say; "an envelpe of yeast"; just how much yeast is this? If
> given the amounts we non-US cooks have some chance of figuring out what
> is equivalent, but not when it comes to packages.
> 
> /UlfR
> (Who buys yeast is 50 gram cakes)

The recipe I based the peri-oid "white" bread recipe I posted called for
2 envelopes of dry yeast, or 1 ounce of fresh "cake" yeast. An envelope
of dry yeast in the USA is a fairly standard measurement equivalent to
1/4 ounce per envelope (roughly 1 Tablespoon, if you buy it by bulk in
jars or some such. So two envelopes is 1/2 ounce dry yeast, or roughly
equivalent to a 1-ounce cake of fresh yeast, in the States,  or
approximately 1/2 of one of Ulf's 50-gram cakes in Sweden.

Now, I should also point out that the recipe I posted was in response to
a request from a lady looking for a bread recipe for an event,
presumably to be baked in bulk. Yes, an experienced baker can get by
with much less yeast, given things like sufficient time to start a
sponge the night before, a six-hour rise time, give or take an hour, and
a proper oven. And, yes, there are certainly ways to make the recipe
produce a loaf that would be closer to some forms of period bread. This
was an informed compromise, since I don't yet have a recipe scaled to
make fifty loaves using freshly washed ale barm ;  ), and I would want
to be a bit more experienced in the technique before spending event
money on it. 

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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