SC - Fruitcake/Plum pudding (WAS: Roman Cheese Cake)

[Decker, Terry D.]

>>You might be able to take  a solution of water and sugar
>>(preferably malt extract or actual brewer's wort) and use that trub at
>>the bottom to create a live yeast starter. When you've got that, you can
>>skim some of the foamy glop off the TOP, and use that for leavening,
>>since it's now live yeast. Bear in mind that in period both brewing and
>>baking were not so much frequent events as constantly ongoing processes,
>>and the raw materials for one were regularly being produced by the
>>other.
>
>I'm fairly positive that beer yeast used to make bread will not have a taste
>that you expect.   Bear in mind that brewing & vinting yeasts are only
>distant cousins of bread yeasts today.  I tried a wine with a bread yeast as
>an experiment.  Yeuchhhh!  I have never tried the reverse but I wouldn't be
>surprised if the same yeuchhh result was the outcome.  If you try it I would
>be extremely interested in what your results were.
>
>Peyton   

There are many different kinds of yeast, each of which works best for
specific purposes.  The brewers I know carefully choose their yeasts and
sterilize their carboys and equipment to reduce the possibility of
introducing wild yeast.   For baking I tend to use dry active yeast
purchased by the pound and stored in a jar in the refrigerator.  Trying
to swap one kind of packaged yeast for another usually doesn't work.

We know that for bread leavening the Romans used grape must, the
Germanic tribes used ale barm, and that ale barm continued to be used
into period.  Brewing and baking were ongoing activities about the
manors and probably remained that way through the period we recreate.
They were among the first forms of work to become commercial enterprises
as towns and urban centers began growing.  Commercial medieval brewers
cultivated their yeasts and I expect medieval baker's did the same,
although I have found no evidence to support this.  

We do know that bakers did grow their own yeast in the 18th and 19th
centuries.  In the first half of this century, home bakers could still
buy yeast from the local bakery.  The commercial breweries, who had to
cultivate yeast anyway, began to cultivate baker's yeast as well,
providing a cheaper, better source of yeast to commercial bakers and the
general public.  

The idea of growing yeast from the dregs and using the barm for baking
is similar to the practice of cleaning barm.  The gathered ale barm is
allowed to settle, the liquor is then decanted  and added to a warm
solution of water and barley malt extract.  The mixture is kept warm and
the yeast is allowed to grow.  The liquor is decanted and used as
leavening.  The process can be repeated indefinitely, but there are many
reports of the yeast culture weakening over time.  Unless you are really
feeling experimental, starting with an ale barm is probably advised. 

Ales are top fermenting and are fairly light tasting.  The use of ale
barm (the foam on top of the ale pot) as bread leavening is documented.
The active fermentation is at the top of the pot, so it makes a fast
acting yeast (relatively) and it can be dried and stored for periods
when no ale is brewing.  The ale itself can be used as leavening (as
long as it has not been pastuerized) since there is yeast throughout the
product, but the action will be slower.  Almost all American commercial
beers are some form of ale.

Beers are bottom fermenting and usually are heavier and more bitter than
ale.   The taste is carried over into any bake goods.  And in any case,
collecting beer yeast really would be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

If you are interested in further research Stefans Floregium has some
good information on yeast and Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast
Cookery covers all of the ingredients in baking and covers a number of
historical practices.  

Have fun

Bear
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