[Sca-cooks] yeast reservoirs

[Kathleen Madsen]

> 
> Interesting point about the impregnated kneading
> trough and a good  
> thing to keep in mind when wondering if a bread is
> leavened or not.
> 
> Anybody ever used one of these kneading troughs or
> something similar,  
> long enough that it might become a reservoir for
> some yeast and then  
> found that the new dough would pick up enough yeast
> from the trough  
> that it would affect the dough?
> 
> Thanks,
>    Stefan

I'm working on getting my butter churn innoculated
with the strain of yeast/culture I use.  I don't want
any of the rest of my cheesemaking tools impregnated
though as I am fickle and like to make more than one
kind of cheese.  Those little mold and culture spores
are tough little buggers and when I'm working with
blues I have to have stringent sanitation practices in
place so as not to cross-contaminate.

I walked into Dean & DeLuca one morning and saw an
entire face of Parmigiano Reggiano growing an
absolutely lush and lovely coat of blue and white
molds with a few speckles of green scattered about. 
That was entirely caused by poor practices by the
cheesemongers, they were more than likely using dirty
knives, working on a dirty surface, or not washing
their hands after working with blues.  It was at least
a $100 clean up job and if you don't hack it away deep
enough it'll grow back a day or two later costing even
more.  Made me want to march behind that counter and
thwap them all upside the head.  Ricardo, the counter
manager, was being too lax with the lot of them.

I also don't make bread and make cheese at the same
time.  Bread yeast is more agressive than my usual
cultures and nine times out of ten my cheese will blow
and become spongy.

Eibhlin