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Preserve

Hard Yeast

Hard Yeast is a method for producing a dry, stiff yeast dough from hops, water, wheat or rye meal, and Indian meal.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Wheat and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,373 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Hard Yeast

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sponge

  1. Boil hops in water until only 2 quarts remain.

  2. Strain the mixture.

  3. Stir in wheat or rye meal until thick as batter.

  4. Add yeast.

  5. Let it stand for about 3 hours until very light.

Shape the cakes

  1. Work in sifted Indian meal until it forms stiff dough.

  2. Roll out the dough on a floured board.

  3. Cut into oblong cakes, 3 inches by 2 inches and ½ inch thick.

  4. Place cakes on a floured board.

  5. Prick the cakes with a fork.

Dry and store

  1. Set them in a dry, clean area with good air circulation.

  2. Turn the cakes daily.

  3. Store in a coarse cotton bag in a cool, dry place.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,373 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Hops + flourtop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together10 recipes

    Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).

  3. Hops + wheattop 33% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Hops
Gives the mixture its bitter flavour and helps preserve the yeast liquid.
Wheat or rye meal
Provides starch and protein that form the batter and dough structure.
Yeast
Ferments the batter so it becomes light and airy before shaping.
Sifted indian meal
Stiffens the batter into a workable dough for rolling and cutting.

The step that matters

Let it stand until very light. Yeast needs time to ferment the batter; if the sponge is underproofed, the cakes will stay dense and heavy after drying.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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