German Yeast
Ingredients
Directions
Wash the yeast
Filter the yeast through a muslin or silk sieve into a tub with 4 to 5 times the quantity of cold spring water.
Stir well with a broom or whisk until mixed and foamy.
Let it settle until the water is clear.
Gently draw off the surface water without disturbing the settled yeast.
Pump in more cold water. Stir again.
Repeat until the water is tasteless and clear.
Treat with chemicals
Add ½ oz. of carbonate of ammonia and 1 oz. of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 1 pint of cold water to the yeast. Mix the dissolved chemicals with the purified yeast.
Let it sit for 12 to 14 hours.
Pump in cold water again. Stir.
Draw off the water for the last time.
Press
Empty the settled yeast into a clean linen bag. Tie it up.
Place it between two boards.
Apply gentle pressure to the boards to remove excess water.
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
What each ingredient does
- Brewery or distillery yeast
- Forms the bulk of the material that is washed, leavened and pressed into the final yeast.
- Carbonate of ammonia
- Acts as a chemical leavening agent that helps the yeast rise and become lighter.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Releases gas as a leavening agent, adding lift to the finished yeast.
The step that matters
Repeated washing until the water runs clear. Residual bitterness and off-flavours from the yeast carry into the final product if the washing is cut short. Each draw-off and refill removes more dissolved and suspended material, so the wash should continue until the water is tasteless and clear.
“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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