Catching yeast at home

Ingredients:

30g (roughly 1 heaping tablespoon) dried fruit (raisins, apricots, dates, cherries)

40g (roughly 3 or 4 tablespoons) drinking water

40g (roughly 4 or 5 tablespoons) white flour (wheat or rye flour produce more vigorous results)

Directions

1. Combine fruit and water in a jar or bowl. Stir fruit around to release some of the yeast.

2. Add flour to the mixture and stir to create a thick paste

3. Cover the container loosely so nothing can fall in, and store in a warm (not hot) part of your kitchen: Above the refrigerator or in the oven with the light on work great.

4. Allow the mixture to sit for 24 to 48 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Small bubbles should form in the first 12 hours; these should grow considerably as you let the mixture sit.

5. To cut back, take ½ teaspoon of the bubbly mixture, and add it to a new container with roughly 40g water and 40g flour and let it sit until bubbly again. You don’t need to transfer any fruit at this point. Repeat this step three or four times before your first bake with your starter. Always use newly cut-back, vigorous starter for your baking.

Notes: This method is incredibly versatile. Don’t have dried fruit? Try it with some fresh grapes or plums you have around. Short of that, try any dal you have (chana, urad or masoor work well). Or try boiling cut potatoes in some water, let the water cool, and mix it with an equal part flour. In a pinch, just mixing equal parts water and flour, or equal parts water with rye flour will work too. This will take much longer but should produce active starters.

Don’t have flour? Try using other sources: fine cornmeal or semolina flour. Or, blend some oats to replace the flour. You can try experimenting with any number of things here.

Safety: Young starters — before the yeast can really get its footing — are the most vulnerable to infection by the wrong sort of bacteria, including possibly E. coli. A pinkish or orange-ish tint may indicate bad bacteria. Discard and start again if you see this color change, or mold.

Sudeep Agarwala, 2020