OTish - wild yeast ...

[Jethro_uk]

AIUI the problem is packaging, rather than stock.

[Jethro_uk]

For Brian: It's a YouTube video of making moonshine from toilet paper :)

[Brian Reay]

If it is a dry mix, I hope it is still OK. Don't be surprised if it is crawling with bugs- seriously. Even the best flour can contain the eggs- they just tend not to hatch if you employ stock rotation.

It isn't a sign your kitchen is dirty etc, as I said, the eggs are in the flour.

Google Flour Mites or Flour Weevils, both terms are used.

They aren't generally harmful but, most people are unhappy about using flour with them in. Some people can be allergic I believe.

[Jethro_uk]

I'll keep an eye out. What the eye doesn't see etc :)

Anyway, isn't eating insects supposed to be the future ?

[Brian Reay]

I've seen some articles about it. However, I don't think flour mites is quite what they have in mind. Besides, Tim will scream about their rights ;-)

[Ophelia]

Well, following "The Clever Carrots" guide, I have a nice jug full of slowly bubbling starter ... lack of bread flour is now the problem. But I did manage to bag a bag of *plain* flour from our corner shop ...

Hoping to make pizza dough for S unday - seems a bit more kneading is required ? Maybe use half my starter ?

=====

I don't know but please keep reporting back???

[S Viemeister]

If you sift flour, you can remove most/all of the beasties.

[Dave W]

I have not yet found plain white flour or yeast anywhere, but in my local Waitrose today the otherwise empty flour shelves had a few packets of Wright's Premium White Bread Mix, which is strong white flour plus dried yeast.

[Tim+]

My daughter has found chapati flour good for her sourdough and relatively easy to get hold of in 10kg sacks.

Tim

[Ophelia]

I have not yet found plain white flour or yeast anywhere, but in my local Waitrose today the otherwise empty flour shelves had a few packets of Wright's Premium White Bread Mix, which is strong white flour plus dried yeast.

Dave

====

I didn't know that! Thank you! I have been making our own bread for years and I have never looked at other packets:)

[Jethro_uk]

Well Sainsburys today had strong white flour (1.5Kg bags, which seems an odd measure ?). Ordinarily I would have got one. But since there was a limit of 3 per person, I got 3 :)

So I've an assortment of flour, yeast, bread mix and sourdough starter to experiment with. Although the sourdough hasn't been as active as the guide suggests. Maybe it's a tad too cool at the moment ?

[Brian Reay]

Depends what you mean by odd. It is a common enough size. I agree it seems a strange multiple.

I've not made a lot of sourdough but I've not found it that sensitive- at least given household temperatures don't really 'drop' like outside ones do. Lack of 'food' is the normal issue, a bit of floor and water is the typical feed. Someone told me Nail Polish fumes (seriously) could be used to revive a slow/stalled starter but I've never tried it. I've heard alcohol (gin or vodka) also works but, again, I've never tried.

[Max Demian]

Used to be 3lb. Just as sugar used to be 2lb, now 1kg. Some things haven't properly been metricated, like jam is usually 454g (=1lb). Milk is odd as it usually goes from 1pt to 1l to 2l &c. And tinned tomatoes go from 227g (½lb) to 400g usually. I suppose originally it could have been a matter of using up old tins &c.

I don't know why we couldn't have gone properly metric like Australia. I blame the 'metric martyr' market traders with their old brass weights.

[charles]

today we are using a 1.3l contaziner of Cravendale

[Bob Eager]

The 3lb. was apparently two loaves' worth.

[Ophelia]

Well Sainsburys today had strong white flour (1.5Kg bags, which seems an odd measure ?). Ordinarily I would have got one. But since there was a limit of 3 per person, I got 3 :)

So I've an assortment of flour, yeast, bread mix and sourdough starter to experiment with. Although the sourdough hasn't been as active as the guide suggests. Maybe it's a tad too cool at the moment ?

=======

I am very interested in your starter!! Yes, it possibly is too cool!!

LOL yes, I go in for 1 but when I the limits are over that, I buy them all too:)))))

I have been making my own bread for decades and though I made sourdough, D. didn't like it:( I wonder if yours is different!

I have always keep a good stock of strong white flour, so no problem with that, but I haven't stored so much yeast! I wonder how long it will take to get the yeast back in the shops. I suspect it should come back fairly soon, yes?

From what I have been reading, there is no shortage of stuff, just that people are stockpiling and the producers can't keep up:(

I would like to give your starter a try. Who knows, perhaps he won't dislikes it so much?? :)))

[Ophelia]

Depends what you mean by odd. It is a common enough size. I agree it seems a strange multiple.

I've not made a lot of sourdough but I've not found it that sensitive- at least given household temperatures don't really 'drop' like outside ones do. Lack of 'food' is the normal issue, a bit of floor and water is the typical feed. Someone told me Nail Polish fumes (seriously) could be used to revive a slow/stalled starter but I've never tried it. I've heard alcohol (gin or vodka) also works but, again, I've never tried.

====

Nail polish eh?? LOL I don't think I would like to use that in my bread:))

[Brian Reay]

Very Big loaves!

[Jim GM4DHJ ...]

wife has been making nice rotie bread as we can't get self raising four....

[Brian Reay]

I've no idea how/if it works. When I Googled it, ages ago, all I could find was some reference to a starter which had gone failed/gone 'bad' smelling of Nail Polish or Alcohol but the 'tip' I was told was something about 'triggering' the process using the vapour from Nail Polish. Like you, I didn't like the sound of it, plus I've only made sourdough a few times.