Beer BARM in Bread

[Loyalist Dave]

I have trouble believing that there would have been enough barm produced from brewing to make all the bread on a daily basis

Not sure why you pose that "all the bread" had to be made the same way, nor that all of the bread had to always be made on a daily basis.
Every single family in Europe or in the UK didn't have access to a bread oven, nor did they personally bake bread on a daily basis. In fact some households didn't necessarily bake bread. Commercial bakeries are the most likely customers for barm from a brewhouse. IF it wasn't close to that sort of situation, then there wouldn't be a law requiring brewers to sell barm to bakers, and to set a fixed price.

In The House-Keepers Pocket-Book and Complete Family Cook by Sarah Harrison 1739, she has a recipe for French Bread that uses " Ale yeast", and also a recipe for buns that uses "fresh barm"...

To make French Bread
Beat two Eggs with a little Salt, lay to them half a Pint of Ale Yeast, or more, then put to it three Pounds of fine Flour, and put into it as much blood-warm Milk as will make it soft and light ; then make it into Loaves or Rolls, and when bak’d and cold, rasp or grate all the outside off, and the it is fit to set at Table.

To make Buns
Take, to three Pounds of Flour well dry’d before the Fire, two Pounds and a half of Butter, a Pound of Sugar, and ten Ounces of Carraway-comfits ; melt your butter in warm Water upon the Fire, with six Spoonfuls of Rose-water, a few more Caraway-seeds, if you please, and a Pint of new Barm ; knead all these together, and set your Buns into the Oven, after white Bead is drawn.

By 1767 The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by A Lady [Hannah Glasse] has a recipe To make white bread, after the London way, which uses yeast. The next recipe is To make French Bead which calls for a pint and a half of "good ale yeast". Then she follows two pages later with, A receipt for making bread without barm with the help of a leaven, which uses yeast in a dough-sponge from a previous baking, with instructions on keeping it from being too sour. This recipe she credits to The Dublin Society. Directly following that recipe..., she documents the method for drying yeast for later use, as well as drying the same yeast for use in beer.

So there were a lot of ways known to use yeast, but it wasn't uncommon to use barm, and the yeast that they were drying for use later..., is an ale yeast.


LD

 

[tenngun]

I THINK that the popularity of puddings and pancakes dumplings ect was related to the expensive of baking bread in Europe, a pudding drops in to an everlasting stew pot or a fried pancake was quick and cheap.
Everybody had a small fire place at home, but not everyone had an oven.

 

[dpw21562]

July 26th Zonie Wrote:
Well, it seems we're all done talking about wheat bread.
Maybe someday, someone will start a new post where we can talk about baking bread and limit the thread to talking about bread instead of global warming.

How About Today?
And you don't want us to even think about mentioning how global warming is changing the wheat crop, or GMO's being used ???

View attachment 13042

Well then...,
Has anybody used ale yeast to make their bread in camp? I bring it up since the yeast of the colonial times, and up into the beginning of the 19th century, was from brewing vats where they made ale (even though it was referred to then as "beer"; Pasteur had not yet done his research).

I have and there are a few "tricks" to it, especially in the summer. You use liquid yeast cells from the bottom of a fermenter, OR you culture some dry brewing yeast in a sterile container with sterile sugar water, and that's all the liquid that you use for the dough. You want a little sea salt, like a pinch or so, in your dough as well, and if your flour doesn't have some malted flour or ground malt in the dough, you need a sugar source, such as honey.

Ale yeast likes temps lower than 70 degrees, and …, it likes a huge population of yeast cells, hence the large amount of liquid yeast or "barm". This combines to give you about a 12 hour clock on the first "rise" of the bread. (you will note that modern bread yeast rises in about two hours and it like to be up around 100-110 degrees. NOT ale yeast). Add to the problem that the yeast will give off a degree or two of added heat...,

So in addition to the large amount of liquid ale yeast, and the time, you make the dough at about 6 p.m., knead it, etc. THEN set it aside in the dough bowl, covered with a damp cloth. The following morning between 04:00 and 06:00 it will have finally risen. Then you punch it down, and bake at about 7 or 8, as you would any other basic bread.

Why would we use that stuff then ?
Glad you asked...., commercial bread yeast was cultured and is now sold to not impact the bread with any, or very little, added flavor. The yeast company has no idea what sort of bread you will make so doesn't want a flavor that will conflict with what you make. Ale yeast, and there are a bunch, give your bread added flavor. PLUS you get to actually experience some of the quirks of the historic bakers.

Doesn't that make sourdough ?
You can save some of the dough as a future sponge. It's a mistake that some archaeologist make when they assume that lactobacilli must be present in a dough starter that sits at room temp for 2 to 3 days. I know, as I got a really nice sourdough starter once, and lost it. The second time I tried it the sponge didn't sour, even though I kept it in a clay crock on the counter top, as I had the first sponge. So you "might" get sourdough starter, or maybe not. IF you make the bread each day as a baker might back in the 18th century, probably not going to sour.

Any other tips?
Glad you asked..., yes IF you get the stuff from the bottom of a beer fermenter, know that it will probably contain bits of hops, which can make your bread bitter, so you either add some extra honey, or don't use the "trube" from the fermenter, and culture the Ale yeast in its own container.

LD

How about baking a loaf and send it to me to try, I'll pay the postage of course

 

[Carbon 6]

Everybody had a small fire place at home, but not everyone had an oven.

I think it was in the early Jamestown colony that having one's own oven was actually discouraged. I believe it was a church thing. One reasoning was to prevent fires. but it also controlled the daily bread.
I'd have to look it up again.

 

[Carbon 6]

How about baking a loaf and send it to me to try, I'll pay the postage of course

I fear it would be moldy by the time the post office delivered it.

Bread is an extremely simple thing to make. We have been doing it for over 30,000 years, of course in that time people have come up with a multitude of ways to complicate the process.
I recommend the no-knead method for beginners,