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Natural Sweetener Starter Info

Natural Sweetener Starter Info — a community recipe on Potlikkr.

Ingredients

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Method (preview)

1. 1

   Yeast can feed perfectly well on flour, and do not "require" refined sugar. They like Barley Malt very well; you can use the gooey crap or you can buy Barley Malt as Malted Barley flour. It is a dark-cream colored powder because it is an unrefined flour made from the sprouted (malted) barley grain. I use about 1 tsp. per loaf, pitched in right on top of my dry yeast. (However, I also use honey, so you may wish to experiment with more of the powder.)

2. 2

   If you are concerned about your yeast becoming sluggish and not lifting the heavier whole-grain loaves because they are working without the "supercharge" of sugar, you may find it effective to begin to experiment with "sponge" cookery. Take about 1/2 c of your water and about 1/2 c of your flour, (plus 1/2 tsp. of your barley malt, if desired) and stir this into a sponge--a separate "starter" for your bread. Inoculate this sponge with about 1/2 tsp. of your total intended yeast. (Most of my loaves use 1 or 1.5 tsp. TOTAL). Let this sponge work for an hour or 4 in a warm draft-free place, such as your oven with a pilot light, or with the electric bulb turned on. This will give even the most wimpy yeast a nice "head-start" on a heavy-grain loaf.