Hop Yeast

One pint of sliced raw potatoes. One-half pint of hops.

One quart of water.

One tea-spoonful of ginger. One yeast cake, or One cupful of yeast.

One table-spoonful of salt.

One tea-cupful of sugar.

Boil the potatoes in a pint of the water, and steep the hops for twenty minutes in the other pint, using a granite-ware or porcelain-lined sauce-pan for the purpose. When the potatoes are soft, mash them in the water in which they were boiled, and when the hops are steeped, strain the water from them into the potato water. Add the salt, sugar and ginger, and mix all well together. When cool, add the dissolved yeast-cake or the liquid yeast, cover the bowl, and let it stand in a warm place until the yeast is light and covered with foam. Skim and stir several times. Put the yeast in glass jars or a stone jug, sealing it securely. Keep it in a cool place, and shake it well before using. The above measurements will not make a large quantity.

Lightning Yeast

One quart of boiled potatoes.

One quart of hot water.

One quart of cold water.

One-half tea-cupful of sugar.

One-quarter tea-cupful of salt. Two compressed yeast cakes, or One pint of yeast.

Mash the potatoes fine, and pour the hot water upon them. Add the sugar and salt, and stir well until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Then pour in the cold water, and when the whole is lukewarm, add the dissolved yeast-cakes or the yeast. Set the yeast in a warm place, as directed in the preceding recipe, skim well, and set it away in a stone jar. Shake before using.

Raw Potato Yeast

One-quarter cupful of flour.

One-quarter cupful of sugar.

One table-spoonful of salt.

Three medium-sized potatoes.

One to two quarts of boiling water. One cake of compressed yeast, or One cupful of liquid yeast.

Pare the potatoes, and cover them with cold water. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl; then grate the potatoes as quickly as possible, not stopping to grate every scrap, and mix them at once with the flour, using a wooden or silver spoon that the mixture may not be darkened. Have a good supply of boiling water in the tea-kettle, and pour about a pint of it over the grater, rinsing off the potato into the bowl. Mix the water thoroughly with the potato and flour, then add slowly enough more boiling water to make the liquid the consistency of thin starch. The exact quantity of water cannot be given, as it depends upon the quality of flour and potatoes. If it does not thicken, pour the mixture into a double boiler or a granite pan, and bring it to the boiling point, stirring well to keep it from sticking; then strain through a squash strainer, and let it cool. When lukewarm, add the yeast, cover, and keep in a warm place until light and well covered with white foam. After the yeast begins to rise, beat it well several times, as this strengthens it greatly. At night or when it is well risen, set it away in a cool place, pouring it into wide-mouthed earthen jars or in glass jars. Reserve a cupful or more in a jar by itself, and do not open it until ready for the next yeast making. Shake well before using. Do not take the jar into the hot kitchen when yeast is used for a baking, but take the measuring cup to the jar. Scald the jar when empty, and cover it tightly.

This is a quick and very easy way of making yeast, fifteen minutes being ample for the first of the work. The yeast, which will keep two weeks and makes delicious bread, is whiter and more inviting-looking than that made with hops.