Running out of yeast? Making your own homemade potato yeast is an affordable alternative to running to the store to purchase it. Particularly since yeast has been hard to find since the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Since the whole point of this recipe is to save money, I’m going to show you step by step how to make the potato yeast first. The actual printable recipe is at the bottom. This shouldn’t be confused with a sourdough starter, as it’s an actual natural yeast.
How to Make Potato Yeast
First, gather all of your ingredients and have them handy. You’ll need one potato, some flour, a bit of sugar, and water.
Wash and peel one large potato. We’re peeling it for a couple of reasons. First, commercially produced vegetables contain pesticides, as well as growth retardant chemicals. Removing the peel helps to ensure those items don’t accidentally kill your homemade yeast.
Place it in a pan, add water and boil the potato as though you were preparing mashed potatoes.
Bring the water to a boil and cook (covered) until the potato is soft.
Once the potato is fully cooked, shut off the burner, and allow the potato water to cool to lukewarm.
While it’s cooling, measure the flour and sugar into the jar, stir to combine.
Pour the reserved, cooled potato water into a one-quart jar. If you make the mistake of using hot potato water, the flour/sugar mixture will rot and go rancid rather than grow lovely yeast.
Gently stir sugar and flour, into the water, mixing until smooth. It’ll look a bit like paper mache or wallpaper paste.
Cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth, coffee filter, or paper towel, and secure it with a mason jar ring or elastic band. At this point, you don’t want to seal the jar, it needs to be breathable, yet protected.
Leave it overnight in a warm place to grow and expand. By morning, it should be bubbly and smell like yeast. This is a true yeast recipe, not a sourdough starter recipe, therefore it should not take several days, one night is sufficient.
You can use this yeast in baking the same way you use traditional store-bought yeast, by proofing the yeast with warm liquids and a sweetener before adding the dry ingredients.
Potato Yeast Recipe (Grandma’s Yeast Recipe)
1 medium potato
1 1/2 to 2 cups of water
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
Directions
- Wash, peel, and boil the potato as you would for mashed potatoes, reserving the water.
- Let the water cool.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups of the reserved, cooled potato water into a one-quart jar.
- Gently stir in sugar and flour, mixing until smooth.
- Cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth or paper towel, and secure it with a mason jar ring or elastic band.
- Leave it a full day and overnight in a warm place to grow and expand.
- By morning, it should be bubbly and smell like yeast.
Store the potato yeast in a covered jar in the refrigerator and use as needed.
Feed the Yeast Weekly
Given that this yeast is a live organism, it must be fed weekly to maintain it. To feed the yeast, remove half of the existing jar contents, then add 3/4 cups of water, 3/4 cup of flour, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
To Use:
Use this yeast as you would any store-bought yeast. 2 Tbsp potato yeast = 1 Tbsp store-bought yeast
One big difference though, you can expect rise times to take 2-3 times longer with home cultured yeast unless it happens to be very warm in your house. I save bread baking for laundry day and place the rising dough in a bowl on a clean towel on top of the dryer as it runs to achieve a rapid rise.
How to Use Homemade Potato Yeast to Make Bread
You’ll Need:
2 Tbs Potato Yeast
3 cups bread flour, plus extra as needed during kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. warm water
Using a stand mixer with a dough hook or in a large bowl, add the potato yeast, sugar, and warm water. Let it proof for 10 minutes, then add the oil, flour, and salt.
Let the machine knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply knead the dough on a floured surface for 10-12 minutes or until it’s smooth and holds its shape.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp dishtowel. Place in a draft-free area (a microwave or unheated oven works well). Allow the dough to rise until doubled.
Punch down and turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead for several minutes to remove any air bubbles.
Lightly grease a large loaf pan. Shape the dough and place it into the pan. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it has once again doubled in size.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F (177° C).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the tops are golden and the bread has pulled away from the sides of the pan. If desired, brush the top with butter 5-10 minutes before removing from oven.
ENJOY!
Something went terribly wrong. My flour settled on the bottom, leaving about 3/4 inch liquid floating on top. Mind you, it has bubbles, but the liquid is turning black. Help!
AS SOON as 1/2 inch of clear liquid has risen to the top it has ripened enough to start using. You don’t need to worry if the raw potato causes the mixture to turn dark during fermentation. It doesn’t affect the bread and, as soon as the starter is mature, it will turn snowy white.
1)when you store it in the fridge. Can you be stored with a sealed lid or should you still use the breathable options (coffee filter etc).
2)after sitting for 1 day – as mentioned above, the flour sinks to the bottoms and liquid floats to the top with bubbles. You mentioned its ready to use at this point. Should we mix it all together before using it?
3)You mentioned in the comment above that as it ages it will turn white. Do you mean as you keep it in the fridge over the weeks and continue to feed it with the water/flour/sugar?
.) Make sure the container is open to the air, using breathable options. It isn’t possible to culture yeast in a closed container since yeast need surface area to land on. You should also bring the jar to room temperature before using it.
2.) Make sure you vigorously stir the jar (or briefly cap it to shake it vigorously). This helps distribute the yeast and their food/substrate, and it oxygenates the water, which will prevent anaerobic bacteria from growing.
3.) If the culture is vigorously bubbling, put it in the refrigerator. If left on the counter for weeks at a time, it will mold and spoil. The idea is to catch the yeast, bake immediately, or to hold the culture in a ready state in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Can you use the liquid from home canned potatoes?
Hi. Linda from south africa. Thank you for a successful recipe of making yeast. When making the bread recipe i combine the already made yeast sugar and water…do i mix it or just add them and leave for 10 minutes, please?
Thank you.
Stir together the starter, flour, and water (without the salt) in a large bowl, until all of the flour is moistened and the dough forms a cohesive mass. If needed, add more water or flour to form a soft, sticky dough.
Put a cloth over the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes. A rest like this, called an autolyse, lets the flour absorb water, which forms gluten in the dough and makes it easier to knead.
When the dough has rested, add the salt and knead it until it’s smooth and supple, although still quite soft and tacky. When the dough is fully kneaded, place it back in the bowl, cover it, and let it rise for one hour.
Fold the dough like a business letter using a bowl scraper or bench knife on a floured surface. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Gently flatten the dough, and repeat. Cover the bowl with a cloth, and let the dough rise for another hour.
Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Form into two rounds, cover, and let rest for 20 minutes.
When you shape dough before baking, you create the basic shape that your loaf will have, without refining that shape. What’s the point of preshaping? It is natural for dough’s gluten to tighten up whenever it is handled, making it more challenging to shape further. When you preshape dough then let it rest for a short period before its final shaping, its gluten is relaxed, making it much easier to shape.
I’m making https://www.budget101.com/recipes/1524-hamburger-buns/ , How many tsp of potato yeast should I use to replace the instant yeast?
I’m making hamburger buns, How many tsp of the potato yeast should I use?
Use this yeast as you would any store-bought yeast. 2 Tbsp potato yeast = 1 Tbsp store-bought yeast
Hi! Does this work with gluten free flour/bread? How about a bread maker?
Can I use flour from my fresh ground hard white or hard red wheat berries in this recipe? Has anyone tried it?
Yes, you can feed your sourdough starter different flours. While the most traditional approach calls for using a combination of wheat and rye to feed the starter, there are many other flours that can be used as well. For instance, potato yeast is an excellent substitute for wheat or rye, as this type of flour is high in starch and features a very acidic flavor profile that works perfectly with the sourdough starter’s naturally acidic taste.
Additionally, many other types of grains can be used in place of wheat and rye, such as oat, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, amaranth, or millet. Simply mix three parts potato yeast with one part of your choice of these other flours and add it to your sourdough starter after it has fermented for 24 hours. In no time at all, your dough will have a wonderfully tangy and complex flavor that will delight both your taste buds and those who enjoy eating your delicious homemade bread!
Can I use something like honey or Maple syrup for a sugar substitute
Hi! The first time I did this it bubbled right up and made delicious, soft bread! I’ve tried three or four times since and it either does nothing then spoils, or molds right as it bubbles. I have t changed anything about the way I do it except where I place the jar as I feel like my house is too chilly but the vent gets too warm. My latest batch has the 1/2” liquid on top, but absolutely no bubbles. You said this is okay to start bread with? What could I be doing wrong? Thank you!
Soooo, what do you do with the potato?????
eat it, or make needhams , they ‘re absolutely amazing.
You use only 2 tbsp of this starter in a recipe? That’s a huge difference from the other things I’ve read. So interesting. I’ve got my starter mixed up and hanging out on my counter, and am excited to use it!!!!