First time I was baking with raisin yeast, I was surprised at how easy it was. I was a newbie to sourdough baking, and I had struggled with my wheat starter for a while. It’s funny how easy it sometimes sounds when you read instructions for how to make a sourdough starter. Just mix flour with water and place it somewhere warm. And in a couple of days, you have a bubbling starter.
Yeah, sure.
Most of us who have tried know it’s usually not that simple. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you’re taking care of your starter. You’re still just rewarded with some tiny bubbles on the surface. At best. Sometimes it looks dead as a mummy.
As we become more experienced, we learn how to keep our starter mature and lively, but in the beginning, it can be a bit daunting.
That’s why I think it can be a good idea for beginners to take a break from the traditional starter and try raisin yeast instead. It may look complicated at first glance. It’s circumstantial, but it’s in fact not that difficult. And the chance of being rewarded with a bubbly starter is bigger than if you just mix flour and water and hope for the best.
According to some bakers, a traditional levain must be started with raisin yeast. I have no opinion about whether it is correct or not, but I do know that you get excellent bread.
Raisin yeast ( together with other types of fermented fruits or berries) sometimes goes under the definition wild yeast or natural starter to distinguish it from the traditional sourdough starter. I don’t think that’s correct. The only type of yeast that doesn’t qualify in the wild yeast family is commercial yeast.
Now, I’m not claiming that commercial yeast is something bad. It’s perfect for certain types of bread. But it won’t give you bread with that special, tasty crumb with a crunchy crust that only a bread made from a natural starter can provide. Raisin yeast is no exception.
As I have mentioned before, I find it very easy to bake with raisin yeast. Up to this date, I have never failed. I have however heard about bakers that have faced some problems. Some claim that you should only use raisins not coated with oil. I have used both types and never experienced any problems, but if you can find any without oil coating, preferably organic, I encourage you to use them. Unfortunately, the producers sometimes use palm oil, something that can only be considered as vicious.
The procedure to make the yeast is just as easy as to mix a sourdough starter. All you need is some raisins, lukewarm water, and some sugar. Add everything into a glass jar with airtight lid.
Shake the jar until all sugar has dissolved, and place it in a warm place. Now you only have to wait. After 3-4 days, you will hopefully see some bubbles from the raisins. The yeast is ready when all raisins are floating and releasing lots of bubbles. Pour everything through a strainer, but take care of the liquid. It’s the liquid that is the actual yeast.
You don’t need the raisins anymore so you can waste them. Or you can use them in some bread or pastries. Be creative. Food waste is BAD.
Now you can make your first raisin starter dough (a weird word, I know. But I don’t know what to call it). You mix raisin yeast with flour and let it ferment for at least 4 hours. I use to let it ferment overnight. If you follow the recipe below you will get som leftover yeast. Pour it into a jar with an airtight lid and store it in the refrigerator.
There it should keep for several months.
It’s time to refresh your starter dough, and you do that by adding som water and flour. Knead everything into a smooth dough that you let ferment for 3-6 hours depending surrounding temperature. It should double in size.
Finally, it’s time to mix the levain. I advise you to do that the evening before you want to bake. Let it ferment overnight, and you are ready to bake the next morning.
The levain can be used as a starter in many different recipes. I have included one below that I use on a regular basis.
Make sure that you spare some of the starter dough. You can keep it in the refrigerator for 10-14 days. When you want to bake, you just have to refresh it with flour and water to a new levain. If you do it in the evening, you are ready to bake again in the morning, and you don’t have to start all over again. You can also make some extra levain and keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of days If you planning to bake again the next day or the day after.
And don’t forget that you now have a powerful ally in the refrigerator. A tablespoon of that leftover raisin yeast can wake up the most sleepy sourdough starter. I promise.
About flour.
The flour I used has 11.5-12 % protein. You may have to increase the water amount to get the same result if you are using a much stronger flour.
How to make, and bake, with raisin yeast
Ingredients
Raisin yeast
- 250 gram lukewarm water
- 125 gram rasins preferably organic and not oil coated.
- 60 gram sugar
Starter dough
- 90 gram raisin yeast
- 90 gram Wheat flour
Refreshment of starter dough
- 90 gram water
- 90 gram Wheat flour
Levain
- 44 gram starter dough
- 134 gram water
- 224 gram Wheat flour
Pain au levain
- 400 gram levain
- 550 gram Wheat flour
- 65 gram whole wheat flour
- 425 gram water
- 12 gram sea salt
- rice flour for bannetons
Instructions
Raisin yeast
- Heat water to approx. 35 °C. Mix sugar, water, and raisins into a large glass jar with air-tight lid, and shake until sugar has dissolved. Place the jar in a warm place, preferably ca. 25-30 °C, if possible. Otherwise, it is good anywhere at ordinary room temperature. It will work. It will just take a little bit longer to start the fermentation process.
- Let it ferment 4-6 days. The yeast is ready when all raisins are floating and releasing lots of bubbles. Pour everything through a strainer, but take care of the liquid. It's the liquid that is the actual yeast.
Starter dough
- Mix raisin yeast with flour and let it ferment for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Refreshment of starter
- Add water and flour to the starter and knead it to a smooth dough. Let it ferment for 3-4 hours.
Levain
- Mix 44 gram of the starter dough with flour and water and knead to a smooth dough. let it ferment overnight, or at least 4 hours.
Pain au levain
- Mix all ingredients except salt in a dough mixer until the dough is elastic. Use window pane test. Add the salt the last minutes. If you prefer to knead by hand you can use a stretch and fold technique. You will find a link in the recipe notes
- Let the dough ferment until doubled in size.
- Spread some semolina on a lightly floured working surface. Form the dough into two loaves with an oblong batard shape. See link in recipe notes. Let the loaves rise in bannetons or on lightly floured parchment paper. Place kitchen towels on the sides to support the bread if you don't use bannetons. Always use rice flour when you are preparing your bannetons. It's superior compared to ordinary flour.
- Let the loaves rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 480ºF / 250ºC with two oven plates. One to bake the bread on and one just below.
- Score each loaf along the side and place them in the oven. Lower the heat to 440ºF / 230ºC. Pour some water on the plate below and bake each loaf in 45-50 minutes.
- Let the bread cool on wire racks.
96 Comments
This sounds fairly easy to make even though there seems to be a lot of steps indeed! 😉
When you bake your loaf, do you cover it with a lid to get oven spring and to help it achieve a nice chewy crust from the steam? Or is it lid off as there is a pan of water directly underneath?
Hi Cassie,
If you are used to baking with a sourdough starter, this method won’t cause you any problem. There are more steps, but there is nothing complicated about it. Besides, it’s almost impossible to fail with the raisin yeast.
My preferred method used to be a pan with water underneath. But I have come to the conclusion that it’s hard to get enough steam around the loaf that way. So nowadays I place the loaf on a baking stone and cover it with a huge pot.
It’s big enough to cover both the loaf and a small container with boiling water. I get a much better result with that method.
I think a dutch oven works fine as well.
Can u please tell me what type of wheat flour dose it need please
Hi Nicola,
For this recipe, I have used wheat flour with 11.5% protein content, and whole wheat flour with 12% protein content.
Thank you for this thorough guide line. I have my starter dough ready but it is not of a consistency to knead. I put 90 grams each water and flour to the raisin starter and it’s still very soupy. I’m hoping you’ll read this today… otherwise I’ll wing it and learn from your reply after the fact. Many thanks!
Hi Pam,
It sounds like you have added too much water into your dough. The hydration for the dough in the recipe is only 67%. That is considered to be a quite stiff dough, even if you use all-purpose flour.
What if you want to use this yeast water in a bread recipe that calls for instant yeast or active dry? What is the conversion of using the dry yeast vs. this wet yeast? What alterations would you have to make for a recipe? An example of a recipe I use a lot is this. https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2012/10/tangzhong-wholemeal-loaf.html
I have made a conversion to the recipe so it is 100% whole wheat.
Also, I have heard this type of yeast is not sour like traditional sourdough. Is that true? Thanks so much. I look forwards to trying this.
I never add raisin yeast directly to the main dough. Bear in mind that it’s very sweet. The sweetness disappears when you go through the process of make a starter dough and a levain.
But I don’t know how much you can add without getting an undesired sweetness if you add it directly.
It’s correct that you will get a less sour bread with this method than if you had used sourdough starter. But you will still have a hint of sourness.
Wow. Maybe my scale is off. I used spelt flour… maybe that is the difference, and I did follow instructions, adding one to one (90 to 90 g) water and flour.
We’ll see what happens. I put it in the mixer with a dough hook and added flour until the dough pulled together. I’ll let you know how my experiment goes. Thank you so much for responding.
Hey Tomas,
Your levain is
100 gram starter dough
300 gram water
500 gram Wheat flour
which totals to 900 gram.
However you only call for 400 of that in the final dough. What of the remaining 500 gram of levain that was prepared?
Good question.
When I bake with levain, I always make more than I need. The rest can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days. That means I don’t have to mix a new levain if I’m planning to bake again the next day or the day after.
My intention was to mention that in the post, but I didn’t.
I’m sorry about that.
However, when I think about it, It’s probably better to adjust the recipe for just one baking session.
Not everybody wants to bake several days in a row.
So, could you half the recipe and still get 2 loaves of bread?
Yes, you can. But the loaves will, of course, be smaller, so you have to adjust the cooking time.
Hi
Good article
This yeast can be used in brewing wine or beer؟
I’m glad you liked it, Usama.
Yes, I think you can, even though I have never tried it myself. But I have read about enthusiasts brewing with wild yeast and even sourdough starter. However, it seems to be quite complicated compared to use commercial yeast.
I use raisin yeast to make my wine Works very well!!!
Hi Kobie.
First time I hear that. Many thanks for your input.
Hi Kobie, can you make any suggestions on where to look to make wine from raisin yeast. Or would you share your process? Im so intrigued
Hi Tomas,
Have you used other dried fruits besides raisins? Do you think it would work to add the fruit to the bread after the yeast is made?
Thanks for this interesting recipe!
Jan
Hi Jan.
I have tried with dried plums, but that didn’t work at all. I don’t know why. I have never failed with raisins though.
I have never tried to add the raisins as I’m not that fond of whole raisins in bread. But if you like it I think it’s worth trying. I can’t see why there should be any problems.
Hi Kobie, can you make any suggestions on where to look to make wine from raisin yeast. Or would you share your process? Im so intrigued
can you also add standard measure please , sorry i dont know how to convert
How do you preserve the rest of the raisin water? Fridge? Out on the counter?
You should keep it in the fridge. You can keep it there for at least a month.
Is there a particular brand of raisin you can recommend to make the starter? Thanks!
Not really. I have tried a couple of different, brands and they have worked just fine all of them. I have heard about problems with raisins covered with oil, but I have never experienced any problems.
I have a mason jar sitting in my counter for the last 6 days, the raisins didn’t float on top & it started growing mold. I used lukewarm water, organic raisins & sugar. Should I toss & start over? Thanks!
Hi Eddy.
Yes, I definitely think you should waste it. Mold is a health risk, so don’t try to save it. It is strange though, I have never experienced mold in my raisin starter.
It’s d4, raising are floating somewhat but no bubbles? Have I failed with this first attempt?
Sorry for the late reply, but for what it’s worth now, I would give it one or two more days.
I watched a u-tube video just the other day. I’m also currently fermenting raisins. The instructions on video said to shake the contents a few times each day and open the container as well for just a minutes. This discourages mold from growing. So far day 4, mine looks good.
Shaking the container is always a good idea. I’m not sure if it prevents mold, but it definitely benefits the fermentation process.
What if I want to use the cheese water instead of the raisen water
Hi Nancy,
I’m sorry but I have no experience with cheese water at all. I have only baked with yeast water made from raisins and apples.
Is there any real risk of botulism here? I started the fermentation in a mason jar with tap water and organic raisins and some sugar, its bubbling and the lid is bulging like you would expect in a contaminated canning project, which in and of itself isn’t that concerning because obviously its contaminated with yeast, that’s the point. Things that are acidic and sugary are usually understood to reduce the risk of botulism, but I have no idea if this is enough of either. Does anyone know for sure? Thanks
Hi Evan,
I have a message from Eli to you.
“In my very novice humble opinion, I think the ‘bulging’ lid sounds like it is too tight, preventing the resultant carbon dioxide from escaping during the fermentation process.”
Eli seems to have problems posting comments here, so he asked me to post it.
Have you ever tried to make this with cranberries instead of raisins?
Cranberries are hard to find in the area I live in. They’re more common in the north of Sweden, so I haven’t tried that. But I suppose it should work. I think it’s worth a try.
Hi – I’m misundestanding somthing – the Levain step says Mix 100 grams of the starter dough with flour and water and knead to a smooth dough. Yet the Levain ingredients call for 44 gram starter dough plus 134 gram water 224 gram Wheat flour. I’ve read and reread it a few times – what am I missing here.
Thanks, Jon
Hi Jon,
You are right. It’s a typo. It should say “mix 44 gram” instead of 100. I Have updated the recipe, Many thanks for noticing this.
Can this be done with white flour? I’m unable to find wheat.
Hi Gabby,
White flour and wheat flour is the same thing in my recipes, so it works fine.
Hi, I’m a relatively new baker. Made some nice bubbly raisin yeast and the starter dough came out great. The levain though had kind of a hard crust on the outside and took all night to double. I tossed out the crust which left me only with 300 g of so I reduced the final dough recipe by 3/4. I kneaded in the mixer and ended up adding a Tb or so more flour because it Was sticky and wasn’t stretching but breaking. I’ve been leaving it to double for about 3 hours but it hasn’t moved, and has formed that crust… and I then just realized I forgot to put salt! Is it too late to knead some in? Should I just start over from the levain step?? Thank you 🙂
Hi Stacy,
I would add salt and continue if I was you. Instead of wasting the dough, you can bake it and make croutons out of it if you don’t like the outcome. Try to add salt and knead it in, but it to get it distributed well you’ll have to knead for a while.
Weird thing about that crust. I have never experienced that. Was the levain uncovered?
I left the levain uncovered for a few hours, it failed to rise and created a crust as described in the other comment. When I covered it, it rose properly. Of course I remember my mom always covering bread as a kid, but it’s been a long time!
Another very basic problem I had was using too much water to make a flour starter — this creates “hooch” (bad liquor) and no yeast! But this raisin starter does seem to be a lot quicker and easier.
Yeah, I think that can be the reason for the crust.
I think the issue you had with your flour starter can be that it was not active enough. The flour and water actually layered itself. Hooch is, just as you said, mostly alcohol. But its a byproduct from yeast, so your starter has to be active before it can produce hooch. Most of the time you see hooch when you haven’t fed your starter for a while.
When you say to “ferment” the levain overnight is that covered or uncovered and is that in the fridge? And what can i do with the starter that was made before the levain. Should i discard some of keep it all in the fridge? Never made this before and i want to get it right!
It should be covered. I use to let it ferment overnight in normal room temperature, about 70°F/21°C.
You can keep the starter in the fridge. Before you want to bake again you can refresh it with water and flour and let it gain some strength. This way you don’t have to start all over again.
Hi, do you need to refresh the Raisin yeast water in the fridge like refresh a normal sourdough starter? To refresh the starter dough, do you carry forward some original to mix with refreshment and discard the rest like you would do on normal sourdough or you use the whole lot and just mix in the Refreshment? Refer back the the yeast water kept in fridge, once i start Using it again, can i just refill normal water back in it?
Hi Jared,
No, you don’t refresh raisin yeast or refill with water. When it’s gone it’s gone. You have to make a new batch. At least if you ask me.
I have heard about techniques where you feed the yeast water with fresh water and sugar, but I have never had any success with that.
When it comes to refreshing your starter dough, I think you can use both techniques you describe. But if you use the whole lot and refresh it, make sure you save a part of it, so you don’t have to start from scratch every time you want to bake.
It’s similar to an ordinary sourdough starter. The main difference is that there is a high amount of wild test in raisin water, and not so much lactic bacteria. But if you continue to refresh your starter dough, sooner or later lactic bacteria will “invade” it and turning it into an ordinary sourdough starter.
Hi thanks for the answer! Another question: can i use Raisin starter dough(after 1refresh) straight into a sourdough recipe and skip the Levain step? Or this levain step is crucial for using this raisin/wild yeast? I’m used to bake sourdough with straight starter or feeding at 1:1:1 before using it, have never really make a ‘levain dough’ for it.
Hi again, Jared,
Yes, I think you can use it instead of a leavin. It’s quite similar to a traditional sourdough starter, except it contains a higher amount of wild yeast and less lactic bacteria.
Hi, I am working on my levain and plan on fermenting it overnight. Should I cover it with a dish towel or plastic wrap?
Hi Merisa,
Both work fine. I use to place the levain in a kitchen bowl an place a plate on top.
Hi…When putting the levain to ferment should it be in the fridge or left out overnight? Also should i discard the starter and just leave a little or keep it all? (The step before the levain)
I live in the US and have run out of yeast. None at the store either. I would like to try this but am a little confused by “grams” of water. Do you mean “milliliters”? Or do you actually weigh the water? Thank you in advance.
Hi Carolyn,
Yes, I do weigh the water. But if you don’t have a kitchen scale you can measure it in milliliters. 1 ml is equal to 1 gram.
Hi Tomas,
How do I take care of my leftover starter?
Hi Femi.
I use to put it in a food-safe plastic container and place it in the refrigerator. It will keep for at least a week.
Hi Tomas, would I need to feed it at all?
Hi Femi,
You should refresh it before it’s time to bake. Just like you would have done with an ordinary sourdough starter.
DO I understand this well that you can just bake with the raisinwater only? just let raisins rest in water for 4 days and use the water to bake? that sounds so easy,
ok, no sorry i copletely got it wrong, im sorry
Hi Tomas, for the starter dough should I cover it while it sits?
Hi Xiana,
Yes, you should always cover your dough. Otherwise, there is a risk that the surface will dry out.
Hi…When putting the levain to ferment should it be in the fridge or left out overnight? Also should i discard the starter and just leave a little or keep it all? (The step before the levain)
My raisins water developed mold at the surface as well, on the 3rd day. Out it goes!
Mine too only I didn’t notice mold til day 6. Did you ever have success and if so, what do you attribute it to? Thanks, Dana
Hi. My raisin water is bubbling nicely on day 4 here. When I use it for the bread recipe, after the initial bulk fermentation period, can I let it cold prove overnight in the fridge like a traditional sourdough recipe ? Thanks. I guess what I’m asking is can I follow the bread recipe steps like a traditional sourdough loaf?
Hi there,
The simple answer is, yes you can. After you have mixed the raisin water with flour into a levain it’s the same procedure as if you had used a sourdough starter.
I’ve tried making the raisin yeast twice according to directions here, using organic raisins with warm water at noted temperature, sugar and checking at 4 day mark. Nothing, no bubbles. This second time at day 6 (today) there was a mold floating on the top. Suggestions? Anyone else have same problems?
Hi Dana,
I’m sorry to hear about your problems with the raisin yeast recipe. I have made this yeast many times and never had any issues, so I don’t know what’s the problem is.
The only difference is that I have never used organic raisins. I know it sounds strange, but perhaps that can be the problem.
Don’t get me wrong, I fully embrace the idea about organic food, but unfortunately, I have realized that it’s not always the best choice when it comes to baking, especially not when it comes to flour.
That is strange indeed! I do have some conventional golden raisins…maybe I’ll try again. I’d like to hear why you think conventional flours are better for baking as opposed to baking. I’ve never heard that before. Thanks for your reply!
I don’t say that organic flour has to be a bad choice. I’m sure that a lot of people have a great result baking with organic flour. My experience has been very mixed, though. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it works not so well.
It feels like organic flour is more unpredictable compared to the ordinary bread flour I use. It may be a local issue here in Sweden.
To be honest I have not tried organic flour for a couple of years. Perhaps it would work better if I tried it today, I don’t know.
What I do know is that I tried to feed my starter with organic flour a couple of weeks ago and the result was not impressive. I find that very strange. Logically, organic flour should be a better choice.
Does this mean I don’t use organic flour? Not at all. We always have a bag in the pantry. We use it for pies, muffins, and in cooking. But I don’t use it for baking bread.
Hi! My sourdough using your recipe was a success! The raisin yeast was easy and the bread wasn’t difficult to bake too. Thank you so much!
I’m glad to hear that ?.
Thanks, Tomas, for the reply above. Also, on my fourth try with the raisin yeast I finally had success! The first few times I did not sterilize my jar, the golden raisins did not work. What did work were some generic store brand black raisins (conventional), where the only ingredient was “raisins”, no oil. It took 6 days and I followed someones advice of putting them in my oven with the light on occaisionally to warm the environment, and a loosely fitted lid. I shook once a day around the same time mostly and finally got the long awaited for bubbles! I can’t wait to make your raisin bread recipe!! Thank you!
Hi Dana,
Great to hear about your success with the raisin yeast. Persistence pays off. Good luck with the bread recipe. Please let us know about the result.
I just mixed up the “starter dough” tonite (day 1) and will let ferment overnight at room temperature (72 degrees F). Tomorrow (day 2) I plan to do the “refreshment of starter dough” steps and:
1. I’m wondering if that can ferment overnight in the fridge before I mix the Levain on day 3? Would it possibly over-ferment?? I plan to bake off loaves at end of day 3.
2. Also, for the stretch and folds in the “Pain Au Levain” stage, do you recommend 4 sets of 4 stretches and folds every 30 minutes like in your sourdough ciabatta recipe?
Many thanks!!
Oops. Just noticed the link in the recipe notes about the stretches and folds…I just found answer for question number 2 above.
Thank you
Hi Dana,
Yes, I think you can ferment overnight in your refrigerator. I think it will be strong enough for mixing a levain, even if it’s slightly over fermented.
The amount of stretch and folds depends very much on the dough. If it feels slack and loose, it’s always a good idea to give it an extra stretch and fold. But if it starts to feel resistant and stubborn( aka not very extensible) it’s time to leave it alone.
Update to raisin yeast water: I used the yeast in this bread recipe today and had about a Tablespoon of leftover raisin yeast water (aka starter) so today I added this raisin yeast “starter” to a new batch and within the first 12 hours, I have MAJOR bubbles forming!! I will check tomorrow and see if I think the yeast is done. I made a larger batch this time…filled a pint mason jar that I sterilized first, then filled with 1 cup boiling water, added 2 T. Organic sugar, stirred to dissolve, then waited for temp. to drop to 95 degrees F, then added 4 little boxes (4 oz. total) conventional black raisins and the Tablespoon of leftover starter, stirred well, put loose fitting lid on and set inside my closed oven with the interior light on…using this starter dramatically speeds up the fermentation. Hope this helps someone!
Congratulations. It’s great to read about your progress, Dana. The good thing about yeast water is that you can make it from different fruits. Apples, for example, works just as well.
I failed with the starter recipe several times over the past weeks and decided that I had neither the right raisins (oil coated?) nor the right temperature for the starter percolation. So I chopped the raisins before using and put the starter in the oven with the lights on. After that, all expectations were met, I have a very active and happy starter, and plan on cooking bread tomorrow. Good fun!
I’m glad it worked out for you. I have never experienced these problems, but I have heard others who have. Great idea chopping the raisins.
Many thanks for the input.
My first efforts with the starter recipe failed several times over the past weeks and I decided that I had neither the right raisins (oil coated?) nor the right temperature for the starter percolation. So I chopped the raisins before using and put the starter to percolate in the oven with the lights on. After that, all expectations were met, I have a very active and happy starter, and plan on cooking bread tomorrow. Good fun!
Hi Thomas, It has been a wonderful experience baking my first bread with raisin water yeast. I followed the instruction to the letter and the result was fantastic. Bread appearance was great and the oven spring has done the magic. It was not sour at all like my other sour dough breads.
I baked Sweet Cinnamon Bread with my second attempt and the result was the same, though I ran out of cinnamon powder a bit. But totally satisfied with the outcome and many thanks to you Thomas. Please keep up the good work and there will be many who need it.
I’m so glad to hear about your good results, Nayana. And thanks for those kind words.
My pleasure Thomas! I am going through your recipe list and will try few in time to come. Thanks.
Hello
The “Refreshment of starter” & “Levain” part call for 90 & 134 grs of water… is that water tap water or raising water?
Trying to work your recipe
Thanks
Hi Miko,
That is tap water. You only use raisin water when you mix the starter.
This recipe works extremely well, if you follow all the clear steps as written (except I use 18g salt for more flavor, not 12; and 1 hour autolyse after a brief mix of all ingredients). Machine mixing step properly develops gluten, unlike stretch and fold / no-knead recipes and is the key to success in my view. Big round loaves full of air with nice holes the way they should be – they look like footballs. They bake out fast in an inverted cast iron pot or dutch oven with an excellent ear if you slash them right. Use a parchment round in the base of the pot if the breads get too dark on the bottom. Easy enough to rebuild the starter every week with fresh raisins – unlike sourdough starters which take weeks to get reliable. It’s tough to go wrong with this one. Thanks for a great alternative after a decade of standard sourdoughs!
I used the raisin yeast liquid to ferment the juice for vinegar. It’s not done yet but seems to be working. I’ll let you know when the vinegar is done. I just need the raisin water to change the juice to alcohol. Then I will add some raw vinegar or a piece of mother and continue to age it with a coffee filter and a rubber band on top. In 1-3 months it should be vinegar. Paige
Hi,
I’ve been using refreshed raisin yeast water starter down for my breads. My bread would rise fine in the beginning but now really either takes forever to rise and often over proofs without rising the amount i want. I haven’t been adding the salt at the very end, as you instruct in your recipe. Could it be that the raisin yeast is reacting to the salt in my dough? I only add about 5g to a total of about 350 g of flour. I also usually at it on top of my flour so it doesn’t hit my yeast directly. Maybe that’s not enough?
Thanks!
Can you make this using gluten free flours? Or would it be possible to convert it?
Morning!
I’m making a very active sultana starter/levain/dough, so much so that I’m struggling with overnighting the shaped loaf in a banneton overnight in the fridge.
It all looks great going into the fridge and also fine and puffy and tight in the morning, but exhibits all the signs of being over-fermented/over-prooved when I turn it out and score it where it collapses immediately.
Do you think this is a yeast source that should be used only when baking straight through so it has no retarding stage? I aim for fresh bread for lunchtime, which means an overnight retard, so if I avoid the retard stage I’ll have to start the process at a different time. Maybe overnight the levain and get up early to mix main dough and go on from there in one go?
Hmmm…?