Week 3: 4 lbs. Yeast

Most affordable places to get yeast: MTE @ 3.99 a pound/contact numbers:536-7363/536-7199
Amazon.com and Bulkfoods.com

(Some weeks you will have leftover change. Save the change each week to be used for the weeks you may exceed $10.00)

Storage
Yeast is a live plant and very perishable when exposed to air, moisture, and/or warmth. To ensure the freshness, proper storage is imperative. Store airtight in a refrigerator or freezer. Use within a three month period. It may keep longer depending upon how airtight the container is and how cold it is kept. Allow amount being used to warm to room temperature before using.

Activation and Use
When yeast is dried, the life enzymes are still present but in the dormant state. To bring them to the active state, requires moisture and warmth. Traditional bread bakers have been taught correctly that warm liquid will activate the yeast very quickly, much like the process that seeds undergo when planted in soil. The warm moist ground provides an environment for the seeds to move from the dormant dry state to active growing plants. If the liquid is too cold, the yeast will either not activate, or it will do so very slowly. If the liquid is too hot, it will cook the yeast and kill the life enzymes.
Sugar - Yeast ferments sugar and starch in flour producing carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol gases. Too much sugar will slow the yeast activity. Therefore, sweet breads are usually dense and not as large as sandwich breads. White sugar, brown sugar, honey, and molasses may all be interchanged equally. Most artificial sweeteners may not be substituted in bread making as they are proteins and cannot be fermented.
Salt - Salt affects the activity of yeast. Without salt, the yeast acts very rapidly and peters out too quickly. Too much salt will stunt yeast activity. Salt adds flavor and strengthens the dough structure.
Flour - Dough structure is formed from the protein in wheat flour. Other grains can be ground into flour, but wheat and spelt are the only grains that contains a sufficient amount of the type of protein that forms gluten. When the flour is mixed with other ingredients, the protein comes in contact with the liquids and becomes gluten. Kneading the dough develops an interlocking network of elastic gluten strands which hold the dough together. As the yeast ferments the sugars and starches, gases form stretching the strands and making the dough rise.
Liquid - Liquid ingredients play three important roles in bread making:
1. They hydrate and dissolve the yeast granules.
2. They help to blend and bind the ingredients together.
3. They allow the gluten to develop so the dough will be elastic.
Liquids include milk, buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, cottage cheese, fruit juices, and fruit and vegetable purees. Fats and liquid sweeteners also add moisture but are considered in their own categories. It is important to have the liquid at the correct temperature. Appropriate Liquid Temperatures:Automatic Bread Machine: 75-85 FTraditional, dissolving yeast in liquid: 110-115 FMixer Method, blend yeast with dry ingredients: 120-130 FFood Processor: Room TemperatureIf the liquid is too cold, the yeast will either not activate or it will do so very slowly. If the liquid is too hot, it will cook the yeast and kill the life enzymes. Using a thermometer will take the guesswork out of determining the correct liquid temperature. Any thermometer will work as long as it measures temperatures between 75 and 130 degrees F.
Baker's Note: Do not heat eggs with other liquids, since they may begin to cook. Bring them to room temperature by placing uncracked eggs in a small bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
Fat - Most bread contains a small quantity of fat. If a fat is liquid at room temperature, it is called oil; if solid at room temperature, shortening. Fat gives the dough richness and moisture, but more importantly, it makes the bread tender. Fat coats the flour particles so the elastic formation slows down; it makes the gluten strands slippery so the gas bubbles can move easily; and it gives the final product a finer grain.

February Goals:
"There is a wise old saying 'Eat it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without'. Thrift is a practice of not wasting anything. Some people are able to get by because of the absence of expense. They have their shoes resoled, they patch, they mend, they sew, and they save money. They avoid installment buying, and make purchases only after saving enough to pay cash, thus avoiding interest charges. Frugality means to practice careful economy." James E. Faust

Spiritual Goal---Schedule time each day to read with your family from the Book of Mormon.

Provident Living Goal---plan and carry out a FHE on home fires. Include planning an escape route and practicing it.

Basic Garden Planting Schedule
January:
Plan the Garden. Decide what to order. Order Seeds.
February -
-First Half -Start broccoli, early cabbage, lettuce in house in 6 packs.
- Second Half-Layout your garden on paper. Decide where to plant each variety. Consider crop rotation from last year, companion planting, and decide spacing and watering needs.Here are some other resources that might interest you. These are garden related topics.

Dwarf Fruit Trees:Consider planting dwarf fruit trees. They produce less fruit per tree, but they produce sooner than regular trees, and you can have more varieties or more trees in a less space. Their plants are not as strong as a regular size fruit tree, therefore they are more susceptible to diseases. If you are planting them, learn as much as possible about fruit tree disease prevention. However, many professional growers are turning to dwarf trees to grow more fruit in less space.

Pruning and Shaping Trees:The dormant season (when plants are frozen and the sap is not moving within the tree) is the time for pruning. If you are starting trees from root stock or when they are small, pruning and shaping trees can be provide function as well as making a foliage attraction.