Wild Yeasts

[Robson Valley]

My grapes are ripe for picking.
I would like to try to extract some wild yeast from the grape skins to be used for leavening baked bready things.
Does anyone have experience with a process for doing the collection?

 

[Toddy]

When you make beer, the yeasty barm floats on the surface. If you use that it makes great bread

I don't know if grapes ferment like that though....can't see why not, elderberries do, beautiful purple dye I got from those.

I'd give it a shot. Crush some of your grapes, maybe add some hot-ish water and leave it sitting somewhere warm and out of the reach of fruit flies (vinegar isn't the aim) and see if it froths. If it does, there's your yeast.

M

 

[Broch]

I've collected the natural yeast off the top of fermenting apple juice (potential cider ) but only to use it in more alcohol production; I've no idea if it would have worked for bread.

 

[Robson Valley]

I have years of experience fermenting 45 - 450 liter batches of wines.
Always sulfited the must and used a specific wine yeast that I bought.
Start the yeast in a gallon of juice and grow that to inoculate the tanks.

Got to clear the fruit flies out of the kitchen. Really bad this year.
BUT
Mashing a few grape bunches then wait and watch sounds like a good experiment.
It's good to feel motivated to take better care of myself again.

 

[Toddy]

@Broch
I wondered about that. Beer is brewed from grain, so the yeasts that are used for brewing work on the breadflour too.

I think I'd give it a try

 

[Robson Valley]

The malted barley has a lot of the starch hydrolyzed into the component sugars for the benefit of the yeasty-beasties.
I believe that sourdough breads are made with a now-recognized sub species of Saccharomyces cerviseae yeast.

Something in the kitchen is a powerful attractant for the fruit flies.
Armed with the Elextrolux vacuum cleaner, I think I'll go hunting in a few minutes.

One lasting thing I learned from decades of wine making:
Cleanliness is the only way to get a consistent and predictable result.
Do all the dishes, find a suitable bowl, pick and mash some grapes.
Get ready for the bready thing.

 

[Toddy]

The malted barley has a lot of the starch hydrolyzed into the component sugars for the benefit of the yeasty-beasties.
I believe that sourdough breads are made with a now-recognized sub species of Saccharomyces cerviseae yeast.

Something in the kitchen is a powerful attractant for the fruit flies.
Armed with the Elextrolux vacuum cleaner, I think I'll go hunting in a few minutes.

One lasting thing I learned from decades of wine making:
Cleanliness is the only way to get a consistent and predictable result.
Do all the dishes, find a suitable bowl, pick and mash some grapes.
Get ready for the bready thing.

Fruit flies are easy to deal with so long as you keep the doors and windows closed once you put some watered down vinegar in a bottle and leave the cap off.
The flies fly in, and I've never had one fly out again, iimmc ?
An old vinegar sprinkler from a condiment set is ideal, but any bottle will do.

M

 

[Robson Valley]

There is something happening somewhere in my kitchen, yet to be found.
Bet I sucked up 200 in the "flock." Just about to go back for another sweep.
The vacuum was really effective from 6-8" away, they had no chance.

Years ago, I knew a guy who did get some wild yeast which made spectacular breads,
even better when toasted. Never explained the isolation and one day, the whole culture up and died!

 

[Robson Valley]

This should have been a thread about bugs.
I had some dry vermouth on ice with a lemon slice while I made supper.
I killed and smeared 50+ fruit flies from that drink.
Now maybe 1/2 inch and the bugs win = must be 50 in the drink.
I can watch the little ******** swimming in circles.

One glass of red with food as usual. 30 bugs now swimming in the last sip of that wine.
Must have killed 200 with the vacuum in the kitchen.
I'll launch attack #3 before bed.

There is no wet veg garbage in the whole house.

 

[Toddy]

Mine came in because Himself had been sneaking spoonfuls from the Rumtopf jar that I use to make homemade mincemeat, and he'd left the rim of the lid all sticky. Thankfully they were all outside the jar and it was easily cleaned up, but the damned things were driving me nuts in the kitchen until I figured out what was attracting them.

Once they're in the house, they'll happily go for bananas, apples, grapes, etc.,

Harmless, so long as you like vinegar

 

[Robson Valley]

I put out a fresh glass with 1/2" dry white wine as bait here in my study. I count 40+ at the glass.
If the drink draws them out of the kitchen, fine by me. Time again to plug in the vacuum cleaner.

Drosophila larvae thrive on yeast as food. One yeast product is ethyl alcohol.
That's the trigger attractant. A splash of wine is quite effective.

Weather forecast is for wet snow over the next 7 days so I'd better get the mash started
sans bugs, if I can do it. Jar with a screen lid?

 

[Tengu]

My Father is on a fruit fly hunt.

He uses his recharable mini vac.

I think he should hunt out what they are breeding on...

 

[Robson Valley]

Flighty little critters. The big vac has enough suction from 6-8" that the bugs can't get away.
I don't have a minivac but the thought has crossed my mind to look at them.
We had several of them in the Bio Labs, rechargables in wall fixtures.

 

[plastic-ninja]

Bread production depended almost entirely on "ale barm" in the Middle Ages and for a long time after. Ale barm is the frothy gloop that forms on top of the ferment as you make your beer. Compressed or "German" Yeast was a fairly recent invention from the 19th Century I think, and is Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. "Wild" yeast is usually classified as Sacc. Exigua, which may constitute thousands of different strains. If you want truly Wild yeast you'll have to skin the grapes or ferment them without additional yeast to make the starter. A cupful of warm water and a warm environment should get it started, then start feeding it a little flour and observe the bubbles. When it stops bubbling feed it again; ad infinitum!