# Yeast



## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Looking for baker's yeast but having some difficulty. Where should I look and for what products?


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

It's called levadura fresca or levadura de panadería. Do you have a Mercadona nearby? They have it, in the cold section with the butter. It comes in a block (like butter does) and I think the brand they have is Levital. Carrefour has it too. You also might be able to buy it at your local panadería.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

kalohi said:


> It's called levadura fresca or levadura de panadería. Do you have a Mercadona nearby? They have it, in the cold section with the butter. It comes in a block (like butter does) and I think the brand they have is Levital. Carrefour has it too. You also might be able to buy it at your local panadería.


They have this dry stuff called levadura de panadería in a small box that is very poor example of any yeast I have used previously. There is a Mercadona here however and I will try it. I want to make some sweetbreads


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Mercadona, AhorraMas or ask in your local bakery where they actually bake the bread (una tahona)


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

My only experiences with the Mercadona "fresh" yeast weren't successful. I now have dried (from the UK) and get good results again. I had a packet of Maizena brand dried yeast at one time and that was OK.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Our panadería sells fresh yeast in frozen lumps. It works fine.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Elyles said:


> I want to make some sweetbreads


I think we have a bit of a transatlantic linguistic anomaly here. In Europe, sweetbreads are the pancreas of pigs.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/the-nasty-bits-sweetbreads.html


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> I think we have a bit of a transatlantic linguistic anomaly here. In Europe, sweetbreads are the pancreas of pigs.
> 
> The Nasty Bits: Sweetbreads | Serious Eats


Thanks for that. I had always thought that sweetbreads were pigs testicles! (Still not sure which one is best).


Let's hope that what @Elyles is making taste and look a whole lot better


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I frequently make a sweet bread - Cinnamon and raisin loaf with walnuts.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> Thanks for that. I had always thought that sweetbreads were pigs testicles! (Still not sure which one is best). Let's hope that what @Elyles is making taste and look a whole lot better


That's ok, in the US animal testicles are called mountain oysters! In Utah there is the annual Testicle Festival, frying hundreds of pounds of bull testicles. The T-shirts from there are a riot.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> I frequently make a sweet bread - Cinnamon and raisin loaf with walnuts.


What yeast do you use?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I make Ginger Beer, the yeast comes from the limes that we grow in the garden. I tried supermarket yeast once, the plastic bottle exploded and made a big mess.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Elyles said:


> What yeast do you use?


Dried. I had a load (brand - Hovis) but the last couple of packets had deteriorated because it was 5 years beyond its use-by date (a bit like me!) I now have some McDougalls from the UK. My experience of the Mercadona gave me something that was heavy pudding-like with an inset top as though it had risen to above that point and then collapsed to barely half the height that it should have been.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Hepa said:


> I make Ginger Beer, the yeast comes from the limes that we grow in the garden. I tried supermarket yeast once, the plastic bottle exploded and made a big mess.


I made ales, meads and beers for a few years. Ginger beer is notorious for exploding!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I remember making ginger beer as a kid. You had to use heavy glass bottles with special rubber tops that were held on with a metal bracket. Then you had to give half the "plant" away because if you put it down the sink it would keep expanding and block the drains!


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

*No soy cocinero.*

Well, after posting the need to find yeast to make my own bread on here I finally ended up purchasing some levadura from a pastelería. Although I followed the recipe to the T, I ended up con dos ladrillos ( no exaggeration when I say bricks) de pan pesado que tenía a nice crust but a wet interior. Que desastre! I had the flat smelling good but I am afraid that is all. I think I'll keep them to hold the doors open. The only reason I tried this was because SWMBO has been trying to convince me to cook something for a long time now. I am going on a cruise pretty soon and might try purchasing some dry yeast from the ship's galley.


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