Please be honest - do you have a packet of yeast gathering dust?

[hippospot]

We have been making bread 5-6 times a week for nearly 20 years in a machine, but I've been unable to find yeast in the shops since lockdown. Friends gave me a couple of packs (one was out of date but still worked!) but now I'm down to a few days' worth only. I was able to bulk order some bread flour from a mill last month, and have enough flour for about 2-3 months.

I'm curious to know if the people who bought yeast at the start of lockdown have been using it.

And why is it that nearly everything is back in the shops EXCEPT flour and yeast (in my neck of the woods, anyway).

I'm also a regular baker of cakes and will run out of plain flour quite soon too.

I'm happy to buy bread in the short term although a) my freezer is small so I can only freeze about 3 small loaves and b) this means I'd have to go to the supermarket more often and I'm trying to only go once a week.

Anyone else with this issue?

I have yeast in my cupboard but it’s been there for a year and is only used occasionally but it’s pre panic buying by a long time. I did actually make bread yesterday.

Fresh and dried yeast are available online. Am having to order bread flour online and may end up doing the same for plain and SR as nowhere near us has any in stock.

I bought a packet of yeast early on and have made pizza bases, cinnamon rolls and bread since. I cook a lot anyways. I then cleared out a spare cupboard, and found a half packet of yeast, which was just in date

I found a tiny packet of flour at Tesco early on, but it got used the 1st week. I asked at a smaller Sainsburys, and to my surprise, the women had a single packet left out the back!

Apparently there ISN'T a shortage of flour, just a shortage of it being in 1-2kg packets because the vast majority (I think 96%) of the UK supply is in large, 25kg bakery type sacks. Not sure what the yeast shortage is from though?

We haven't been able to get yeast or flour of any sort since lockdown began. Eggs are also a once in a blue moon treat now it seems. I wouldn't mind lockdown so much if I could actually get the things I want to eat!

We don't usually buy bread flour and yeast but bought both at the start of lockdown and yes, we've used them. Most of the food that we consume, if we ran out, could wait until our next shop - but bread is one of things we'd really struggle without. And we don't have a freezer large enough to store a spare loaf. So we bought yeast with a view to making our own in that situation, rather than venturing out - and have used it for exactly that purpose.

I buy the little tins rather than packets - I think I have 2, since I forgot I already had one (before all this started though).

But then since I'm home I'm using a sourdough starter anyhow, so not using the yeast I have at all anyway.

Do you have a Polish Deli anywhere near you? The one by me gets cubes of fresh yeast in each week which are fantastic (although no I think about it, I don't know if that would work in a bread machine)

I feel your pain. Sainsbury's had replenished their boxes of sachets of dried yeast when I went in about a month ago. I excitedly took just a box in anticipation of plain flour following shortly but I can't find that anywhere. I am missing homemade pizzas.

I have one packet of self-raising flour left and saw a recipe for flatbreads this morning using SR flour, yogurt and baking powder, it looked really good so will try that.

I did have a single sachet at the back of the cupboard from the days when we made pizza every week. I used it up last week. Didn't rise at all. I had to start again.

I ordered some yeast on amazon and it came after 3 days. My local Sainsbury’s to me that yeast is selling fast as soon as comes it goes.

I've been making my own bread for a few years. I had to resort to bulk buying yeast - 15kg! So I certainly have more than I need.

If you're in/near Surrey, PM me. I've been giving people 1kg at a time for what it cost us.

Told

Annofpeeves where is the yeast available online from? I haven’t been able to find any anywhere! I have managed to get flour online but not yeast.... I heard there is actually a shortage whereas with flour it is with the bags so I just ordered a bigger bag which was restricted but available....

I didn't buy any because I knew we had two tins in the fridge, both a couple of years old!

We had to go into isolation on the first day of lockdown and it was really useful to have that yeast, one tin didn't work, but the other was fine and got us through at that very initial stage when it was really difficult to get anything delivered and our normal one week of shopping obviously ran out well before our two week isolation period was up.

I know it's annoying if you are a long term bread maker, but I think more of those yeast packets got used then many people assume.

How does wether others have used their yeast in their house affect you ability to find yeast?

I wish I had. We can't get it anywhere. I have been making soda bread but it is so heavy.

Just before lockdown I ran out of yeast (regular breadmaker user) and bought a commercial size 500g pack for £15, I guess it was my panic purchase as it was the only thing I could get. I reckon it would last me a year so just about in its date.

To be honest I don't need it all but actually don't know anyone to give it to and if I packaged it and sold it locally I would probably be accused of profiteering.

I used to make pizza bases with yeast a lot but have started making them without yeast now and the pizza bases are fine. Dd likes them thin and crispy though.

I’ve bought some flour and yeast at the start of lockdown with the intention of using my bread machine, but a friend needed me to do something for her while she started a new job at a bakery, so she’s been paying me in fresh bread!

We bought 500g dried yeast when our stash ran out online and have been making bread daily. Plenty of bread flour as we buy in bulk but can't get plain or SR locally. Cupcakes with bread flour did not go well.

I think that the yeast is just being sold more to people that usually don't bake as much, like me and my friend. I used to bake bread till I met DH and quit because he didn't like it. Where I live the bread is constantly sold out so now need to bake my own out of necessity. My SAHM friend hasn't baked a loaf in at least 11 years (since her eldest was born). She used to be a professional baker before that so is very capable of baking a bread when needs must. There must be many more like us.

You don't need yeast though, you can make your own sourdough starter will flour and water. If you have trouble buying flour then try to buy it in bulk via a mill or something. Flour can still be found as long as you don't mind a 20 kg sack of it.

I bought some on amazon or eBay the other week but it was painfully over priced- £7 for 4 sachets !!! Will resist urge to buy again as really resented paying so much but had lots of bread flour I was really keen to use

Mine are not dusty, I paid over the odds for them on eBay last week! If I'm honest I've never really baked bread or pizza before all this (bake a lot of sweet stuff though!) but like you we have a small freezer and being able to knock up a loaf of bread can put off a supermarket visit by another 2 or 3 days. We are also not getting takeaways so being able to make pizza again saves freezer space (and is much nicer than frozen). I will most likely keep this up once the current situation is relaxed as I'm quite enjoying it.

I managed to get a little tin of dried yeast in my Tesco delivery last week, but strong white bread flour is still missing. I've always made our bread in a machine and only bought a loaf when we've had long power outages.

@hippospot I don't suppose you could pm me the details of your on-line bulk buy bread flour?

I've got a packet that's about three years old! Probably no good now.

I've fresh yeast in the freezer but it's been there forever, before corona was just a twinkle in the eye.
It's waiting for an emergency as I've been fine buying bread so far