Thanks. Thatās closer. I figure we have to have an in state mill. I was going to search the web later today maybe, just to see if they have anything close to me. Iām 90 miles away from the next town with big box stores. Iām enjoying getting the book back out. Thatās the first step! It got me excited reading through it again.
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They currently have the smaller 5lbs. quantities available as of this morningā¦
edit: now out of stock on the Artisan flours. FFS.
Weāll Iām going give them a try but it looks like Iām going to order a larger bag of the Artisans, here is what I have:
Shipping to East Coast is a bummer, I had the smaller 5lbs bags in the cart but was sniped. Similar to buying an SS drop from Bodhi 
It is what it is.
If I donāt, the animals will become restless and dangerous. Theyāve already devoured two loaves and are now docile 
Have some high barrier bags and oxygen absorbers, so Iāll package, share, and store a good amount of the bulk flour.
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Maybe you could get a neighbor or friend to go in on some. Maybe even a Craigslist ad or something. I have friends coming over who live in the mountains and are all self sufficient. Iāll ask her if they have any extra or have a source. She used to run our local organic co-op. Itās closed now. But, sheāll have a source for sure. Whether or not they have any flour, weāll see.
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WooHoo About time a decent loaf of bread , Thks friends
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Well that loaf went fast, dam it was as good as Grandmas (well reminded me of hers she made the best) pinch of this and that, Just whipped up another one in LaMachine now
Made a 1/2 cup warm water 110degs F with sugar and flour starter , took off very nicely today and then mixed it all in .
We shall see in approx 2 more hrs.
Have a Great Day Guys & Dolls
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For those not wanting to make a starter, the instant yeasts have been somewhat difficult to come by recently. I came upon some in-stock instant yeast on-line. At least for the moment:
Out of stock as of 4/24:
In stock as of 4/24:
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I stopped in our walmart and they actually had 3 bags of whole wheat flour so I grabbed one. The girl said they had a full pallet of flour that they were about to put out. She said they get one box of the 3 pack instant yeast but it disappears right away.
I figure I should be able to make a poolish/barm that I can keep going. I bought some things to get my sourdough starter started. So, I hope to be able to keep both. Iāll just keep collecting stuff as it comes up. Different times.
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Prepping for a double batch. Four more loaves tomorrow.
I built a firm starter from a barm, have it rising now, then will retard in the frig overnight to bring out some flavor.
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I baked yesterday. I said Iād get some photos of my process. But I kinda spaced out on that.
Here is my finished product. Same same. I aim for consistency. So they look just like the last once I posted.
Warm here right now. So all my rise times were shorter. Then retarded in fridge for 4 hours before bake.
I take them right to the edge of burnt.
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I hope to get started in the next couple of days. Life has a way of changing your plans every now and then. I noticed WM had a good bit of flour this evening but I missed any yeast again. Iām good so far. By the time I really need any it may well be back in stock more regular. Iām looking forward to the sourdough exercise. Itāll be fun re-learning most of this.
Hey @OldToby, let me hold a slice or two of that bread! 
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Our bigger stores are still out of many staples. But the smaller local shops have good stock.
I saw 10+ one pound packages of SAF yeast and plenty of flour at the Italian Deli/Import market.
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Another four sour dough loaves for the animals.
By the time the last dough went into the oven, was clearly over-proofed with not a lot of spring. Still will be fine though.
Time to kick back with some orange tahoeā¦
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Those sure look good. I think Iāll try and get my starter started. I need a new wood cutting board. Iāll find one soon. I did pick up a cooling rack. Iām seeing flour back on the shelves here but still the yeast is scarce. They only get one box a day and no way to know when itāll be on the shelf. I expect that stuff will start making it back into the store soon. People are starting to tell themselves this virus thing is all over. Iāll scoop up all I can before the next wave of virus puts us right back where we are now. Damn, people can be stupid
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Try it! Youāll get some nice flavors from a natural starter that will be missing from the commercial yeast.
It takes a bit a patience to get it going and the fermentation times are a bit more drawn out but youāll get a very nice result.
Wooden pizza peels! Dual purpose!
Thatās what Iāve been reading about recently. The mills have switched to 24/7 operation in order to refill the pipeline. Apparently, they usually have a 2-3 day inventory (downstream an additional 30 days or so) on a normal operating schedule but the demand surge wiped out inventory along the entire chain.
Yeast manufactures say theyāve also ramped up as well but apparently they have low stock on packaging materials.
Weāve started to buy bulk ingredients as they seem easier to obtain. We are then vacuum packing the excess in quality high barrier bags along with oxygen absorbers. I feel like a Mormon
We have a 50 lbs+ of flour on the way. Weāll do the same with that and place the excess into the freezer/frig in 5 lbs increments. Should last a long time that way.
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I hate to think it, but it may be a good idea to start stocking certain items. I feel like thereāll surely be another, much worse, breakout in a couple of months and for sure in the winter.
Iām going to plant some selective stuff this summer, too. I wasnāt going to, and planned on spending all my time on getting my property in the shape I want it, but I feel like I should do what I can now. I may get chickens this year, too. Just a few and let them free range.
Yep, got me a crock, some raw unfiltered local honey, a cooling rack, SS mixing bowl, and some basting brushes. I have a 12" square terra cotta tile I use for a stone. ā¦ghetto style. Iām stoked! Oh, and the directions for the barm for the sourdough in the BBA book I have, they call for pineapple juice for the first two feedings to counter some reaction, so I got that.I found another 5 lbs of wheat flour. Iāll have a couple of weeks to keep reading and make sure I have all the things I need to make this happen. I already got more butter!
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Over here, we were fortunate and had stocked up some of the essentials a bit before the mad rush that are now hard to come by. However, I did not expect this to go on for this long so some items are dwindling such as the flour.
This is, in many ways, a good āstaying preparedā exercise that is forcing us to consider different disaster scenarios, how to store food for long term, how to layer supplies, etc. Doing the Back to Basics exercise and itās kinda fun too.
Weāve had a mismash of cellar items stored in the past that, after going through this scenario, wouldnāt have gotten our family through if, for one reason or another, there is a severe supply disruption.
We donāt really know what this thing is going to look like in two weeks or six months but we will be prepared. We will not be the folk that have not prepared at all that later act shocked by all of the āhoardersā and fall into the āgive meā what youāve got mindset.
They are using the pineapple juice to make the starter more acidic early on. This is a more favorable environment for the yeast and bacteria that youād want. The starter will still become acidic without the juice but itāll take a bit longer to get there. +nutrients + sugars
Looking forward to your experience. Good stuff 
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Third (or fourth?) go using the same starter, no commercial yeast needed!
Letting a new thick starter (made from the same barm from last go around) to get active then will throw into the fridge overnight to retard. Next day will make the dough.
Basically, seed starter -> barm -> thick starter -> dough. Seed starter hangs around forever in the fridge with a weekly feeding. Take a sample from the starter to start the dough assembly line.
The barm is basically expanding a small amount of the seed starter but a little bit thicker in consistency. It is allowed to rise then retarded in the fridge for up to three days. Retarding develops a more complex flavor.
The thick starter is from the barm but even thicker with a more dough like consistency. It is also allowed to rise then again retarded for up to 18 hours. The dough uses the entire thick starter for a final consistency. It is kneaded to develop the gluten, allowed to bulk ferment, then cut into individual loaves, shaped, proofed, then ready to bake.
I think Iām going to try retarding either the dough bulk fermentation or the proofing this time around, as well.
Bought some new supplies to try the dutch oven method along with a couple of bannetons for proofing. Viva la France:
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What are the bannetons? the little baskets? Iāll be watching. I may look into geting a dutch oven. Iāve never had one. I hope to get my sourdough starter and barm going today. Iāve been messing around with other stuff with the plants.
It looks like you have restaurant supply near youā¦
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Correct. You donāt āneedā them, but they are nice to have if youāll be baking a bunch of bread. FWIW, those are scarce now, too. Youāll probably want something like a bowl thatās large enough to allow the dough to approximately double in size. The bowl will help to retain the shape and force it to grow up versus spreading out like a pizza.
If youāre doing a natural yeast starter, yes, get one started because itāll take awhile to build the initial seed. Itās pretty straight forward and takes maybe 10 minutes a day, initially. But itāll take a week, maybe two, to get it to where youād want it with a good balance between the yeast and bacteria.
If youāre doing an instant yeast, thatās an entirely different matter and will be much much quicker.
Internet orders from all over the place, havenāt gone out anywhere in like a month 
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Latest straight from the oven, using the dutch oven method this time around shaped in an oblong boule:
Looks good, will critically check the results tonight.
Am using a different flour from central mills that contains some malt. The malt is quite evident in the smell (I 
malt). Also, about 25% dark rye.
I have two batches of dough, starting on the second batch.
edit: The animals are loving the newer malty flavor. Crumb is good. Not getting quite the same cracker crispness on the crust unless it goes a bit longer with the dutch oven (which becomes more of a thicker crunch). I did spray a bit of water on some parchment to help with the steam but might need to experiment some more with this technique.
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