April 26, 2012 - 11:53am
Where to find fresh yeast in the KC, MO area
Yesterday, I asked a baker at the Leawood Whole Foods about finding some fresh yeast. She told me that the store didn't carry it and that she hadn't been able to find any in her inquiries at several KC area supermarkets. I forgot to ask if her bakery had any that they could sell me directly. After a little bit of Googling, all I found were email order sites. Given our current local weather, I'm reluctant to order any.
So, does anybody have a favorite local source for fresh yeast that sells it in small quantities?
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Hi, just wanted to share my experience of buying yeast online.
Like yourself, I couldn't find any fresh yeast locally and even the very posh surepmarket chain I sometimes order groceries from (they stock some hard-to-find foods) didn't have any. EBay, on the other hand, had dozens of offers, and at very low prices, mostly from bakeries selling their own yeast. Of course I was worried that it would spoil in transit (unfortunately Royal Mail delivery times can no longer be relied upon). Also, these bakeries seem to get their yeast in 1 kg packs, so any smaller orders (I only needed a 100g) would be cut and packed at the bakery. So you can only hope that the packaging is good, and that the hands that packed it were clean (or had gloves on).
My only other option was Richard Bertinet's Kitchen shop which was much more expensive and with the minimum order of 336 g. So I decided to risk eBay.
It was blrilliant! The yeast arrived the next day (a bit of luck :)), it was vaccuum-sealed and, far as I could tell, as fresh as it gets. The enclosed instructions said it should keep in the fridge for at least 2 weeks, and so far (10 days in) it's still good. Baked with it yesterday.
What I'm trying to say is, try and order a very small amount as a test run, you might be pleasantly surprised. Maybe ask the seller to pack it in a cool bag (that's what Bertinet's Kitchen do).
Oh, and maybe do ask your local bakery whether they'd sell some. I hear even some supermarket bakeries will occasionally sell/give away a small quantity of yeast.