Stones or tiles: Linda asked on June 17 post, "Do you bake your
cookies on the tiles, as well as bread?" No, I bake cookies on
sheets and bread in pans on the shelf above the bottom shelf
containing the stone. However, after baking bread, I remove the
bread from the pans and the shelf above the stones. Then I put the
loaves of bread on the stone for a few minutes of additional browning.
Yeast: Steve asked on June 22, "How do we know when yeast goes
bad?" Answer: You proof it. I keep bulk yeast refrigerated for a
very long time, and when baking bread the old-fashioned way (without
a bread machine), I always "proof the yeast." That is, I add the
yeast called for in the recipe and 1 teaspoon sugar to half a cup of
warm water 100 to 115 degrees. (Yes, I check the temperature with an
instant-read thermometer, so as not to kill the yeast with water
which is too hot.) If the yeast is still good, the mixture will be
very foamy after about five minutes. Even if one uses a bread
machine, one can check the yeast in this manner, if worried about it
being good.
Gloria Linnell