Good Cheap Grub ! Eating well on a low budget
YEAST
Here's my method to make dried yeast go further ; the method is based on the fact tha yeast is a living organism that reproduces .
You put one teaspoon of yeast in a small pot with a teaspoon of sugar and some water .
Leave it for a few hours until it becomes active ; you might see foam , but more importantly when you tap the pot lighltly on a surface you will see little 'yeast bubbles' rising ; this means the yeast is active . To maintain the yeast , every time you make bread you 'feed' it a little of the flour you are using , and about a teaspoon of sugar ; this keeps the yeast reproducing and the sugar also 'preserves' the mixture . Keeping this mixture covered , you can repeat this process thereby making the initial teaspoon of yeast go a lot further than it would have .
EASY BREAD
Anyone who has ever tried to make bread will probably have found that it is not only quite time-consuming and difficult , but can also be a very messy business . The method I present here is a mess-free method that makes bread making much easier . The resulting bread admittedly isn't like a tradtional loaf , but is still worth making .
First USE A TABLESPOON to move the flour from the bag into a medium sized waterproof container or pot . NEVER try to shake flour from a bag because you'll probably get a huge cloud of flour that will settle everywhere . Put about 5 to 7 tablespoons in the pot , with about 1 dessertspoon of oil ; add water GRADUALLY until you have something the consistenct of a FIRM slush .
Now add a teaspoon of the active Yeast mixture , as prepared above ( alternatively add about a quarter of a teaspoon of yeast)
and leave this mixture for a few hours , or overnight , until it bubbles begin to appear on the surface .
When the bubbles appear you can give it a stir and then put the whole mixture into an OILED or GREASED oven-proof container or bread tin.
You can now bake the mixture at about 180 degrees for around 20 minutes ; I recommend leaving it in the oven until it cools down , to ensure it cooks through properly .
Serve the bread with butter , Jam , Cheese or any topping you like. It also works as a side serving with soup , stew or salad .
You can also make the bread mix into a 'pan pizza ' :
1: Oil or grease a small frying pan .
2: Put the pan on a low heat .
3: Pour the bread mixture ( as shown above) into the pan and cover it . Wait until the underside is cooked and the entirety is becoming solid before you attempt to flip it ( see my pancake recipe for the method ) . This will take a few minutes .
4 : When you flip it , the top side should be cooked . Spread tomato puree on it with the back of a spoon , sprinkle on herbs and add thin cheese slices . Cover it again and let it cook for a few more minutes .
5 : When it's ready slide it onto a plate and serve with pickles or whatever you like .
