You might want to go ahead and get started with the culture as it takes a bit for some folks to get it going. If you will use the bit of rye as suggested on The Fresh Loaf site I linked you will have a little more luck. Don't put any regular yeast. Resist using anything else...pineapple juice etc. Just use the formula. And by the time you have it the bread will be gone. You can use any discard as an additive to almost anything you are making. Just throw it in...quick breads,pancakes,waffles..you name it. Let me know if you would like any more info. I don't know about a sep , thread...what do you think ???? c

1. Freezing keeps yeast the longest, refrigeration the next longest amount of time. 2. A refrigerator is actually a very dry environment. Many powdered foods will keep free-flowing when kept in a refrigerator, rather than on a pantry shelf, due to the constant dry condition of the refrigerator or freezer (it's the frost-free function that keeps it dry). Leaving a jar of yeast open in a hot, humid kitchen will actually start activating the surface yeast, so measure the amount you need and close the jar and put it back into the refrigerator or freezer. The enemies of yeast are heat, humidity, and light. Like some of the others, I vacuum-seal the 1# bags in a FoodSaver bag and keep it in the freezer. I keep a user-friendly amount in an old brown glass jar (originally had yeast in it) in the refrigerator. 3. As others mentioned, do a test to see if it's still active. YEAST TEST: Use a 1 c. glass measuring cup. Fill it to the 1/4 c. line with warm water and add 1 t. sugar. Then add 1-1/2 t. yeast and wait 10 minutes. It should be up to the 1/2 c. line if the yeast is still active. 4. Your bread forming a crack on the top is usually from excessive flour, as you suspected. The amount of flour in the recipe is just a good guess - add the flour slowly to the liquid ingredients until it's the right texture (feel) without regard to the amount called for in the recipe - it may take more and it may take less flour than the recipe calls for. The amount of the liquid should remain the same, the flour is the item that varies. Flour varies in protein level from brand to brand and bag to bag. The protein (gluten) amount and how much moisture is already in the flour from storage is what determins how much flour is needed - you shouldn't need to alter the liquid. The higher the protein/gluten of the flour, the more liquid it soaks up. So if your recipe calls for all-purpose flour (or the author of the recipe used all-purpose flour) and you have used bread flour, you will throw off the hydration if you use the amount of flour called for in the recipe because of the extra gluten in bread flour. 5. Whole flax seeds are essentially a laxative. Only when the seeds are ground/milled into a flour can you get all the goodness from them. A few whole seeds are okay for decoration, but you'll get more nutrition from them if they are ground. -Grainlady

Re-post the info. I posted in June. Today Old Port is a BS-fest & doing nothing as of today, August 30. Last month I scraped off red-lava-rock, and replaced with horse manure plus high-phosphorus NPK 4-10-7 (blood meal, fish bone meal, sulfate of potash, and kelp meal) . I should had done what I did in spring: chicken manure NPK 5-3-2, plus red-lava-rock for potassium. Lesson learned, I find that minerals (in rock dust, or Azomite, or red lava rock) is great to INCREASE the yield in crops. The problem with MG-potting soil is it's not rich in minerals like clay or rock dust. Here's an excerpt from below link: http://remineralize.org/2007/11/soil-remineralization-and-the-climate/ " Remineralization also enhances and speeds up the process of composting, so if you are composting for your garden, consider putting on some rock dust. Remineralizing by adding rock dust to compost is a very practical way to apply it to soils. For Forests The results of long term experiments released in 1986 showed that in a forest where pine seedlings were remineralized, after 24 years the wood volume was four times higher than in the untreated area. Remineralization trials of a dying forest on Mt. Mitchell by Dr. Robert Bruck, Ph.D., showed that twelve weeks after application of rock dust, height of growth of red spruce was increased by 27% over non-treated controls, and height growth of Fraser fir was 19% greater than the untreated controls. (Forestry Research packet) The Men of Trees organization in Australia is doing remineralization trials with many species of trees in Australia with phenomenal results, such as five times the growth of trees seedlings of one variety of eucalyptus, over the untreated controls. (See Forestry Research packet) For Agriculture The best source of soil minerals is simple crushed gravel dust. In 1976 John Hamaker spread gravel crusher screenings on part of his ten acres in Michigan. The following year, in an area of sparse rainfalls and dry summers, with no irrigation, his corn produced 65 bushels per acre, compared to yields of under 25 from other local farms. Moreover, when independent analyses were done, Hamaker’s corn was found to contain 28% more protein, 47% more calcium, 57% more phosphorus, 60% more magnesium and 90% more potassium than the same type of corn grown with chemical fertilizers nearby. - See more at: http://remineralize.org/2007/11/soil-remineralization-and-the-climate/#sthash.3RNlqfTo.dpuf Here's the result of my top-dressing Old Port with red-lava-rock, the free-sown snapdragons go beserk. Old Port got winter-killed to 4 inch. tall early April. Pic. taken June 8:

This is an excellent recipe from my dear friend Sandy S. -- I like it over baked yams or baked sweet potatoes, black beans and quinoa. I use raw cashews and soak them overnight in water, which I will then use for the water in the recipe as noted. You can also use this as a dip for veggies. Chipotle Crema using Nutritional Yeast: 1 C water 1/2 C vegetable oil 1/4 C apple cider vinegar 2 tsp soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos 1/2 C raw slivered almonds or raw cashews 2 garlic cloves, peeled -- or less to taste 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce or 1 T chipotle chile powder 3 T nutritional yeast 1 1/2 tsp chili powder dash salt Combine everything in a blender, on low for 1 minute, then increase to high and blend one more minute until smooth and creamy. Transfer to jar, can keep in fridge for up to 5 days.