My SAF Instant Dry Yeast is here, I've split it into 2 jars. One for the fridge and one to go into the freezer. Yay!

FOAS, thanks for the heads-up on KAF. I'm on my last bag of bread flour and was starting to worry!

Just read an article this morning saying KA & Bob's Red Mill have stepped up production to get more flour to the stores ASAP.

And my sister scored a pound (!) of active dry yeast the other day out in Santa Monica. She shared a pic of it next to the 2 pounds of flour she got from the same vendor, which struck me as kind of funny...

LOL!!! Carol, if that isn't a picture for the scrapbook, I don't know what is! Definitely a sign of the times.

Ordered my flour. They now have IDY but no ADY nor blueberry muffin mix 😞 I love their blueberry muffins.

I just got an email from one of the many cooking magazines I subscribe to that said that you can find yeast on Etsy.com I checked and it's true.

My local store had yeast strips today! There were five strips left. I bought two and left the rest for other people.

However, they did not have flour. Fortunately, I bought a five pound bag three weeks ago when they did have it.

I've noticed many on-line ordering is catching up. Or at least trying. Hoarding.,as we know now, not such a bad idea back a few months ago. Those of us that always stocked a reasonable pantry are happy to have it.

Just need to be flexible about different brands. Dry goods like beans, rice, flour are easily stored. (the coat/boot entry closet, lol). NYC friends are no longer fancy minimalists. Entries are now pantries.

Given that I can't find yeast here in the OC, I bought frozen pizza dough. I hope others have had better luck but we were quite disappointed. It was more like a cracker that pizza.

The quest continues. . .

Sarahsocal, if you are just looking for pizzas, I've discovered that mideastern/Mediterranean flat bread makes awesome pizzas. Brush with a bit of olive oil then put on your sauce & toppings. It doesn't take very long to bake, just enough to get the cheese ooey-gooey melty.

Yay! Bagged a bag of white whole wheat...not what I usually buy, but I'll take it!

The local Kroger had unbl flour in stock again last week, and my sister insisted on giving me an extra bag she had (self-rising, which I don't normally use, but any port in a storm). I was lucky to have yeast on hand--I bake a lot, so I buy it in 1 pound vac-sealed bags. Still no tortillas in the store.

Tortillas are pretty darn easy to make.

Naan bread can be used to make pizzas too, as well as pita.

OMG!

Mind you my DH is wonderful about doing dishes and keeping the kitchen clean. But there are times in his zealousness that he causes issues....like when I just pull out a measuring cup and before I can use it, he's grabbed it and is washing it at the sink.

Well this afternoon I'm baking my chocolate cinnamon bread rolls, and guess who almost dumped my dissolving yeast down the drain!! When it's so hard to come by!! I kindly... well actually less than kindly... told him to get the truck out of my kitchen until I was done!

Man o man!

I use Naan all the time to make pizzas AND my little ole Sicilian grandma used to make what she called "pizzarelli" which are pizzas on English muffins made in a toaster oven. Yum.

My family loves the homemade tortillas because I use part masa, but the store-bought ones are so much easier. :P Actually the kids probably love the homemade ones more, since I often add a couple of inches of oil to the skillet, fry the last half dozen (make a hole in the middle, as for fry bread), and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Interesting article about the flour shortage from The Atlantic magazine:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/why-theres-no-flour-during-coronavirus/611527/

"...Amid these disappearances, one of the most persistent has been that of an extremely common, shelf-stable product that has no obvious link to cleanliness or quarantine at all: flour. At first, flour hung around on shelves while people bought up dried beans and canned tomatoes. Then, several weeks ago, while America watched as unsold vegetables were plowed back into the soil and fretted over the earliest outbreaks among midwestern meatpackers, one flour company quietly saw its sales skyrocket 2,000 percent. Flour was nowhere to be found in stores, and it soon disappeared from the internet....

...For most other products vaporized by pandemic demand, supplies are bouncing back. Manufacturers are catching up, or the spike is subsiding. But scooping up a bag of flour still often depends on dumb luck, even as packaged bread and other flour-based processed foods remain abundant. It doesn’t take much detective work to figure out where it’s all going: Facebook has been flooded with photos of homemade focaccias, pancakes, and banana breads. On Twitter, people are on their third or fourth wave of backlash to sourdough as a concept. Americans are baking a ton, and the nation’s flour supply has fallen victim to our newfound hobby...."

Homemade (once you get the hang of it) tastes so much better than storebought. Who can blame us? :-)

So, do you think all these people will continue to bake their daily bread?

I have to admit, I can buy really good store bought bread, here. Really good. While I bake bread regularly, I do (did) buy bread when I don't feel like it. Now, I have plenty of time, and got plenty of flour, and am playing with new recipes for amusement, leaving the bread at the store for those who don't bake. My mother has been asking for corn rye, but not as thin as it's traditionally sliced, including at the instore bakery where she gets her groceries. I have the ingredients if my caraway seeds haven't gone off, and I have a recipe. I'm just not feeling ti yet. :)

I totally agree with @pillog. I can get really good bread several places nearby. Which is why the Quest for Yeast is not a huge deal (except for the mediocre pizza the other night).

Sarah, we're probably within an hour of each other. :) Have you tried bakeries and restaurants for yeast?

I am getting close to being out of Semolina flour which I just discovered makes my Italian bread so much better. KAF website has it as "currently unavailable." Waah. So I went to Amazon. Found a 2.2 lb for not too unreasonable. I was going to order 2 but the little pop-up said that the seller only had 1 left so I hurried up and checked out with just the one. Thank goodness it counted as a "prime" item so no shipping fees.

Pilllog - because I really don't bake a lot of bread and can get it easily, I have been too lazy to really pursue Yeast Quest. Not sure where you are but I am in South OC.

Another item on my shopping list is semolina! Based on what EdieJ said, sounds like I have a new quest. Luckily, as with yeast, Semolina Quest is not urgent (and I am, again, lazy).

I checked and jerzeegirl was correct about Etsy.com having yeast for sale - the prices didn't seem terribly high either...

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=yeast

I have absolutely no issues sending yeast to anyone. My wholesale supplier has plenty. Last time I offered a month ago I only had one taker. I have plenty of forever stamps. I don't risk my health....just put it in my mailbox for the mailman to pick up.

It is FREE.

Sending again Friday.

Last time you mentioned this I thought about jumping in and helping out if you got overwhelmed with requests. One taker? I see that’s not necessary!

We aren't in desperate need of yeast - have around a pound of Active Dry Yeast which is what we use most of the time and almost a pound of Instant Dry Yeast which we can use instead if needed. But normally we would have bought a 2 pound Active Dry Yeast when we opened the bag and haven't been able to get one.

So I'd feel funny asking a kind person like Sleeven to send us some and I'm expecting local supply to catch up before we need to buy it, but I do stress slightly about not having the reserve that we usually would. I have found a local bakery that is selling 1 pound packs of Instant Dry.

Cloud Swift, I also have a good supply, but I'm baking for Mother and for us, and so I'm using more than usual. I'm hoping things will be kind of back to whatever the new normal is before I need any.

If Sleevendog got overwhelmed with requests, though, I'd also chip in some of mine and just start a sourdough starter to get us through until things become more stable. Mother wouldn't eat it but Elery loves sourdough.

Annie

My bread maker is now not coming until August, it was June. I may make some this weekend that is no kneed.

That's a lovely generous offer, sleevendog. I have enough yeast for my needs too, or I would take you up on that 🙂

Just back from our weekly food run. Went to Trader Joe's and Gelson's. Both had flour. Neither had yeast or semolina so both of my quests continue.

After the frozen pizza dough fail from last weekend, I grabbed some of TJ's refrigerated dough. We shall see. Will try to post a pic when I make this round.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Sarah, I'm not sure which version of semolina you mean, because, if I understand correctly, it just means endosperm, and for pizza, of durum wheat. It comes in different grind sizes. Are any of these what you want?

https://www.amazon.com/Antimo-Caputo-Semolina-Italian-Semola/dp/B00WQ75O2Y

https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/grains/wheat/semolina-flour.html

https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/grains/wheat/semolina-flour.html

I scored! Got yeast and nonfat dry milk! Wahoo!

I also completed Yeast Quest yesterday!! Local Ralph's had it finally.

In honor of the occasion I went home and made bread - basically focaccia - Monti's Bread.

I add rosemary into the dough as well. And did half with rosemary/salt on top and half Everything Bagel seasoning.

It honestly was the best batch I have ever made. Maybe the anticipation?

(I took a pic but honestly it was not worthy of posting given all the amazing food photographers on here.)

YAY FOR YEAST!!

As for semolina - I use it half and half with AP Flour for making pasta. I am certainly not a semolina aficionado so I am sure all the ones Pillog posted would be fine. Honestly, I only noticed I was out when I was making pizza - I use it for rolling out the dough and had to default to cornmeal.

Just went grocery shopping (yuck) and the entire flour/yeast section was still empty except a few bags of self-rising. This was a store I only occasionally shop. Haven't been to our little local store in several days. It may be different there as the number of shoppers is much less.

I STILL can't find any yeast and I'm almost out. I bought a jar of active dry yeast at the beginning of March and now I'm almost out.

I don't know what I'm going to do, I've been making our bread at home for the past several years.

I've been checking every time I'm at the store, but still no yeast.

Texas-Gem, you make so much bread it would probably be worth your while to buy a pound bag of yeast. It lasts a long time in the frig or freezer.

Texas_Gem, if I'm understanding Sleevendog above, she is offering yeast without charge. I guess there is personal messaging on this forum.

I can attest to yeast lasting a long time in the fridge. The stuff I'm using has been in my fridge for maybe 2 years now, and it's not in sealed packets, it was bagged, from a local bulk foods store, and I have it in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.

I never tried storing it in the freezer.

Can you not buy online, Texas_Gem?

jc, those are outrageous shipping charges ...

Thanks guys. I've never seen a pound bag of yeast at any local stores. I checked Amazon and they have a 2 lb bag for 25 dollars. Seems kind of high but I guess I will get that.

@matthias-lang, I saw that but didn't see a way of contacting sleevendog. No messaging on their profile.

I know the taste is different but couldn't those that are out of yeast make a sourdough starter????

FWIW, I recall seeing a baker on Martha Stewart's old TV show make a wild yeast starter using organic grapes, flour and water.

Found this from Nancy Silverton:

https://www.food.com/recipe/nancy-silverton-s-grape-sourdough-starter-316306#activity-feed

Man! - looks very time consuming, but then nowadays many of us have nothing but time...

Yes, you can make starter with grapes. Or whole grain. Or any number of things. Wild yeast is on them. It's all the same kind of yeast.

The bread doesn't have to taste different if you use wild yeast (sourdough starter), unless you're trying for a yeasty taste. Commercial yeast is a different strain than wild. Regular bread will taste the same if you make it right.

The real issue with using wild yeast is that the method is different and it takes a lot longer, and getting a good rise out of a new starter isn't guaranteed.

All over the 'net, however, all kinds of people (especially young ones) are catching yeast and baking breads both sour and not from it.

Texas Gem, $25 for two pounds is outrageous. Normal would be around $8-9. Smart and Final near us has 1 pound bags of Instant Yeast for under $4.

A quick google search yielded several promising sites, including: Weisenberger Mills. I don't know their shipping charge, so can't know for sure if it's a better deal than Amazon. There were also quite a few ebay sellers -- how odd!

I guess I got ripped off when I spent $19 for a pound of SAF IDY. That was at the height of the panic. I see it’s $15 now, still expensive I guess. But at less than a quarter per packet equivalent, I’d just be happy it’s easy to find again.

TexasGem, do you have an HEB nearby? They're showing 16 oz. bags of instant dry yeast in stock, might depend on location though, here's the site to check your area:

https://www.heb.com/store-locations

ghostly- I'm in the Texas Panhandle. We have Walmart, United Supermarkets and a few very small local grocers, depending on the town. No HEB, no Kroger or Safeway, or Whole Foods or Trader Joes. Or Costco!!

I wish we had a Costco!