https://www.cbsnews.com/video/baking-bread/#x

I saw that and thought of your generous offer to share yeast. The show said that yeast sales are up 647% from last year. That explains why I had such trouble getting yeast, and if I had waited later, it probably would have been worse. Flour sales have only doubled, and so that is easier to find, it seems.

I didn't see it but looked it up and watched before FOAS (thank you!) added the link. What a shock about yeast sales!

I wonder if the newer bread makers will continue to make bread after (and hopefully there will be some sort of "after") covid-19 settles down? I'm betting many will continue, which would be nice to see. Many young people, heck my older friends too, rely heavily on 'boughten', pre-cooked foods, and the art of cooking seems to be dwindling over time.

Really? A lot of the young people I know have been combining hipsterism (old word!) with back to the earthism (old concept), and have been baking, sprouting, fermenting, crafting, all that stuff that was popular when we were young, and putting their own twists on it. Among the people I know, it's more the harried working mothers, who never had time to even contemplate making their own, who are diving into it now. Of course, if they'd contemplated and gotten used to the making, they'd have been able to fit making bread, fermenting and cooking from scratch into their lives, so, yeah, I also hope they'll continue. OTOH, every prepared foodstuff reviled, is another job lost.

I was a bit shocked about the yeast numbers but the packets must have disappeared first, then most went ahead and purchased the 2 lb packages being not that expensive...or the hoarder price gougers got ahold of it.

DH bought the 2 lb before thanksgiving and put it in the freezer. We had plenty in a 1/2 cup glass jar in the fridge door. Was not on the shopping list but just thought 'why not' in case our fridge stash lost activity. Our Costco only has the 2 lb so guessing many have way more than they will ever use.

Jim's no-knead was printed in the NYTimes in 2006. Lots of people made it being so easy. No need to know about hydration or what a biga is. It works and probably was once a month adventure if that. When the bread shelves were stripped bare...makes sense. Make bread.

I went to Costco for the first time since this whole thing started. Waited in line about 1/2 hour. 2 lines to get in about 150 people (according to an employee on his walkie-talkie).

I got everything I wanted, except for yeast. When I got home I read that another Costco had yeast a few days prior, but not the one I was in.

Since that's all I want now, I'm not going to make the trip "in hopes" of getting yeast. I can get it at the Bulk Barn and at specific bake shops, but the price can't be beat, and it's the best I've ever used, and I still have a bit in the freezer. Hopefully I can wait it out.

I have a shout-out for a couple of friends to keep an eye out and pick one up for me.

not only bread ... pizza crust as well. Bet more folks are making pizza than bread ...

Maybe, but most places you can still get take out pizza without having to have the ingredients (besides flour and yeast) on hand. Seems if it were mostly pizza there'd be a shortage of mozzarella!

And mozzarella is considered a commodity, like orange juice and pork belly (bacon), and there have been mozzarella shortages without weird crisis economy. ;)

Must be a big city phenom. only things not available are the typical suspects, but bread was NOT among them here. TP, tissue paper, cleaning supplies, ground beef and other meats well as flour, and yeast [for about ten days] and canned beans and soups and spaghettios were scarcer, along with ramen noodles. Always had dry beans and bread and cereal and milk.

since I have been baking bread daily and giving it away, I go through a little more than 10 pounds a week. I am always in a bit of a panic about flour, but my friends have been keeping an eagle eye out for me Right now I have 3 1/2 five pound bags of KA bread flour.....and 4 pounds and a few oz of yeast....and I turned down an offer of another 2 pound package!!

The bread shortage was relatively brief here. The flour shortage has outlasted it by far. That’s still spotty. If people are baking bread - or most anything - it’s because they want to. In this house most of the flour is going into pizza.

Thanks Brooke. I'm Canadian and our Costco online has been out of stock for weeks. I just checked and it's still out of stock.

plllog, I think that it depends on where the young people are located. Sure, crafting, back to earthism going on here pre-covid, but on such a small scale. Most just work, party, eat fast food or easy grocery prepared foods. I think where you live there is more an emphasis on a healthier lifestyle - with both young and older. Here some find it, others don't.

Well, to be fair, there are a LOT of people here, and we have all types, including the work/party/eat-whatever people. But they don't seem any different from the work/party/eat-whatever people of any era. The under 30's currently defining their era here, however, are the ones more interested in healthy body, healthy planet, healthy lifestyle, experiences over possessions, travel over nicer housing, simple food well made over fussy weird food, good times with friends over family obligations, go with the flow over careful planning. We have those kind a-plenty. You may have them in your general area too, and may just not have encountered them.

I haven't noticed a shortage of Mozzarella, and I have been using a fair amount of it. We bought some on Saturday, along with some ciabatta bread, and I will make a sort of pizza with that - it's just easier and still very good. Kevin went to the store today to get more bread flour (I have plenty of rye and whole wheat), as I intend to continue baking our bread - now that I have a good supply of yeast. The stores do have bread on the shelves now, but the bread I get in Rancho Mirage is not as good as what I got in L.A., and it is certainly easy enough to bake my own. I actually enjoy making it, and I've decided that I like it even better when not using my Kitchenaid mixer. I mix pasta dough by hand also, and I plan to make some lasagna later this week. I'll have to roll it out with a rolling pin, however, and so I'll see how that goes.

Considering how popular farmers' markets are in southern California, I do think people here are fairly health conscious - or at least are concerned with getting good produce. It's helpful that so much is grown here and therefore so readily available. And I do see mostly younger people (i.e. 20-something) at the farmers' markets. The Bristol Farms that I go to in Westchester is just a few blocks from Loyola Marymount University, and it has a huge selection of health foods, mainly for the students, I think.

I find that amazing Lars, young people at your farmers markets. At local stands I've seen only 40 year old and upward, mostly upward. I don't go due to lack of masks. I think it's regional, and find it sad that so many of all ages here live on fries and burgers. I only know 2 families that stress healthy home cooking, one is from Russia, the other from Columbia. Both bake bread and always have.