Yeast or Sourdough

[Cuilidh]

I love sourdough bread, but because I have a 100% success rate in murdering my sourdough starters I have been wondering if you can substitute yeast for SD in bread recipes and, if so, what are the proportions?

[cookie1]

Congratulations on your murder success rate Marina. 

I will let Chookie answer this one. I don't think you can but I've never come across it so I don't really know.
Why not use all yeast?  You could use a smaller amount and let it rise longer.
I'll be interested in Chookie's answer as I'm sure I will learn something.

[achookwoman]

Marina, not sure if this answers your question, but here goes.
To make bread,(not flat bread), you need a rising agent, fresh yeast, dried yeast, SD starter or in the case of Irish soda bread, soda. You can use a combination of yeast and SD.
Each produces a different result.  If you want to make a bread with a similar texture and slight SD flavour Helenes recipe using A little yeast, proving over night and baking in a preheated iron pot, is about as close as you can get. Gert has made this several times with great success.,
You can also add yoghurt to a dried yeast mixture for a slightly sour flavour.
Nothing really replaces a true SD loaf.
Hope this helps. 

[cookie1]

I really enjoy Helene's bread. I must make it again.

[Bedlam]

Marina I'm a murderer too. Mine go purple.  Scary what is lurking in my fridge to make it go purple.

[Cuilidh]

Marina I'm a murderer too. Mine go purple.  Scary what is lurking in my fridge to make it go purple.

I'm glad I am not the only one!

I have made Helene's loaf often and love it, the only problem is that I am not always organised enough to make it in the time I have got available.

[achookwoman]

Marina I'm a murderer too. Mine go purple.  Scary what is lurking in my fridge to make it go purple.

I'm glad I am not the only one!

I have made Helene's loaf often and love it, the only problem is that I am not always organised enough to make it in the time I have got available.

The timing is even more difficult with SD.  I have been making it for more than 30 years and still get caught out. 
That is also why a lot of commercial bakers add yeast to their so called SD. This makes it more predictable. 

[Cuilidh]

Marina, not sure if this answers your question, but here goes.
To make bread,(not flat bread), you need a rising agent, fresh yeast, dried yeast, SD starter or in the case of Irish soda bread, soda. You can use a combination of yeast and SD.
Each produces a different result.  If you want to make a bread with a similar texture and slight SD flavour Helenes recipe using A little yeast, proving over night and baking in a preheated iron pot, is about as close as you can get. Gert has made this several times with great success.,
You can also add yoghurt to a dried yeast mixture for a slightly sour flavour.
Nothing really replaces a true SD loaf.
Hope this helps.

Thanks, Chookie, it looks like I am going to have to be more organised and disciplined and get back into baking Helene's loaf.  I don't mind using yeast, I just vastly prefer SD (fortunately for me, there is an excellent baker just around the corner from work that does SD breads, so I am not totally deprived).

I have tried googling this as well and everything I have been able to find is converting from yeast to SD, not the other way around and, from the general impression I got after reading up on this, it doesn't look like there is an easy answer to my question.

[achookwoman]

The baker near you has very nice SD but also expensive.  Sometimes when we stay in Carlton, King and Godtrey have their SD for 1/2 price after 6. Pm. I buy a couple of loaves and freeze one, eat the other.