Amish friendship bread?!
Answers: Can I use honey in place of the white sugar in the starter recipe for this bread? Is botulism an issue with this? Thanks for any help.
From this, it looks like it should not be a problem. Botulism and honey is usually a concern for infants - never give a baby honey. I have actually used powdered sugar because I was too cheap to run to the store and get plain sugar. :-) It worked fine, too.
Proofing Active Dry Yeast
Yeast makes carbon dioxide gas that acts as a leavening agent. Start by "proofing" or growing the yeast: this ensures it is active and re-hydrated (this step is not required for fresh or instant yeast):
* Sprinkle the yeast onto warm (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) water and stir to dissolve. The water should feel warm, not hot, to the touch. Yeast feeds on sugars--honey, molasses or refined sugar--by breaking down the flour's starches into sugar molecules.
* Set the yeast aside until the mixture resembles a creamy foam. This should take between three to eight minutes.
* If nothing happens, discard the mixture and try again with different yeast.
* Proofing Yeast
I think honey is fine. The yeast just has to eat some kind of "sugar" to proof...