How to Make Yeast Water with Fruit

Yeast water is made by capturing and cultivating wild yeast found on fruit. When left to ferment, this water can be used to create a wild yeast starter that’s perfect for all kinds of baking and is a great substitute for sourdough starter!

What is yeast water?

Yeast water is a mixture of water and fruit that’s been allowed to ferment to capture the wild yeast in our environment.

The wild yeast on the skin of various fruits is captured into the water during this process, yielding a bubbly, carbonated liquid that’s full of active yeast!

How do you use it?

You can use this to create a wild yeast starter to make naturally leavened bread! The benefit to this is that it’s practically foolproof! I’ve never had a problem creating a starter using yeast water and there’s far less waste because there’s no discard!

This is my wild yeast starter that almost tripled in volume after mixing it with flour!

Ingredients you’ll need

• Raisins – if possible, use organic raisins that have not been coated with any type of oil. Preservatives such as sulfur dioxide and oil coatings are found in some brands of raisins. If you’re using raisins that aren’t organic or have some type of coating, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes before starting. Dried figs or dried dates can be used as well.
• Water – if possible, use filtered water. If you’re using tap water, leave it in an open container for 24 hours to dechlorinate the water.
• Sugar – this will be food for the wild yeast and will help it colonize your water. The byproduct of consuming sugar is carbon dioxide which creates an effervescent effect.
• Clear jar with a lid – make sure your lid creates an airtight seal because you’ll be shaking this mixture twice a day.

Step by step instructions

Add all the ingredients to your container and close the lid tightly. Shake it vigorously until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then, place it in a warm area away from direct sunlight.

Continue reading to see how this mixture changes each day into yeast water. It usually takes me 3 to 4 days until it’s ready to use. I leave it on my kitchen counter where the temperature is usually anywhere from 74 to 76 degrees F.

Day 1 and Day 2: Water is mostly clear but colored from the raisins. There’s a bit of cloudiness on day 2.

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Notice how the raisins are still settled in the bottom of the container. This is because there’s no carbon dioxide being created yet from the yeast. The liquid is also clear, yet colored brown from the raisins.

Day 3 Morning:

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The raisins started to rise to the top of the liquid and there were tiny bubbles forming around the raisins. The carbonation is created from carbon dioxide that’s created as a byproduct after the yeast feeds on the sugars.

The liquid started to get more cloudy from the yeast developing. Note: You may or not may see activity by the third day as it’s dependent on your temperature and the fruit you use.

Day 3 Evening:

By the evening of day 3, the liquid was considerable more cloudy and smelled of subtle cider. It was slightly alcoholic smelling, but still mostly sweet. The lid gave off a slight hiss when opened and there were tiny bubbles forming along the sides of the jar.

This is an indication of increased yeast activity. It’s very important at this point to continue to open and close the lid after every shake. You don’t want to build up too much pressure where the lid may pop off.

Day 4:

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Once you see the raisins floating, there’s plenty of fermentation going on and it’s an indication that it’s ready to be strained and used in baking! The liquid should also be very fizzy at this point.

By this time, the lid gave off a noticeable hiss when opened and a rush of bubbles filled the jar, similar to when opening a bottle of soda. This effervescence effect means there’s enough carbon dioxide built up to create a pressurized environment inside the jar. A lot of gas build up means the yeast is consuming lots of sugar and is very active.

At this point, you can strain the raisins and gently squeeze out the excess liquid.

You can either compost your raisins or use them in a baking recipe.

This yielded me 414g of yeast water.

You should see a bit of effervescence in the liquid as there’s still a bit of carbonation.

Store it in an airtight jar and keep it in the fridge for up to two months or use it right away in a wild yeast starter.

Be sure to shake the liquid before using it as there will be settling.

Frequently asked questions

Expert tips and tricks

• Use organic, preservative free raisins that are not coated in oil. This will yield the best results as preservatives and oil may inhibit yeast growth.
• But, if your raisins are coated in oil or contain preservatives, try soaking it in hot water for 15 minutes and then continuing the recipe as written. This should remove some of the preservatives and oil coating.
• When you need to make a new batch of yeast water, save a small amount of the previous batch and add it your new batch. The existing yeast will help speed things along.
• If using tap water, fill your container with water and let it sit out uncovered for 24 hours. This will dechlorinate the water.

More recipes to try:

• Sourdough Starter 2 Ways – Traditional and No-discard method
• Sourdough Focaccia with Rosemary and Parmesan
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread with Cream Cheese Swirls
• Bakery Swiss Roll Cake Recipe
• Chocolate Roll Cake – Swiss Roll
• Custard Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce