Yes, Linda, that is how sourdough and naturally leavened bread is made. The problem is that the yeast isn’t active enough in the dry flour to make bread right away (the dough would spoil before it would rise enough), so you need to make a starter with flour and water first. After a few feedings, the yeast in the starter is active enough to make bread with. Click on the link in my answer to LG above to go to my sourdough column, including links to recipes etc.

The Grand Central stuff is also available at some local grocery stores. Pretty sure I’ve seen it at New Seasons and/or Whole Foods, and Zupan’s is a good bet too. It’s a great product.

Everyone should have a Tim Tam story. E.g.: We went to Australia for our honeymoon in 1999 and the taxi driver who was taking us to the airport to come home asked if we’d tried Tim Tams during our stay. When we said “no” she couldn’t believe it, nor deal with it, so she stopped at a convenience store and left us alone in the idling car while she went in to buy us a box to take home. We were laughing our asses off. The other day I saw them for sale at Target here in Oregon! (Must be them Pepperidge Farm imports)

Shouldn’t you have to change the name of your column now? False advertising!

Thanks for the correction, MRW. Of course there are acid-base reactions that don’t make CO2. It was an incorrect generalization.