Powdered milk/buttermilk and other bulk section savings

If you don’t use a lot of milk, you can buy small amounts of powdered milk and buttermilk for cooking from the bulk section of grocery stores/food co-ops and store it in the freezer. There are also powdered eggs and butter. Stored correctly, these will last for years. They’re fine in most cooked/baked foods, like waffles, bread, sauces, etc.

For bakers, yeast from food co-ops costs about 1/10 as much as the yeast in packets. A pound will last years in the freezer, but as with all yeast, always proof before using : mix half a teaspoon/4 g in 5 oz/150 mL warm water (100F/40C) with two pinches of sugar and wait 10 minutes. It should form a foam head like beer. If not, the yeast is probably dead.