Is This Normal?

[Chuck N]

I'm brewing up a Pale Ale and I've used US-04 for the first time. (I want it to have a British Pale Ale flavor but with an American Pale Ale carbonation level.) I keep my fermenting bucket in a bead-board box and every time I lift the box up to check the bucket's temperature I get the distinct smell of raw bread dough. It's not unpleasant at all but I just don't know if it's normal.

[MadBrewer]

Yeah I would say so especially in the early stages of fermentation. S-04 is fairly clean for an English strain and ferments very well. I get "bread dough" from both US-05 and S-04 when I'm rehydrating them. I always smell the rehydrated yeast or a yeast starter before pitching. S-04 in a finished beer, there can be a little bready character as well. It will probably get lost when used in a APA, but it's there to a point.

[mashani]

S-04 is Whitbread ale yeast (it's like a dry version of Wyeast 1099). So what else would you expect it to smell like? :joke:

But yeah it's normal.

[Gymrat]

Yep that is why 04 is my go to yeast for British style ales.

[Chuck N]

Alight! Thanks guys.

But I just came up with another question...I have a bread machine. (It's been sitting dormant for over a year.) I know I've read before that guys have made bread using yeast from their beers and I have a feeling this yeast could make some outstanding bread. So, what are the methods for doing so?