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Havent tried this with bread yet but its a much surer bet for culturing yeast. Ive done similar collecting wild yeast from flowers and grains.

Get a slice of white bread and soak it in a jar of molases water. Sugar water will work too but I prefer molasses. Let is sit for a day. If you see bubles at the top it means the yeast is growing. You can then use this to culture a starter.

Take the other white bread slices and dehydrate them as backup. Do not toast them.

Old yeast years past its expiration date  can still be good and used if it has been sealed. You can test it by culturing some in molases water. If it makes bubles on the surface its still good. Ive done this with yeast that was more than 6 years old.

I heard a report from someone who went to a grocery store (somewhere in the US) and the cashier commented that "everyone fancies himself a baker now." Yeast, flour, and other baking ingredients are often sold out -- but the same cashier pointed out that the store's bakery was well stocked, including the bread aisle.

My first reaction was: silly rabbits! Trix are for kids. You weren't a baker before, what makes you think you can bake your own bread from scratch now?

But then again, you can always learn, and people DO have a lot of time on their hands now. So now I'm wondering if maybe people ARE trying to become more self-sufficient at least in baked goods -- even if the first few "training" loaves end up outside, only fit for the birds to eat.

Have you heard about friends, acquaintances, family members, etc. getting heavy into baking? I wonder if this is one of the ways life will change forever -- After 2020, Americans will produce 10 or 15% of their own bread at home, rather than the usual 1/4 of 1 percent.