Making Milk Kefir Sourdough Bread

on

 

I am sure you have heard of sourdough bread, but did you know you can make sourdough bread using milk kefir?

When starting out on my homemade sourdough bread journey many years ago, I tried to start my own sourdough starter. It was not a success, with my husband affectionately calling my finished bread a brick.

So I put my sourdough breadmaking on the back burner as I tried my hand with other fermented foods.  That was until I was introduced to milk kefir, what a game changer that was. With milk kefir, it opened up a whole new world of smoothies, yogurt, cheese, lacto-fermentation and yes you guessed it sourdough.  After several years I am still exploring all the things I can do with these little gems, known as milk kefir grains. 

Kefir and sourdough have a lot in common with both of them being a cultured food, which improve the nutritional value of whatever they are culturing (milk, flour, sweet water). Both containing the yeast, bacteria, and acids.

So how do you make sourdough bread with milk kefir? 
There are a couple of ways:

Making a Kefir Sourdough Starter

  • Combine 125g each freshly ground flour and 250mls milk kefir in a 500ml jar.
  • Stir well to combine.
  • Place a breathable lid such as a towel or coffee filter over the jar and secure it tightly.
  • Allow to culture 2 to 3 days at room temperature or until it is bubbling and active.
  • Use in your favourite sourdough recipes. 

Using Milk Kefir Directly as the “Sourdough Starter”

Milk kefir can also be a directly as a sourdough starter by simply replacing the liquid in your favourite sourdough bread recipe with kefir. For the flour, use the amount of flour in the recipe plus the amount of starter given. So if your recipe calls for 250g of starter, 375g flour, and 250mls of water, use 625g of flour and 250mls of milk kefir. You may need to adjust the amount of kefir to get the right consistency to the dough. You can also use Kefir to convert any bread recipe into a sourdough bread.

Here is my recipe
  • 500g Plain White Flour (start with 400g, adding flour until desired consistency is reached)
  • 11/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Honey (or similar sweetener)
  • 1tbsp of Olive Oil
  • 250mls Milk kefir (freshly fermented and at room temperature)
Starting with 400g of flour, add dry ingredients in a bowl and combine the honey and milk kefir in a separate bowl, ensure this liquid is at room temperature or tepid. Add half the liquid to the dry ingredients and combine, slowly adding the remaining liquid until the dough starts to form. You are aiming for a dough which is moist but not sticky and comes away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes using the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and stretchy and of the desired consistently. Place in a lightly oiled and floured bowl and cover. Allow the dough to double in size, this can take up to 24 hours.  Punch down, shape and place in or on your lightly oiled and floured baking tin/tray. Cover and allow to rise for a second time until it has doubled in size, this may take another 24 hours.
Pre-heat the oven to 200oC, bake for 20 to 25 mins until the base of the loaf sounds hollow. Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully on a cooling rack, covered with a clean tea towel.

Benefits of Using Kefir as Leavening

Keeping it simple. If you are already making milk kefir on a daily basis then you’ve got leavening on hand. Furthermore, if you can use something you’re already making as a sourdough starter then you don’t have to create and maintain a separate sourdough culture.

Better keeping qualities. Because of the acids and bacteria naturally present in kefir, many find that kefir-leavened breads, much like sourdough, tend to keep longer than their commercial yeast-based counterparts.

Starting with a Reliable Culture. If you have ever tried to create a sourdough starter by catching wild yeasts then you know that it can be hit or miss. Some wild yeasts produce great bread, others not so much. Starting with kefir can give you the peace of mind that only truly established cultures can bring.
So, definitely give kefir-leavened bread a try. You can create truly great bread with three simple ingredients: flour, salt, and milk kefir.


Comments

Post a Comment