Tuesday 26 October 2021

Blogtober 2021 :: Day 26

 



There is generally something bubbling away in the kitchen around here. Kefir and sourdough and a bit of kimchi. I have a cup of kefir every morning and most days I make a loaf of sourdough as well. I use the bread machine because it's fast and easy.

I start by putting in some sourdough starter and 50:50 flour and water. I tend to use a mixture of some sort of seedy/granary flour and organic white. I put the bread machine on the 'Pizza' setting for three minutes so that it just mixes everything. That's done at lunchtime, then I leave it until 6.30am the next morning.

When I get up, I add the rest of the flour and the salt and set it back on the 'Pizza' setting, which is 45 minutes of kneading and warming and resting.



Then I take out the blade from the bread machine and make sure the dough is in a nice shape. I leave it until mid-morning when it has usually risen, then I stick it on a bake setting for 45 minutes, and hey presto. The advantage of sourdough is that I never need to bother with yeast. It can be a bit unpredictable though. Some flours don't rise much, some rise madly. Then there is the weather and how lively the starter is feeling. 


I quite like having it in a proper loaf shape rather than a flat round, it's good for sandwiches that way, and you don't get too much crust in comparison to actual proper bread. I am not a fan of the crusts.

When I use the sourdough starter, I just top the remainder up with 50:50 flour and water. You really only need a bit of the old starter. Kefir is just as easy. Strain and put the grains into organic whole milk, leave for 24 hours, job done.

I do love the transformation when things ferment and bubble. And by all accounts the microbes are really good for the gut. I'm all about the gut health, it has such a big part to play in how we feel I think, everything from mental health to a strong immune system. The sourdough doesn't contribute obviously, as it's been cooked, but the other things are brilliant. Fermenting can make vegetables more digestible as well, and release more nutrients from them. It's a good option when there's a bit of a glut of things or when things are on special offer.

I'd love to go to South Korea one day and try all the fermented pickles there. I hear they have separate fridges, just for the kimchi, brilliant. I don't much like when vegetables are pickled in vinegar, but when they're done with salt they are absolutely delicious on the whole. And easier to make than I imagined.

7 comments:

  1. I've just had a light bulb moment - why did I never think to make sourdough in the bread maker?! To be honest, I haven't tried making it any way for ages - the lack of flour during lockdown put a bit of a dampener on it. It's L's birthday next month and, as part of her present, I've bought her James Morton's (of Bake Off fame) sourdough book and a proving basket. I'll let her get it down to a fine art and then she can teach me! I love kimchi but haven't tried making it yet (maybe you could do a post?! :O)) and I do make kombucha. Perhaps I'll put a fermentation book on my Christmas list - do you have any to recommend? Here's power to your gut flora! :O) xx

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    1. 'Fermented Vegetables' by Kristen Shockey and Christopher Shockey is absolutely brilliant. What they don't know about fermenting isn't worth knowing. And they explain it so well too, it didn't turn out to be nearly as hard as I thought it would - really very simple in fact. I'll definitely do a kimchi post, I'll be making a new batch soon. CJ xx

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  2. I’ve always wanted to ‘do’ sour dough but not sure how to get started. Used to have a bread machine that I used daily until it fell apart. Bought a new one that was useless so I gave up. Maybe time I started again. B x

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  3. Bread looks scrumptious - isn't it amazing how that uninspiring sloppy ness can turn into an actual loaf? I keep reading about gut health and wonderful if I should investigate probiotics, but they are expensive and although everyone swears by them it still seems like an overpricey thing to do. I've never tried kefir, I can't even imagine what it might taste like?

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    1. Definitely an acquired taste! It took me a while to get used to. Imagine if you had never tasted yoghurt before, how surprised you'd be. It's a bit like that. CJ xx

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  4. Our sour dough started got contaminated with black mould....not pretty. I love kefir, I buy it sometimes at Waitrose (don't tell my man, he is a frugal shopper). I used to own a kefir creature, it looked a bit creepy and grew a lot. My mother hated it. I think you can buy granules now, need to look into it.

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