Kefir Bread
GAPS* Stage:
Coming-Off GAPS*
All credit for the recipe creation goes to Liliane Widmer and to Becky Plotner for publishing it in her ‘GAPS, Stage-by-Stage, with Recipes’ book. Click HERE to purchase the book
About the Recipe
This is a great subsitute for sourdough bread, where you don't need to create a "starter". The kefir acts as the rising agent and it's really simple to make.
This bread is perfect as an accompaniment for soups, or it is delicious by itself when slathered with butter!
Ingredients
2 cups (500mL) organic sprouted flour (such as buckwheat, millet, quinoa or rye)
1 cup (250mL) kefir, freshly made
¼ tsp (1.25mL) mineral salt
½ Tbsp (7.5mL) honey
½ Tbsp (7.5mL) animal fat, plus additional for greasing the loaf pan (fat that is semi-liquid at room-temp works really well, such as lard or duck fat)
Click HERE for instructions on how to make kefir
Instructions
Step 1
Grease the 4x8 glass loaf pan with fat and add a light amount of flour to all sides until they are coated.
Step 2
Mix all ingredients together in a food processor or stand-alone mixer.
NOTE: The dough should not be too wet that it still sticks to your hands. But it should also not be too dry that additional flour will no longer integrate.
Step 3
Place the dough into the bottom of the glass loaf pan and flatten so that it covers the entire bottom.
Step 4
Cover the loaf pan and allow it to rise at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) over the next 24 hours.
NOTE: To speed this process up, place the covered loaf pan in the oven and turn on the light. The heat from the oven light will stimulate it to rise quicker. Check back on it in 6-8 hours to make sure it has risen!
Step 5
Once the dough has roughly doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
Step 6
Bake 45 minutes with it covered. Then remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. It is ready when it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean.
Allow it to cool completely to room temperature before cutting it into slices.
Enjoy with a healthy slathering of butter and/or accompanied with a soup!
Storage Instructions
You can cover and store the bread at room temperature in the pantry for roughly 5 days. Alternatively, you can cover and store the bread in the fridge for roughly 7 days. Or just cut the bread into slices, or segments, and freeze them for several months in a BPA-free freezer-safe Ziplock bag.
Troubleshooting
The bread didn’t rise over the 24 hour period… What can I do to salvage the batter?
Turn the oven light on, spritz the top surface with some water and place the loaf pan in the oven. Continually watch it through the window to see if it rises. Do not open the oven door as this will let the heat out. The oven temperature can reach up to 100°F with only the light on, but the door needs to be continually shut. After 6-8 hours you should see the dough rise, otherwise if it doesn’t rise then proceed to the suggestions noted below.
It could be that the kefir you originally used was not strong enough to complete the fermentation. Remove the dough from the loaf pan and place into a new bowl. Add brand-new freshly fermented kefir until it forms a porridge-like consistency. Grease & flour the loaf pan again. Pour the batter back into the pan and let it rise over the next 24 hours minimum.
Remove the dough from the loaf pan and divide into 3 blobs. Spread some flour out onto the counter and roll the dough into a pizza crust. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet (or glass pie plate) at 350°F for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden. You can either use this for a pizza crust or for crackers.
In a separate bowl, add 3 eggs and mix until the yolks are well combined with the whites. In another separate bowl, combine ¾ cup flour with 1 tsp baking soda. Combine the original dough, the egg mixture and the flour mixture together until a sticky-cake-dough-consistency is achieved. Pour the dough into a greased & floured loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until surface is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.