The easiest sourdough bread in the world....really.

I love bread!

About two or three years ago, I found out that my body does not love bread. I began having all kinds of issues. I was tested, and I am not allergic to gluten, but something was making me ill.

I have since figured out that it is wheat that makes me ill. Not all wheat, but that is a whole 'nother post. Today, I want to introduce you my very simple sourdough.

You will need:
1 half gallon mason jar with lid (plastic)
1 glass bowl with tight fitting lid (Mine is a large Pyrex with a white rubber lid, like this one)
1 cast iron pot with tight fitting lid (this is what I use)
Time

To make a sourdough starter, you need a Mason jar, flour (I prefer organic unbleached wheat. I have tried with alternative flours, and it did not work for me), and filtered water. I use water from my tap, run through a faucet mount filter. It works.

Start by taking 1/2 cup flour, and about a 1/3 cup water and mix it on your mason jar. Put a lid on it, but do not screw shut. Now repeat this every 12 hours :)...yes, it is babysitting in the beginning, but it gets easier.  After two or three days, you should see bubbles. On day four, take out about 1/2 cup and discard, and add your new flour/water. In 5-7 days, you should be able to smell the "sour" smell. It smells good, like beer, not stinky. The starter should start rising pretty dramatically around day 4-5. You can see I have a pan under my starter...that is because they can explode out of the jar, and often do.

Once your starter is ready, it is time to bake!

In a glass bowel, mix 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of starter, 1 tblsp of sea salt. Mix with a spoon, just until it is moist. Put an airtight lid on it! Let is stand 8-10 hours, no more. I usually make mine at night and let it stand until morning so we have fresh bread.

Preheat your oven to 450. The pot & lid should be in the oven. Once it is hot, take it out, put your dough in, close, and put it right back in the hot oven. My dough is always a bit 'runny', almost like cake dough. I do not fold it, knead it, proof it. Nope. Right in the pot.

Let bake 30 minutes. Take off your lid. If your bread is still "white", leave it in the oven 5-10 more minutes to crisp.

This is what you get:

This bread keeps very well if it is not eaten, at least 5 days. I put mine cut side down on the board, and wrap a thick cotton towel around it. This goes on top of my oven. When the bread gets too hard, use it as crumbs, cubes for soups, breadpudding.....

Every time I use starter, I put back 1 cup of flour and a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. You want it to be a bit soft. You should always have at least 1/2 cup left to mingle with your new flour. Sometimes, I feed it every day because I know my friends are coming over for some bread, and it is almost guaranteed that they want to make their own after that ;).

BTW...you may have noticed how I said I can't eat wheat :). Well, I can eat my own bread, not as much as I like, but at least 2-3 slices a day and I am fine. I get really good organic flour, and the ferment of the sourdough seems to help too. There you go, there are still miracles!

Have fun, let me know how it goes!
Much love,
Heike

From bowl to table, 40 minutes! Spelt Soda Bread

I am always in a pinch. I am not sure why I have this talent, but rising of bread usually occurs while we are already chompin' away at other bread.....we just can't wait.

This bread is easy & quick. I have adapted a recipe and just made it my own. Play with it! Spelt flour
is temperamentful, experiment!

Preheat your oven to 450F. Put a dutch oven or other covered baking dish in to heat up. Make sure it is greased. I use a cast iron dutch oven that is well seasoned.

Mix

4.5 cups of white spelt flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking SODA*
1 tblsp Cream of Tartar
2 ish cups of buttermilk or kefir (I use the latter)

Mix the dry ingredients well.
*Baking Soda and salt can make this very salty if you use too much. If you get baking soda streaks in your bread, sift the dry ingredients to ensure they mix well!

Add milk or kefir and stir. Do not stir with machine. You don't want to overmix, but stir until the flour forms a wettish ball. Spelt flour is funny, sometimes I need more liquid than the recipe calls for, sometimes I don't!

Cover and bake for 35 minutes.

enjoy!!

Witch bread? Making magic happen in 3 minutes......

Meet Delphine, my residing Kitchen Witch :). A few weeks ago, I made bread dough to rise over night, and in the morning it was soft & spongy, way too gooey to handle. I almost threw it in the trash....but instead Delphine gave me a tip: "Put your cast iron pot in the hot oven and just plop it in. See what happens!"

And so I did :)....and now I have the perfect, QUICK, recipe to share with you. I believe I was making a "5 minute bread recipe"...it may be a combination of a few tested recipes. A few easy steps, and you will have a fabulous, European style bread.

I make the dough at night (takes me about 3 minutes), and let it rise overnight.

You will need:
3 cups of white flour
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1.5 tblsp yeast
1 tblsp salt
about 2-3 warm (not hot) water
A cast iron dutch oven

Step One:
In a large bowl (I use the mixing bowl from my KitchenAide), mix the ingredients. Your dough should be wet, not dry. You are not going to knead this bread, you basically just stir enough to get everything mixed up.


Step Two:
Cover your bowl with a plastic top or something that will let a little air in. I use a plastic lid from a Tupper plate :). Let is sit overnight or at least 12 hours. When you open the lid, the dough will look something like this...spongy & wet. That is perfect!


Step Three:

Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Have your uncovered pot in the oven, as well as a deep cookie sheet (this will hold water. Use metal, not ceramic...Ceramic or stone will crack).

Of course you could never scoop this up with your hands, so.....


Sprinkle a little flour over the top and begin to lift it from the edges with a big spoon. Keep sprinkling flour until you have a ball in your plate. Do NOT mix. You are just trying to get it from the bowl.

Step Four:
When your oven is at 450, pull out the pot enough that you PLOP your dough in. Here is a tip: Make sure your cast iron is always seasoned. This way, the dough will not stick to the pan. No oiling necessary.

Quickly put one cup of water in your cookie sheet below your put and CLOSE THE OVEN FAST. I do all this in a mere few seconds. I have my cup of water ready. The water creates steam, and you want to lock it all in with the heat as fast as possible.

Bake for 45 minutes.

ABRACADABRA!!!


This is what you get :)......mmm...

Take out of the pot and put on a cooling rack, or your burner, like I do :).


You should wait at least an hour before cutting, if you can. If you cut it if it still warm, it is very soft inside. With that said, we can never wait an hour and cut it anyways :).

This bread holds well for a few days, you just want to keep the cut side covered. I do not put it in anything, I just leave it sitting on the cutting board, with the cut side down, and a knife...ready for cutting any time :). If the bread does dry out, it is excellent for bread crumbs.

Kitchen Witch Commentary: (Delphine) "It took a lot of hard work and persuading to get my Witch to try this bread. Now she makes it in her sleep, and I can just savour the wonderful aroma of witchy bread."

P.S. Need a Kitchen Witch? Check out www.etsy.com/shop/goddessinthegroove
:)

Avocados & Bananas have kept me sane ~ My last meal

Alternative Title: I will never be a Vegan.

Today is day 14 of my juice/veggie fast. I planned on doing 15, but I am done. Really. It has been an interesting run, and a few minutes ago I relished my last "meal" on this adventure, a large, scrumptious salad with cucumbers, peppers, parsley, and, taa daa...avocados. I don't know what I would have done without bananas & avocados during this time, they were my "I am STARVING, and need FOOD...NOW" go to food.

I bounced around 140-132lbs during this time, and measured between 34 and 30.5 inches in my waist. I tracked this for fun, and it was interesting to see how my body reacted to certain foods/juices. If you want to see the details, you can go to my short & sweet journal here.

I started all this in the hopes to rid myself of chronic nerve pain, and to give my body a chance to "detox" a bit. I certainly got to deal with my pain, not in a good way. Around day four I got terrible pains in my legs, unassociated with those I was trying to get rid of. It was hell, and I ended up taking Ibuprofen that day. My body was releasing muscle toxins for about two days. I also realized the importance of hydrating. I have always been a bad hydrator. Yep. I just don't get thirsty, and may go all day just drinking a cup of coffee and and cup of tea. I eat lots of fruit, but that is just not the same. Now, there are some people who say it is not necessary to drink more than you "need", but I found once I upped my intake of water & coconut water (for electrolytes), I definitely felt better. Lesson learned. I now have a reminder telling me to DRINK.

I did not have coffee, or wine, or beer for 16 days, as I started to eliminate them before my fast. Things brings me to the ritual part.

I have learned that most of my food is tied to a ritual. I LIKE to eat, I LIKE to drink coffee, wine, & beer. Yes, I can live without them, but I don't think I want to.

Ah, and the food....Yesterday, my family asked if I can finally make "my" bread again. The whole time I purchased bread, to avoid baking. You see, bread is my nemesis. I LOVE bread. Slathered in butter, plain, soaked in salad sauce, soaked in soup, covered with brie.....I baked bread yesterday, and knew I was done. I need to eat bread.

The whole time I cooked for my family. The other day I made a sumptious grass fed beef stew...mmm...it was dark, spicy, warm...just delicious smelling. My family was ooing and ahing all over it. Did I cave? No. Though I like meat, I don't crave it.

Baked goods....they were calling me in my sleep :).

This gives me a new appreciation for food. It also changes my mind about something I stated when I first watched "Fat, Sick, and nearly Dead". I said:"If it is that easy to loose so much weight, why doesn't everyone juice instead of trying these whacky diets & programs?". Well, it is not easy. I cannot imagine juicing for 30 or 60 days, unless I was a retreat where there were no people asking me to feed them, and no ovens. My hat off to anyone who accomplishes 30 or 60 days.

So, what did I gain from this?

:)

I will never be vegan (unless my life depends on it). I am sure my body is feeling better. I actually feel a bit weaker than normally, but that could be psychological. I will slowly re-introduce grains & dairy, and have decided to convert this kitchen to completely whole grain. I will make it a point to serve/buy more plant based foods, less meat (still looking for recipes for my meat & potato man), and less carbs. I am a carb queen. I am going to learn to cook more vegan foods to supplement my cheese based dishes :). I realize how much I love food, the social aspect of it, and I know that it would not make me a Happy Heike if I chose to live without the things I savor to eat. I don't think restricting myself from grains & dairy would make me feel better. I will seek alternatives where I can, but am looking forward to homemade joghurt, raw milk, cheese, and did I mention, BREAD? I will continue to make green juices for more protein, as I continue to train.

I can recommend this adventure highly, and the REBOOT program (www.jointhereboot.com) was a huge support.

Looking forward to breakfast.....
Much love,
Heike

"Simply" delicious bread in pinch!

I make my own bread, and I am spoiled. I hate running out of bread unprepared, as a trip to the bakery always ends with frustration at the high price & mediocre taste of the bread.

I discovered this great little recipe online, tweeked it a bit, and want to share. About 70 minutes from start to in your mouth (if you like it hot!! :)...).

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

2 cups of rolled oats (not quick oats, just natural cut oats)
2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 cups of milk (I use kefir, because I have a lot :)..)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tblsp honey
2 tblsp apple sauce (recipe calls for oil, I use apple sauce)

Preheat oven to 350. Grind oatmeal in mixer so it has a fine consistancy. Mix all ingredients, put in a greased rectangle bread loaf pan, bake for 1 hour.

Voila!!

Kids love it :). Tastes great with cream cheese, jam, honey....mmmm.....

I am in bread heaven...

When I got this book at the library, I was a skeptic.

No knead bread, made in the oven, then looks like THAT?? No way.

Next, the prep. Really, only about 5 minutes, yet it has to ferment, yes ferment, for at least 12 hours.

This will be a very short post. All I can say is do yourself a favor and TRY IT! This is officially my favorite bread book now. It does take some planning, but you will figure it out. Look at this beautiful bread....


This is my second try. I just ate half the bread out of the oven, and my kids will probably reprimand me in the morning when they look for that "yummy smelling" bread mama was baking :).

Check out the book:


Fabulous....

I made the basic recipe. I would post it, but it comes with very detailed instructions, just too long to type. I also encourage you to buy/borrow the book, as the illustrated instructions are very helpful.

Enjoy!! Happy baking....

The morning after......

Today I wanted to share with you what happens several weeks AFTER I post pics....It seems there are always wonderful resources online to start things, but it never shows how they are supposed to look like.

Mine things may not be as they are "supposed" to, but at least you will have a visual. So, enjoy.

A few bottles of water kefir, flavored. Our favorites so far: Cistus tea (a rock rose, it would be the pinki. The one next to it has vanilla extract and cinnamon, and the third bottle has sarsasparilla :). So good...and fizzy good enough for the kids to think "soda".

This is my peach Scrap Fruit Vinegar. Not quite ready to dump it, but tomorrow :).
Compare it to .........

The plum vinegar! It is a beautiful ruby color. In about two weeks we will be enjoying wonderful plum essences in our salad :).

And last, but not least, the trick for all those chaotic Goddeses like me :). I put coffee filters with rubber band on top to keep the flies out and the air in. When I make vinegar, I put the date the the filter, so I know when I have to strain it, etc.

Preparing for Lammas

On August 1st, we will celebrate Lammas :).

Traditionally, if you live with the seasons, Lammas marks the "bringing in the of the first wheat harvest". It is also the time to think about preparing for the winter.

I obviously do not grow wheat, but today my son brought in a pretty big bounty from our little backyard garden.

Things are beginning to ripen. The tomatoes that I planted in a box and a bucket are doing much better than the tomatoes I planted in the earth in a bed. I believe it is because the earthen ones got the shivers when we had a cold spell. I get a tomato sporadically, but not the bountiful harvest I had planned on. Soon, I will be bursting with "Gypsy" tomatoes! We are beginning to get new cucumbers every day. I planted Armenian, Long, Regular, and Lemon cucs. The Lemon cucs are nowhere to be found, but the others are coming along nicely. Lots of tomatillos growing, that will make some fabulous green salsa.

I have RHUBARB!!! Even the huckleberries are coming along nicely, getting purple. Next year, I will plant more.

What is not working: Strawberries and chili peppers planted in Topsy Turvys. Sage..:(...

In a few days we will make Lammas bread to eat with our harvested veggies and celebrate our Lammas Feast. The recipe I have is old, long, and typewritten in a book. I found on online for you to enjoy :). I will post mine when I have a bit of time to copy it in....

http://www.grouprecipes.com/97433/lammas-bread-and-spell.html

Two of my favorite books for rituals and recipes to do with kids are:
CircleRound
Wheel of the Year, Living the Magical Life

Mugwort & Rye bread..my afternoon companions

This afternoon we began another round of clearing out, and in between I decided to try a new recipe for Rye bread.

I will have to tell you tomorrow if I like it, it always tastes better the next day.

Thanks to the recommendation of my beautiful friend Ayla of Chrysalis Woman (http://www.motherlodeholistic.com/chrysaliswoman.html), I also started some Mugwort vinegar. I did not fill the glass completely, my sweet Mugwort is pretty strong and I did not want it to overwhelm with its' strong taste :). I only had a few small sprouts right now anyways. Will be drying the rest to burn.


Vinegars are a wonderful way to infuse your favorite herbs for use in salads, over beans, etc, etc. Just pack a clean Mason jar to the top with herbs. Slightly warm raw apple cider vinegar (don't use cheap apple vinegar, the raw one with the mother is best. :)...), cover herbs, and cap. Make sure to shake the jar a little every day (give it some good magic!) for at least two weeks. Strain, and enjoy!