LAURA LEE ALICE
COOKS
®
If you like to make bread, and especially if you love to eat it, then this recipe
will be one of your favorites. Only two ingredients make a fabulous bread.
Plus, it has the taste and texture of sourdough.
Basic components of this recipe:
• Kefir: This is the main leavening agent, giving the bread it's unique
flavor, texture, and aroma. The kefir contains live bacteria and yeast
that ferment, which helps the dough to rise.
• Self-rising flour: Use a really good, organic flour if you can. I like to
use einkorn because of its naturalness and flavor.
I make my own self-rising flour by adding two tablespoons of baking
powder and 2 teaspoons of salt to the four cups of flour required in this
recipe.
Do not use bleached flour!
Favorite Things
from
the Kitchen
Overview of Kefir Bread:
• Retains freshness and moisture longer than traditional yeast bread, so a
much longer shelf life.
• Kefir bread has a firmer texture.
• It generally has lower acidity (pH) compared to yeast bread,
• Kefir has antioxidant properties, and these are passed on to the bread.
• It's a source of beneficial bacteria, which can contribute to gut health.
• Kefir can be used in place of yeast in bread making.
Ingredients:
• 2 cups whole milk kefir
• 4 cups all-purpose flour (organic if possible but definitely unbleached)
• 2 Tbsp baking powder (fresh!)
• 2 tsp sea salt
You will need a large Dutch oven with lid and parchment paper.
Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl (no metal), put in the flour that has been mixed
with the baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in
the kefir. Using your hands (or a wooden spatula) mix the flour and kefir,
bringing the flour in from the sides and mixing. Keep mixing until the
dough is shaggy looking. Don't add additional flour; it should be slightly
wet and sticky.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, making sure it is sealed, place in the
fridge. Leave the dough for 6 to 8 hours to ferment and develop flavor.
3. Preheat your oven to 450°F about 20 to 30 minutes before baking. Put
the lid on the Dutch oven, place it on a center rack in the oven as it needs
to preheat before adding the bread.
4. With wet hands, grab the side of the dough, stretch it up about 6 to 8
inches and fold it over the middle of the dough. Repeat seven more times
as you work your way around the dough ball.
5. On a floured surface, turn the dough out, seam side down. Using your
hands, rotate the ball of dough and drag it towards you on the floured
surface, until you have a tight round ball. Lift the dough ball and place it
in the center of a piece of parchment paper. Score the top if you wish.
6. Remove the Dutch oven and place it on a heat-proof surface; remove the
lid and set aside. Put 3 to 4 ice cubes in the bottom of the pot, transfer
the dough with the parchment into the pot; replace the lid and put in in the
oven. Bake for about 30 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, take off lid and return to oven for about15 minutes or
until the bread is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Set
aside to cool: wrap to store.
