I
have been more and more interested in natural leavens for bread.
I have made one with potatoe water, and now am reading about making one
with yogurt and one with kefir. Since I can do either, but have kefir
daily, I will use this next. I'm
always joking with my poor husband about getting rid of the yeast in
his colon! But I'm serious too. White, yeasty bread is terrible for
you. My children aren't allowed to eat it. It's funny the look of envy
and a little shock on their faces when they see someone eating a
sandwich made with white bread. It never fails to get a comment.
The ancient peoples lived on bread, and many people in other countries
still do. They don't just go to the grocery store and buy yeast
packets, do they? I dooubt it. There are quite a few ways to get a
natural leavener. I'm going to share with you one way.
For the initial mixture:
4 tsp whole-wheat high-gluten flour or rye flour ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2 tsp. live plain yogurt or kefir ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 1/2 tbsp water at 65-68 degrees ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 tbsp organic raisins (optional, strain them out after day 4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the daily refreshment: the same flour you plan to bake with *** 1.
Place ingredients into a 1 pint jar with a lid and shake them up well
or stir them vigorously. Cover with the lid and leave for a day at room
temp. 2. Put 4 tsp of your chosen flour and 3 1/2 tsp water into the jar. Mix well and let set another day. 3.
On day 3 look for the beginning of fermentation. You should see a tiny
odd bubble on the surface of the mixture. Add the same amount of flour
and water as you did the day before. 4. Stir
the mixture and throw out three-fourths of it. Add about 1/2 cup
of water, stir, and then add 3/4 cup flour and stir again. The mixture
should look like thick batter. Replace the lid and leave for another
day. 5. Day 5 you should see bubbles of
fermentation on top. Repeat the procedure of Day 4, put the lid back
on, and leave for anther day.6. From Day 6 on, the mixture will be able
to raise a dough, but you won't quite have the complex flavors yet.
Repeat the Day 4 procedure for two to four more days. You will notice a
sharper aroma every day. This is good! After 8-10 days you will have a
healthy leaven to use.
*Storage:
Store in a cool, room tempature spot, or in the refrigerator. It won't
look too pretty when it's dormant, you will see brownish/grey liquid on
top and the past at the bottom. It's fine, just dormant. To revive it,
take 2 tsp (heaping) of the paste and stir it in a clean jar with a
lid. Mix in 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup flour. The following day, remove
3/4ths of it and throw it out. Add to the remainder another 1/4
cup water and 1/2 cup flour. Leave for one more day, then refresh once
more. The leaven shuld now be active. If it isn't, repeat another day
and check again. It will eventually work.
Some bits of info: A
starter is a bread leavening agent that contains a wide spectrum of
wild biological ferments, mold and digestive enzymes, all contributing
to the health of the intestinal flora. Primary Function:
The starter serves to change the raw elements of wheat and other cereal
grains into ready nutrients, more easily absorbed by the body. Auxilary Role:
The combined action of the wild ferments and enzymes maintained within
the starter added to the enzymes existing in the freshly ground whole
flour are creating heat and energy that will aerate and leaven the
bread harmoniously. Bonus Benefits:
Among the multitude of elements present within the starter-leavened
bread, some combine to insure the breads keeping qualities while others
serve to improve its taste during the aging. (While yeated bread loses
its taste quite rapidly after baking and actually becomes toxic*, the
natural leavened bread increases its healing powers as well as its
flavor and taste.) Candida and Anemia are Related to the Consumption of Yeasted Bread
Rickets and anemia can be caused by the consumption of yeasted whole
wheat bread. These chronic calcium deficiencies are corrected and even
totally eliminated when the whole wheat bread is naturally leavened. In
the natural leavening process, the phytic acid and the phytates are
hydrolysed by the phytases of the bran in an acid environment and
transformed into phytin and soluble phosphatic acids of magnesium,
calcium and iron which are totally assimilable and beneficial.
In the case of yeasted bread, with a pH varying from 5.9 to 6.5, the
reduction by hydrolysis of the toxic phytic compounds is insufficient,
no better than 50%, a level that causes yeasted bread to be
detrimental, especially for anemic people.
A full hydrolysis is possible only when the pH remains between 4 and
5.6 maximum, which is the case for natural leaven bread. At the median
pH of 4.8 in a dough kept at a temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit;
there remain only 0.78% (less than 1%) of the phytic acid compounds,
which is a totally safe amount.
Digestibility
Bread and grain-based diets, especially at the beginning, give the
illusion that they do not readily digest. Natural leaven bread, because
of its inherent beneficial ferments, slowly recreates the population of
friendly lactobacillus digestive bacteria in the absorption tract. The
end result is a recovery of digestion and proper elimination by the
effective action of friendly bacteria. Natural leaven bread provides
more stable nutrition than that obtained mechanically by non-fermented
(and thus non- pre-digested) bran and other raw or cooked roughage
diets, since these only succeed in physically abrading and irritating
the colon. 
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Posted by 
2006-Jan-12 - Yes!