marita...my understanding of what you should receive when you purchase the grains online is a dried product that takes approx 7 days to fully rejuvenate. There are exact inst. on the net for how to reconstitute dry grains. I haven't heard of anyone sending out wet/slime grains :) There are no grains per se in my kefir since the weather has gotten cooler. But...today just to help out with your research I let a jar of kefir set out in a warmer place and it has indeed formed a large mass of grains floating on a bunch of clear whey. So it is indeed temp related. I had another jar of fresh milk and 2 tsp of grains sitting in a cool place in the kitchen since this AM and it has become my usual jar of soft yogurty type stuff with no separation and it is ready to go into the fridge to be used in a smoothy in the AM. All temp and time related. As I said...at cool temps it is highly unlikely that you are going to get any distinct grains/curds. It will all be soft cheesy stuff. If I were to put mine in a strainer most of it would stay in the strainer just as yogurt does. When it was hotter weather it drained out a lot of white and clear together and left drier distinct curds...again it is all temp related. I would not give up on what you have. It tastes pleasant...it smells pleasant. When the temps change so will your kefir. I hope you cont. to enjoy. I have now shared my grains and they are living in Montgomery AL and Lexington VA !! It is a wondrous process. c Oh..ps about resting the grains. I take 2 tsp every AM of the current kefir that I am going to eat and place it in a jar of fresh cold 2 % milk and leave it in a cool place for 12 hrs and then place it in the fridge over night...Next AM take out 2 tsp and place in cold milk and leave out....then in fridge and repeat. As far as rest...well they are in new milk every day and they are at a pretty cool temp and the source has been in the fridge all night fully fermented but very cool and waiting /resting. As my grains seem so happy I am not going to change anything. If your grains are happy and taste good I would say " yes" to the process you are following.

I'll have to disagree with Linda on this one - but she's at a bit of a disadvantage not having the entire recipe. The recipe is designed for dry wheat berries and the amount of hydration is designed for that in order to give the kernels of wheat a chance to absorb water during the 24-hour rest in the refrigerator. What you could do instead is to sprout, then completely dry the wheat before adding it to the recipe. I don't think sprouting will be necessary or will contribute all that much because the fermentation during the 24-hour rest in the refrigerator will accomplish much the same thing. Be sure to let us know how this recipe works out. I may need to flake some rye and give it a try myself. Ironically, I just stirred up a 1/2 recipe of "Whole Grain Rye" from the same book and I added a little whey from my homemade kefir. The lactic acid and lactobacilli from the whey will help break down complex starches, irritating tannins and difficult-to-digest proteins found in whole grain and whole grain flour. PLUS, the soaking (during refrigeration) increases vitamin content and makes all the nutrients in the whole grains and whole grain flours more available. About adding apricots.... Vollkornbrot traditionally doesn't include dried fruit, not saying it couldn't be added.... A recipe for Hutzelbrot would be a better choice for that. -Grainlady

We've been gone on a little fall trip, so I hope you didn't think I was ignoring your post. Glad you were able to find some information. Here's my 2 cents... -Grainlady SPELT - the ancient form of the wheat we have today (fyi - kamut, is the ancient form of todays durum wheat). Spelt has enough gluten to make a fairly good loaf of bread, and is good as a substitute for all-purpose flour in most baked goods, especially things where low-gluten is beneficial, such as quick breads, cakes, cookies, etc. If making a loaf of 100% spelt bread, don't expect a nice lofty loaf of bread, like you would get with high-protein bread flour, unless you also add some vital wheat gluten. The gluten in spelt is much less than all-purpose (or other wheat flour). It has 5,000 parts per million; compared to wheat which begins at 50,000 per million and goes up. Therefore, it takes much less kneading (when making a yeast bread) to develop the gluten. Due to the reduced amount of gluten, you may need less hydration if you substitute spelt flour for all-purpose wheat flour. Spelt is also called dinkel. A good cookbook on the subject is "The Spelt Cookbook" by Helga Hughes. All kinds of useful recipes. I mill spelt berries and use spelt almost as much as I do wheat, but usually in combination with wheat flour for yeasted or naturally-leavened breads. You'll find spelt flour readily available at most well-stocked health food stores. You can usually find it in wholegrain and white spelt (the bran and the germ removed). There is also sprouted spelt flour, which makes it easier to digest - available from Summers Sprouted Flour Co. OAT FLOUR: can be milled from the whole grain (2/3 c. oat groats = approx. 1 c. oat flour), or you can mill your own from oatmeal. It can't be substituted 100% for all-purpose flour due to lack of gluten. To make your own ground oat flour (yield: approx. 1 cup): 1. Place 1-1/2 c. oatmeal (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked) in a blender or food processor. 2. Blend or process for about 60 seconds. 3. Store in tightly covered container in cool dry place up to six months (keeps best refrigerated or frozen). 4. Use for baking, bread, thickening or dredging and browning. When used in baking, substitute up to, but not more than, 1/3 of the all-purpose flour called for with oat flour. Oat flour has a slightly sweet taste, and the crumb of foods will be more moist and crumbly (due to lack of gluten). SORGHUM is a flour I've developed a number recipes with. We have a mill outside of town that mills sorghum, and I developed the recipes for a tour of the mill. Once again, it is gluten-free and will not substitute for all-purpose. You will often find it used in glute-free baking. Sorghum Flour Information A. Problems substituting gluten-free grains. - You may need to use additional ingredients to reduce dryness, increase volume and tenderness, and enhance flavor. - Sorghum Flour tends to be gritty, so use with a mixture of other textures, like oatmeal. You can also use a soaked flour technique. - Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of corn starch to every cup of sorghum flour to improve smoothness and moisture retention. If you are allergic to corn, arrowroot flour can be used measure for measure where corn starch is used. Guar Gum, a binding agent, can be used in place of xanthan gum for corn sensitive individuals. Use HALF as much guar gum to replace xanthan gum. Guar gum contains fiber and can irritate very sensitive intestines. - Use xanthan gum as a binder and for moisture retention. Add 1/2 t. of xanthan gum per cup of sorghum flour for cookies and cakes; or 1 t. per cup for breads. [Xanthan gum helps to prevent gluten-free "goodies" from crumbling, a job normally performed by gluten. Xanthan comes from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Zanthomonas capmestris. Though it sounds like a chemical, it is actually an all natural ingredient. Xanthan gum is derived from the fermentation of corn sugars, all corn sugars are removed in the processing os xanthan gum. Xanthan gum contains NO corn protein and is considered to be corn-free.] - Add a little extra oil or shortening if you feel your recipes are too dry. - Add an extra egg or egg white for improved smoothness and crumb structure. - Add a little extra baking powder and/or soda to boost rising properties. - Mix recipes longer. - Sorghum flour works well combined with other grain/seed/bean flours. It cuts the bitterness of bean flour. When using bean flour, the small white beans provide the least amount of "bean" flavor. It can't be substituted for all-purpose flour due to lack of gluten. ---------------- Nutella White Sorghum Flour Cookies 1/2 c. Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread 1/2 c. butter 1/4 c. white sugar 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 c. white sorghum flour 1/2 c. dried potato flakes 1/4 c. flaxmeal 1/2 T. cornstarch 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt Preheat oven to 325F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat Nutella and butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in the egg just until mixed. In a medium bowl, combine the white sorghum flour, dried potato flakes, flaxmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix, BY HAND, only until ingredients are incorporated. Using a portion scoop, make dough into 1-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake about 12 minutes. Remove cookie sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the sheets for 2 minutes then remove to a wire rack to completely cool. (These cookies are very soft when they come out of the oven, but get crispy when completely cool.) Makes 65, 2-1/2 to 3 inch cookies. ------------------ Sorghum/Spelt Banana Bread 1 c. mashed banana 1/4 c. agave nectar (or honey) 1/2 c. kefir (OR plain yogurt, buttermilk, or milk) 3 T. coconut oil (or butter), melted 1 egg lightly beaten 1 c. white sorghum flour 1 c. white spelt flour (OR wholegrain spelt flour) 2 T. flaxmeal 1 T. cornstarch 2 t. baking powder 1/2 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. cinnamon 1. Mix liquid ingredients (including bananas) in a small bowl. 2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. 3. Make a well in center of dry mixture; add liquid ingredients, stirring until moistened. Do NOT use an electric mixer for this. 4. Spoon into two Junior loaf pans (7-1/2x3x2-1/4-inches) coated with cooking spray. 5. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 30-35 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. 6. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. 7. Yield: 2 small loaves, 13-14 slices each loaf. --------------- I have other recipes for cookies and one for brownies, if you are interested in them.

I only make kefir with milk (several times a week), but I've thought about adding some kefir grains to grape juice. I understand it eventually kills the grains, but will work for a short period of time. Since your kefir grains keep growing, you should have a constant source and can sacrifice a few in the grape juice now and again. There are also kefir grains that are used in water and you can also culture soymilk - although I've never done either. If you are lactose intolerant, a long fermentation of milk with kefir grains reduces the lactose to almost nothing. Great news because you can use the kefir instead of buttermilk, and the drained curd for plain yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, and even cottage cheese. I found my kefir grains by doing a Google search. Happened to find a source in the same state. There have been several discussions on kefir, you might do a quick search and read those threads for more information. -Grainlady