Grainlady, please? Questions about masa?
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8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
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plllog
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (2)Rusty - You've got it (sorta'). Even the recipes for this starter, and ways to use it, differ from person-to-person and recipe-to-recipe. I've collected a file on it over the last decade, or so, and no two seem to be alike. It's an overnight sponge method, would be the best way to describe it. I feed it rye flour when I want it for rye bread, as well as wholegrain spelt or wheat, but plain old all-purpose flour (milled in the town she lived it) is all my friend, who gave me the starter, ever used. I got my starter from a woman in her late 80's (she's now in her late 90's). She got her starter from her mother when she "set up housekeeping" as a young bride. She had used this method growing up, as did all her sisters. From the research I've done, it's a method that goes back about 100-125-years. She gave me a quart jar with about 1-cup of starter in it, along with some cryptic instructions. Good thing I was a seasoned bread maker and had used starter before or I doubt I'd have even gotten a loaf made. I quickly adapted to the overnight sponge method and used Everlasting Yeast cup-for-cup for any sourdough recipe I had used in the past from other types of starter. The night before: Mix the 1-cup starter with an equal amount of water, 1/4 c. sugar and beat in enough flour so the batter is about the thickness of pancake batter. Cover (I use a Quick Cover with a few air holes poked into it to off-gas) and let sit overnight in a warm place (my oven with the light on). The next morning: Remove 1 cup and store in the refrigerator in a 1-quart jar. My original jar had a sheet of waxed paper on it, held in place with a rubber band, and a few holes cut into the paper. I replaced that with a small Quick Cover with a few holes in it. The gal I got my starter from had never made anything other than white bread with the starter, while I've incorporated it into lots of different baked goods, pancakes/waffles, biscuits, cake, wholegrain breads, rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc... I like the overnight sponge, usually with a whole wheat flour in it, which lightens the loaf. I make sure I use the Everlasting Yeast at least once every 2-4 weeks to renew it. I never use tap water in it, although my friend did. We're not sure what the original recipe was, but here's some from my file. The methods used in the recipes below aren't anything like what my friend used. Recipe #1: Source - Capper's Weekly - C.P.W. Topeka, KS, January 18, 1947 EVERLASTING YEAST 4 med. potatoes, peeled 1 quart potato water 1/4 c. sugar 1 T. salt 1 package granulated yeast, dissolved in 1/4 c. water Cook and mash potatoes, saving water. Add enough water to potato water to make a quart and combine with mashed potatoes, sugar and salt. Cool. Add dissolved yeast. Place in 1/2 gallon jar or other container and allow to ferment at room temperature overnight. Then keep in refrigerator. One cup starter equals 1 cake yeast. To Make Bread: The night before, mix 1 cup starter, 1 cup water, 1/4 c. sugar and 2 cups flour. The next morning, add 2 cups water, 2 T. salt, 1/4 c. shortening and about 10 cups flour. Knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise. When light, divide into loaves and let rise again. Bake 1 hour at 325F. When down to last cup of starter, it may be used to make another batch of starter instead of using yeast. That's why it's called "everlasting yeast." Recipe #2 Use glass container. 1 quart potato water or 1 qt. water + 1 T. potato flakes 1/2 cake yeast 2 T. sugar 2 T. flour 1 t. salt Mix well and let stand covered with net at room temperature for 12 hours. Leave about 1/3 c. in bottle. Use the rest when you make bread, do not need extra liquid with this yeast. To the 1/3 c. starter, add all the original ingredients except the yeast. Let stand again for 12 hours then store in refrigerator until needed. This can be kept going indefinitely, if you use it every 3-4 weeks. Recipe #3: (copied as written) Peel two medium sized potatoes and grate them into a plastic bowl, pour 2 cups of boiling water in them and stir until sort of thick like. Cool to lukewarm. Then put two packages of yeast that you have dissolved into the mixture and stir. Add 1/2 c. of sugar, stir in and set aside with a towel over the top. It will all bubble and when through bubbling take out all but one cup and use for the yeast called for in your recipe and put the leftover cup in the fridge. The day before you are ready to make bread again, take out your cup of yest and start over with the raw potatoes again and when this has cooled to lukewarm add the yeast that you saved, add 1/2 c. of sugar again and set aside to bubble. Always save a cup when you use it to keep your yeast active. You should keep this yeast fresh every couple of weeks at least. -------------------------------- This starter always makes a mild-tasting loaf of bread. Back 100 years ago they never called it "sourdough" bread. It was just "bread" using a natural leavening. If the starter got to the point they were getting "sour" bread, they would do what is called "sweeten the pot". This was done by taking a very small amount of the starter (a tablespoon or two) and repetedly feeding it until it was back to a couple cups of starter. Google - Everlasting Yeast - and you'll probably find even more recipes and stories of it's use. I have one newspaper clipping from Checotah, OK "Bread Starter 71 Years Old" and another from Bartlesville, Ark. "Bartlesville Family Has Antique Bread 'Starter' about using this same type of starter. -Grainlady...See MoreKefir Question--for Grainlady or Anyone
Comments (11)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....See MoreGrainLady
Comments (65)It's not so much being "green", it more about being cheap - ahem - frugal. Nothing I do will save the planet, but the bottom line, the energy savings sure are nice ;-). For a "tried and true" recipe for whole grain biscuits... I start with a wholegrain baking mix recipe I came up with a number of years ago (I usually make 1/2 a recipe and freeze it). I use this recipe whenever Bisquick is called for in a recipe.: Good-For-You Baking Mix 2 c. freshly-milled spelt (or unbleached all-purpose flour) 2 c. white whole wheat flour 3/4 c. Morning Moo's Whey-Based Milk Substitute (powder) 1/2 c. quick-cooking oats 1/2 c. cornmeal 3 T. baking powder 1 t. salt 1 c. coconut oil (or softened butter) In a large container thoroughly combine all the dry ingredients. Add the fat, and using a hand-held electric mixer, blend in the fat until evenly dispersed. Store, tightly covered, in the freezer. Good-For-You Biscuits 3 c. Good-For-You Baking Mix 1 c. kefir curd (or plain yogurt) Combine baking mix and yogurt just until moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake in 425-degree F. oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Makes 16 drop biscuits. For cut biscuits, pat dough 3/4-1-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch squares (or size you like) using a pizza cutter. ---------------------------------- WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS 2-1/4 c. soft white whole wheat flour 2 T. flaxmeal 2 t. baking soda 1/4 t. soda 1/2 t. salt 1/3 c. softened butter or coconut oil 3/4 c. homemade kefir or buttermilk Mix dry ingredients. But in fat. Add kefir or buttermilk and mix lightly, just until the ingredients come together. Pat dough out 3/4-1-inch thick and cut with a pizza cutter into 2-inch squares. Bake in a preheated 425-degree F. oven for 15-minutes. -Grainlady...See MoreGrainlady, over here...
Comments (10)These recipes are a bit "rough" since I've only made them once or twice; and are subject to change. TUSCAN CHICKEN (adapted from - Tuscan Rosemary Chicken and White Beans) Preheat GT Xpress 101 (takes 2-3 minutes). Meanwhile, chop veggies. When the light goes out... Place 1/2 T. bottled (or homemade) Italian Dressing in each cooking chamber. Add 1-2 small chicken tenderloins to each chamber. Flip the chicken so the dressing coats both sides. Top the chicken with a small sprig of fresh rosemary. Top the chicken with sliced veggies. I used 1 stalk of celery, 1 carrot, few slices of a small zucchini and small yellow squash, divided between the two chambers. If you want to increase the protein and use less chicken, use a small amount of chicken and add canned (or cooked) cannellini beans (drained and rinsed) mixed with the veggies. Other veggie choices would include frozen stir-fry veggies, if you are in a hurry. Cook 10-15 minutes, or until the temperature of the chicken reaches 180F and the chicken is cooked through. (Hubby\-Friendly) Hot Dog with Biscuit Topping Preheat the GT Xpress 101. Split hot dog and butterfly open. I use my homemade, multi\-grain version of a baking mix and used it for the biscuit topping. 3/4 c. Good\-For\-You Baking Mix 1/4 c. kefir (you could also use milk, plain yogurt, or milk substitute) Stir together, just until mixed together. In each chamber, place one hot dog (you may be able to place two hot dogs in each chamber if they are thin (I use Hebrew National). Divide the baking mixture in two equal portions and spread over the top of the hot dog/s. Bake 6\-10 minutes. Next time, I'm going to put the dollop of baking mix in the bottom of the chamber and top it with the hot dog and see how that works. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cheeseburger Bake This was thrown together, so I'm not sure exact measurements. Preheat GT Express 101. Mix together 1/2\-1 cup pre\-cooked hamburger (I keep pre\-cooked hamburger in the freezer for quick meals \- ground gluten would also work as a good ground beef substitute), chopped onion (I used dried onion), and enough ketchup to hold mixture together. Divide into the two chambers. Top with shredded cheese. Top with the "Pie" Batter mixture from the book: 1 c. milk 1 egg 1/2 c. baking mix Mix all ingredients together in a covered shaker. Fill each chamber to the top, but don't over\-fill it. Cook 10 minutes. NOTE: The next time I make this, I'm going to make tiny biscuits with my homemade baking mix and top each of the meat mixtures with 2\-3 multi\-grain biscuits instead of using the "Pie" Batter. Shredded beef, onion and bbq sauce could also be used as the mixture in the bottom and topped with biscuits or even a slice of rye bread or Italian bread. Makes an open\-faced BBQ Beef Sandwich. Hot Dogs (butterflied open) can be topped with well-drained sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Cook 6-7 minutes. Taco Salad (similar to Tostado Bowls in the cookbook) Another pull\-it\-out\-of the freezer meat I keep on hand is taco meat (ground beef (or beef/ground gluten combination), seasonings, salsa mixture), in individual 1/2\-cup portions. You need about 1/4 c. meat mixture per chamber. I cut a homemade tortilla in half (I made small tortillas so they would fit into the chambers) and fit one tortilla half into the preheated chambers. Added the meat, shredded cheese, cooked black beans (also from the freezer \- thawed). Cook 6\-7 minutes. Top with your favorite toppings (shredded lettuce, tomatoes....) Scalloped Potatoes (3 servings) Mix together: 1-1/2 c. Simply Potatoes - Shredded Hash Browns (refrigerator case, not frozen - or rehydrated dehydrated or freeze-dried hash browns) 1/2-1 t. dried onion 5 T. kefir (or half & half) 1/2 T. cheddar cheese powder (www.thespicehouse.com) Whisk together. 1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs 1-2 t. butter Melt butter, add bread crumbs to coat. Heat over low heat for a minute. Place hash browns in a small bowl and mix in dried onion. Add the kefir cheddar cheese powder sauce. Mix well and divide between the two chambers, which have been preheated and lightly greased. Divided the buttered bread crumbs on the top. Shut lid and cook 8-10 minutes. Option 1: I've precooked the recipe WITHOUT the buttered crumb topping, and only cooked it for 6-minutes. Removed the cooked potatoes and placed them in a buttered baking dish. (One recipe fits nicely into my 7-1/4x4-1/2x1-inch pasta dishes.) You can cool, wrap tightly with foil, and refrigerate this par-cooked recipe. When ready to reheat, add the buttered crumbs and finish baking in a toaster oven later in the day. Not sure of reheating times... Option 2: Line the baking dishes you are going to use with Reynolds Wrap Release non-stick foil. Place the par-cooked potatoes in them, quick freeze the potatoes. When frozen, remove the foil and wrap the potatoes in the foil and make a stack for freezer to use later. I made the recipe in the book, "Almost Instant" Coconut Custard Pies. I use unsweetened coconut and it worked just fine. I made these in the afternoon and chilled them in the refrigerator. So think ahead.... In the works: Chicken What\-the\-heck! Shepherd's Pie Impossible Pies from Bisquick \- in 2 serving sizes... \-Grainlady...See Moreplllog
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