Einkorn Sourdough Bread (rough draft)

I'm just giving this written recipe a shot. Watching someone guide you through the process is very beneficial. I learned from the wonderful Min Kim. Her True Sourdough Bread e-book is worth purchasing. Here is a YouTube video that may be helpful. The process seems complicated. But, once you've gone through it a few time, it's simple! Here are the written instructions. (And, I'm trying to learn how to post photos so you can see the tools and flours needed. I'm techy-challenged😉)


Waking up starter (if my starter has been in the refrigerator):
Using a 1/2 gallon glass canister or a quart Mason jar, add
65 grams starter
65 grams organic all purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill or Whole Foods brand)
65 grams filtered water
Mix well with spoon
Cover with dish towel and set on counter
Feed once or twice a day
(3 feedings are recommended before making bread if starter was in the fridge)

Feeding my starter:
To starter add
50 grams all purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill or Whole Foods brand)
50 grams water
Mix well with spoon
(I feed my starter every evening. In warmer months it's recommended to feed twice a day. If I have more than 2 cups starter, I start dumping some out, or it can be used in recipes that call for starter)

Making my levain:
In pint Mason jar add
30 g starter
75 g Einkorn all purpose flour
75 g water
Mix well with spoon
Cover with dish towel and let sit on counter until it doubles or 2 1/2 times in size, usually 8 to 10 hours
(I put a rubber band around where the starter is to see how much it rises. I make my levain in the mornings, so I can build my dough in the afternoon/evening)

Building my dough:
In large glass bowl add
770 g water (in cooler weather I add a bit of water that's been boiling)
165 g of levain (the levain should float)
Mix with dough whisk
Add
300 g Einkorn all purpose flour
300 g sprouted spelt (or rye or Korashan)
Mix with dough whisk
Add
500 g Einkorn all purpose flour
30 g sea salt
Mix well with hands and talk to God and thank Him for the bread and for the people who will be eating it
(Since I am usually building my dough in the afternoon or evening, I leave it on my counter, covered with a dish rag until bed time)
Cover with plastic wrap and leave on counter for 12 hours or more. It usually doubles in size by the morning and smells wonderfully yeasty!

Shaping my dough:
I place lots of Einkorn all purpose flour on my butcher block counter
Scoop out the dough onto the floured surface
Separate the dough in half with bench knife
Using the bench knife fold into a ball
Stretch and fold to make a taut ball
In a brotform bowl or other bowl, place a cloth napkin in it and dust it with a mixture of 1/2 white rice flour and 1/2 Einkorn all purpose flour
Add the dough ball, seam side up
Repeat with other 1/2 of dough
Cover both bowls with cloth napkins
Let sit for an hour, then place in refrigerator until it's time to bake
(I am usually shaping my dough in the morning. So I can be baking my bread in the late morning. But, usually my two bowls sit in my refrigerator until late afternoon so we can have hot bread with dinner!)

Baking my bread:
Set Dutch Oven (with cover) in oven and preheat at 500º
Once oven reaches 500º take one of the shaped doughs out of fridge and dust with rice/Einkorn mixture
With mitts that can withstand 500º (super important as the pot and lid are extremely hot) remove lid
Turn dough upside down into pot and dust top
Using a sharp razor blade, score the dough
Place lid back on and put in oven
Bake at 500º for 20 minutes
Decrease oven to 465º, remove lid and bake for another 10 minutes
When baking is done, carefully remove bread from pot and place on rack to cool

Let cool for a few hours on wire rack (I've been known to wait a few minutes). Slice or tear off chunks and enjoy with LOTS of raw butter!

Sample time frame:
If my starter has been in the refrigerator and I want to bake bread for Friday dinner...
Monday evening: take starter out of fridge and follow directions for waking up starter
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings: feed starter 50g all-purpose flour and 50g filtered water
Thursday morning: make levain
Thursday afternoon (about 8 to 10 hour later): build dough
Thursday evening before bed: place plastic wrap over bowl of dough
Friday morning (12 or more hours after building dough): shape dough
1 hour later: place the two proofing bowls in fridge
2 to 6 hours later: bake bread!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

After Greg read Plant Paradox, he thought that this way of eating may be beneficial to some of his patients who struggle with health issues that they can't seem to resolve. So, as usual, we decided to try it! This soup is a variation of the soup my sister, Debbi, introduced to me, only this version omits high lectin foods.

What you need:
One large whole chicken (We get our meat at Primal Pastures)
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
Sea salt
Pepper
For the creamy part of the soup:
One head green cabbage
One head cauliflower
One large rutabaga (or other root veggie)
For the chunky part of the soup:
Ghee
One large onion, chopped
Several carrots, peeled and diced
Several celery stalks, chopped
1 pound of mushrooms, cleaned and cut
1 pound of Brussels sprouts, cleaned and cut into fourths
Several garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Spinach, chard, kale, cleaned and finely chopped
For deliciousness:
Butter

Equipment:
Crock pot
Vita Mix
1 large stock pot
1 very large stock pot


What you do:
Place the chicken in crock pot
Add filtered water to cover chicken
Add rosemary
Add sea salt and pepper
Cook on low for about 8 hours

Remove chicken
Strain liquid broth into large stock pot
Once chicken has cooled, remove skin and place skin in Vita Mix
Take meat off chicken, chop and set aside
Save bones for making bone broth later

In the stock pot with the liquid from the chicken, add:
1 head green cabbage cut into big chunks (I cut the head into 4 pieces)
1 head cauliflower broken into large chunks
1 large root veggie, peeled and cut into large chunks
Some peeled garlic cloves
Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and cook until all the veggies are tender
Set aside to cool a bit

In even larger stock pot, saute onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts in ghee
Add garlic and greens toward the end

When veggie/broth mix cools a bit, use a Pyrex measuring cup to transfer in batches to Vita Mix
Blend in batches (the first batch will include the chicken skin)
Add each batch to the larger stock pot with the chopped veggies cooking
Continue to cook on medium/low for as long as you like (not so long for firmer veggies, longer for soft)
Add  the chopped chicken
Then, add as much butter as you like (I like lots)
 Salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

This soup freezer well. I use quart Mason jars. Remember to not fill
all the way to the top, to leave room for expansion when frozen.

Fermented Cabbage and Root Veggies

We eat a little bit of fermented veggies almost every day. If fermenting is new to you, you may want to start with just cabbage...very easy! You only need cabbage, sea salt, whey and filtered water. Once you've tried that, start experimenting with a variety of veggies.

What you need:
 1 head organic cabbage
 1 peeled turnip
 1 peeled parsnip
 3 peeled carrots
 1/4 large red onion
 3 cloves garlic
 1 bag organic arugula
 Zest on 1 lemon
 Juice of 1 lemon
 Salt
 Whey*

What you do:
 Remove a few large cabbage leaves from cabbage head
 Finely chop or grate (food processor works well) cabbage, turnip, parsnip, carrots, onion and garlic
 Place in large bowl
 Add finely chopped arugula
 Zest lemon into bowl
 Squeeze lemon juice into bowl
 Mix well with hands
 Place in Mason jars (this recipe fit into 3 one quart Mason jars)
 Push veggies down, leaving an inch or two on top
 In glass measuring cup, add about 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/4 cup whey
 (For every quart of veggies, the ratio is 1 Tbs. salt and 1/4 cup whey)
 Mix to dissolve salt and pour over veggies in one of the Mason jars
 Add more water, up to an inch of top of jar
 Repeat this water, salt and whey step for each quart jar
 Tuck in veggies with a large cabbage leaf
 Place Mason jar lid on, not too tightly
 Put in bowl (ferments are very active and the liquid escapes the jars)
 Set on counter or in cupboard, out of direct sunlight
 Test after 5 days
 When the veggies are fermented to you liking, remove large cabbage leaf, replace lid tightly and    store in refrigerator
 Enjoy!

* To make whey, place a container of full-fat yogurt (from 100% grass fed cows) in a cloth dish towel. Tie the four corners of the towel together and use a rubber band to attach to cabinet door handle with a bowl underneath. Let this drip into the bowl for a few hours or overnight. The liquid is your whey. The yogurt cheese left in the dish towel is yummy mixed with herbs and spread on crackers.

Benefits of fermented vegetables:
Gut and Health Benefits of Traditional Fermented Foods, Dr. David William
7 Health Benefits of Sauerkraut, Dr. Josh Axe
The Health Benefits of Fermented Foods, Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

Roasted Potatoes

Until the past few years, I had not roasted veggies. Once I realized that the recipe is basically the same for all veggies, I am roasting often!

What you need:

 6 Russet potatoes

 Ghee

 Salt and Pepper

 Equipment:

 Baking sheet

 Parchment paper

What you do:

 Preheat oven to 400º

 Line baking sheet with parchment paper

 Place large dollop of ghee onto parchment paper and place in oven while it is preheating

 Remember to remove before ghee burns

 Clean then chop potatoes into uniform pieces

 Put potatoes on parchment paper

 Add salt and pepper

 Use hands to toss and thoroughly coat potatoes 

 (Potatoes should not be stacked. They need room to roast.)

 Place in oven 

 At about 15 minutes, remover and use metal spatula to toss 

 Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes

 Enjoy! 

Bone Broth Updated

In our Traditional Foods Cooking Class, our wonderful instructor, Monica Corrado of Simply Being Well, taught us many traditional foods techniques. I love the bone broth method we were taught! A few more ingredients than my original bone broth recipe, but worth it!

What you need:
 Bones from 2 chicken
 Several chicken feet or backs or necks
 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
 1 organic onion (the skin can be left on)
 3 organic carrots
 3 organic celery stalks
 1 bunch parsley
 Filtered water

 Equipment:
 1 large stock pot
 Large sieve
 Another large pot

What you do:
 Place all chicken bones and parts in stock pot
 Add enough filtered water to cover bones
 Add 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and let sit 30 minutes to 1 hour
 Clean and chop onion, carrot and celery into large chunks and add to pot
 Bring to boil
 Reduce heat to simmer (surface should be calm with bubbles rising)
 Skim any scum from top of surface
 Put lid on and allow to cook for 12 to 24 hours
 Add bunch of parsley for last 10 minutes
 Allow to cool
 Put large sieve over the other pot
 Pour broth though sieve

 I store my broth in quart size Mason jars. If I'm freezing some of the jars of broth, I add only 24 ounces to the quart jars (as I have had too many jars filled too full that break in the freezer).

This broth is amazing by itself, with added Celtic sea salt, in a big mug!
Enjoy!

Toothpaste

Simple to make! Easy to use! We've been using this toothpaste for years. We got this recipe from Matt & Betsy at DIY Natural. (By the way, they have a great website with great do-it-yourself ideas!)

What you need:

 2/3 cup Bob's baking soda (I get mine from Thrive)

 1 tsp. good quality sea salt

 Peppermint essential oil

 Pure water

What you do:

 In glass bowl, combine baking soda, salt and about 10-20 drops peppermint oil

 Add water little by little to desired consistency

 Store in glass jars (I use small Mason jars)

 To use, dip dampened toothbrush in toothpaste and brush teeth as usual
 Enjoy this simple, non-toxic toothpaste!

Tallow Lotion

I love this lotion! Though it's a bit greasier than conventional lotions, the benefits are many. Great information on tallow lotion can be found on The Weston A. Price website.

What you need:
 1  11 ounce jar of Epic Beef Tallow (from Thrive)
 1 to 2 ounces extra virgin olive oil
 Your choice of essential oils (I have used geranium with lavender and also lemon and orange)

 Equipment:
 2 cup glass Pyrex measuring cup
 Shallow pan

What you do:
 In a glass Pyrex 2 cup measuring cup, scoop out all of tallow
 Place in a pan filled with about 1 inch of water
 Heat on medium until tallow is melted
 Let tallow cool
 Add 1 to 2 ounces of olive oil and desired amount of essential oils
 Mix thoroughly (I use my electric hand mixer) and store in glass containers (an empty Organic Valley ghee jar is perfect)
 Place in refrigerator to harden a bit, but not too much
 Enjoy!

Caution: Be prepared for dogs to lick your legs. ;-) They love this stuff!