Yummy kefir sourdough flatbread

[Guest guest]

OK, this has been turning out really good, so here it is for anyone who

wants it.

I've been making GFCF bread for some time, but it's not " fermented " exactly,

just a nice tall sandwich loaf. I was missing the taste of good sourdough,

but getting " fluffy " bread without gluten is tricky and I didn't feel like

doing that much work. Also, my family is on a " hummous " kick, and we needed

something to dip into the hummous So I went back to a recipe I had used some

time ago.

First, take one kefir grain, and use it to ferment some cider. The first

batch takes awhile, but eventually you get a nice yeasty cider going. If you

can do dairy, you can skip this step, and just use a cup of kefir in the

next step.

Take 2 cups of the cider, and mix it with 2 cups of flour. I'm using Jule's

gluten-free mix right now, because it's easy. But you can make flatbreads

with just about any kind of flour. I've used a mix of rice/potato/tapioca

too.

Let that sit out and bubble for a day or so. That is your sourdough starter.

Put it in the fridge til you are ready to make bread.

Now, to make bread:

Dump all your starter in the mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water (more or

less, depending on how runny your starter is), and 2 cups flour. Let it mix

until the lumps go away. Take 2 cups of that, and return it back to the

fridge.

To the rest of whatever is in the mixing bowl: Add:

4-6 eggs (we have chickens, so I like to use up eggs)

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp. baking powder (insurance in case I don't let it rise enough)

1 tsp or so of salt

1/4 cup dried onions (and Italian seasoning or other seasoning, if you want)

1/4 cup freshly ground flax seeds (or other whole-grain of your choice).

If you want the classic " sourdough " taste of restaurant bread, you can also

add

some " sour salt " which is pure citric acid. If you can do dairy, adding

cheese to the dough is nice.

Then keep adding flour until it has a good consistency for handling.

Turn it out onto a nonstick mat (silicone). Divide into balls about the size

of your fist. Keep your hands well-floured or oiled, it is sticky! Take

each ball and flatten it out to a little less than half an inch high, to

make

small flatbreads. You can also must press it all into a big pizza pan

and make a pizza shell.

If you brush the breads with oil you'll get a browner top. You can also

do things like brush them with beaten egg and sprinkling on seseme

seeds.

Put the breads in the oven and ignore them for awhile. They rise very

slowly, generally, that being the nature of this kind of yeast. When you

feel like they've risen enough, turn on the oven and bake them. Even if

they haven't risen enough, they will be ok because of the baking powder.

These flatbreads are amazing. Mainly they don't mold, probably because of

the

kefir. They also don't get dry and crumbly easily, probably because

of the eggs and flax. My daughter says she appreciates bread " just

being out " so she can snack on it, so I have it covered on the counter ...

just like the old days? Because this recipe is so quick and easy, I can

make it every few days and always have fresh bread. They are easy to

slice in half for sandwiches or hamburgers.

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