Baking Biscuits with Kefir

Kefir is an ancient food believed to have been discovered by shepherds in the Caucasus Mountains. As they moved around, the raw milk they carried with them in leather pouches fermented to a bubbly and sour beverage. Kefir differs from yogurt because its thickness is somewhere between fresh milk and firm yogurt. Kefir contains three times more healthy probiotic cultures than yogurt. It has more of a yeasty flavor than yogurt, so not everyone enjoys drinking kefir as a beverage. If you are not a kefir enthusiast, you might want to know that this beverage can bring amazing improvements to your baking. It can be substituted for milk, yogurt or buttermilk in any recipe and will result in a lighter, softer crumb. It is also 99% lactose free.

We have been baking lots of kefir biscuits this week. We made our biscuits three ways for you- gluten free, with jovial einkorn flour and with freshly ground flour made from our einkorn wheat berries.

INGREDIENTS

GLUTEN FREE KEFIR BISCUITS

• 2½ cups (300g) jovial No. 3 Gluten Free Pastry Flour (now called jovial Multi-Purpose Gluten Free Pastry Flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Sift gluten free flours, baking powder, soda, sugar and salt together in a medium mixing bowls.
2. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife, then add the egg and kefir and knead in the bowl until smooth.
3. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
5. Roll out gently to ¾ inch thick and cut your biscuits with a glass, should yield 9 biscuits.
6. Place biscuits on an un-greased baking sheet.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

KEFIR BISCUITS WITH EINKORN WHEAT BERRIES

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grind wheatberries to flour, then sift with, baking powder, soda, sugar and salt together in a medium mixing bowls.
2. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife, then add and kefir and knead in the bowl until smooth.
3. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
5. Roll out gently to ¾ inch thick and cut your biscuits with a glass, should yield 9 biscuits.
6. Place biscuits on an un-greased baking sheet.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

The whole grain biscuits were a little denser, still light on the inside and crispy outside. They held up the best as leftovers and tasted great with a little toasting even 4-5 days after baking.

*If you are not using a kitchen scale, please note you will need a little less than 3/4 cup of kefir for the einkorn recipes, as seen below. If you prefer to soak or sour your grains, you can mix the flour and kefir together into a nice firm dough, cover and let rest at room temperature the night before baking. The next morning, incorporate the rest of the ingredients before baking. You will need a few extra tablespoons of flour if you let the dough sour overnight.