A while back, in the General Discussion forum, we had an awesome thread on fermenting. It's full of great recipes!
http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/forum/topics/any-lacto-fermenters-out-there
So I thought I would create a thread here, where it's easier to find, so people could post up their projects and questions.
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Thanks for the thread. I was surprised at how easy t was to make ginger ale. I've been keeping two bottles going at a time.
Now to try the kefir drinks.
I wasn't thrilled with how my last batch of kefir water (jamaica / hibiscus) turned out, but I didn't want to waste it. I read that you can combine it with flour to make a very fast and easy sourdough starter. So I did.
It was amazing how fast it started bubbling! I decided to go ahead an use it, after only about 6 hours. I made a sourdough loaf. But it didn't seem to rise. It was, but verrrrrryyyyyyy slooooowwwwwwly. I think I used the starter too soon.
After about 20 hours, it finally rose a satisfactory amount, though it was less that I had hoped. I baked it for about 45 minutes, and this was the result:
It was OK. Nice crust, fluffy interior. But it lacked chew, and that lovely sourdough tang.
I went out and did some yard work, and came back in to find this:
That morning, the jar was only about 1/4 full. A total of about 12 hours after I started it, it seemed to be at its peak. I hated the let it go to waste, so I took the remaining cup, and made english muffins.
This is the recipe I used.
My alterations:
I made a half recipe, used AP flour, and skim milk.
I also did the extra punch down and rise, recommended for more "nooks and crannies".
WOW, Grrlscout - what a great post - I really have to keep this in mind for bread starter.
Now got a question on the taste. You noted the bread did not have the 'tang' - did the muffins?
It was present in the muffins -- subtle, but it's there!
BTW for my starter, I used 1 cup kefir water + 1 cup rye flour.
Thank you for the tip! :-)
Time to ferment those olives!
Nice! How long do you find you need to let them ferment to ready to eat?
Last time, I let them go about 8 months. But I think they were probably ready within 3 or 4.
The active fermentation only takes about a week. When they're done bubbling, and have lost some color, I switch them into a flavored (garlic, rosemary, lemon slices, etc) brine, and let them mellow out some more.
I stumbled across this scholarly article about how it works. I don't understand a lot of it, but I get the gist.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC201948/
The one takeaway is to keep your salt concentration below 7% if you want to ferment.
grrlscout, after the initial week of fermenting do you refrigerate them after switching to the flavored brine?
Thanks for the great information, I'm still a little nervous about this process. I'd like to try fermenting okra, I've done refrigerator okra pickles in vinegar but really like the idea of more fermented foods.
Instructions you find online usually recommend that you do.
I don't, and haven't had a problem yet. *knock on wood*
However, since okra is softer, you might want to refrigerate anyway, so they don't get too mushy.
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