Sourdough Starter from Grapes - Part I

Have you ever tried a sourdough starter from grapes? This is a new one for me but because I've owned the book, "Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Brea Bakery" for years, I really wanted to give it a try.

The reviews on this book were all good but after reading it, I became discouraged for three reasons.

1. The fermentation takes at least 10-14 days before you're able to use the starter.
2. Because it supposedly turns out much better using a large quantity, you end up throwing a lot of the starter out while feeding it.
3. The feeding times would be difficult because I am gone from home early mornings to late evenings.

Even though I was discouraged, I still wanted to give it a try and find out what all the hype was about! However, I was still having a hard time with the idea of throwing part of the starter out. So because I am the way I am, I altered the directions by quartering the recipe. Ha! Should be fine, right? By doing this I was taking a risk, but hey, even after downsizing, I still ended up with a lot of starter!

Sourdough Starter:

1/4 c. grapes
1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 t. wheat flour + enough all-purpose flour to equal 1/2 cup

Day 1 (Sunday, Dec. 6) ~
Place grapes in a double layer of cheesecloth and squeeze juice of grapes into the water.

Add the flour and mix with a rubber spatula.

Place cheesecloth bag into jar and cover tightly to contain the fermentation gas.

I decided to use my Perfect Pickler for the fermentation.

Shake the mixture up each day.

Day 4 (the following Wednesday) remove bag of grapes and add ~
1/4 c. lukewarm water
1/2 t. wheat flour + enough all-purpose flour to equal 1/4 cup
Mix and place the grape bag back into the jar.

Leave until Day 10-14 (Tuesday, the week after) when regular feeding begins.

On Tuesday evening, December 15 the grape bag broke and I had seeds and grape pieces throughout my starter. I strained the starter into another jar before I fed it:

1/4 c. lukewarm water

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. wheat flour

After this you are to feed the starter three times per day for five days and then for two days before you bake bread. By this time I had a lot of starter on my hands so I thought, let's try using half the amounts. Here we go again! Feeding amounts:

2 T. lukewarm water

2 T. all-purpose flour

1/2 t. wheat flour

I started regular feedings on Wednesday morning at 6:20. I pulled my son into the act to take the 2:00 feeding. Hmmm ... the first day he forgot but after that he managed the task pretty well.

On the following Sunday evening, I wondered what would happen if I added unwashed, broken up grapes because I questioned if there was enough natural yeast going on. So I added a few smashed grapes. Only this time I didn't use the cheesecloth. I just put them into the jar along with the starter.

On Monday I removed the grapes and fed the starter once again. I was anxious to use my new starter and find out what the results would be. Stay tuned for my next post on my first loaves of bread using this starter!

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Cream Soup Mix

This is our go-to soup mix any time we need a cream-based soup. I store mine in the refrigerator.

Cream Soup Mix:

2 c. dry milk
1 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. bouillon granules or broth based seasoning mix
2 T. dried onion
1 t. basil
1 t. thyme
1 t. pepper

Mix altogether and store in airtight container.

To Use:

1/3 c. soup mix
1-1/4 c. water

Whisk together and heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Equals one can of soup.

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Merry Christmas from Landi Raemi!!

Well, it is the day after Christmas and I never had the chance to wish everyone a Merry Christmas so thought I'd take the time to do that now.

We just arrived home after spending Christmas day with my son and his family. I questioned if it was too late to make this post on a Christmas wish for you, but then I realized that Christmas is all about family and sharing love with others because God shared His love for us by giving us His Son!! How very fortunate we are!!

Happy belated birthday to Jesus Christ!! May Your love and peace flow through the world and find its way into every heart!

My wish for you, dear reader, is that you had a very merry Christmas yesterday, full of Christ's love and peace and that those wonderful feelings stay with you today, tomorrow and always!!


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

My New and Improved Toothpaste

Introducing my new and improved toothpaste! To see my original toothpaste, visit Homemade Toothpaste.

For my new and improved toothpaste, I chose the following ingredients:

• Coconut oil - antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, helps kill candida overgrowth
• Clove oil - antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant, helps kill candida overgrowth
• Diatomaceous earth - remineralizes, detoxifies
• Baking soda - antibacterial, whitening, enhances plaque removal
• Sea salt - anti-inflammatory

Honestly, I don't have a "set" amount of measurements for this recipe. I start with a large spoonful of coconut oil and then add a good portion of the diatomaceous earth along with some sea salt and baking soda and mix them thoroughly together.

Then I add a bit of clove oil and remix the ingredients.

Here is a photo of the mixture when there's more dry ingredients.

Here is a photo of the mixture when there's more coconut oil and clove oil.

The consistency also depends on how hot or cold it is and whether the coconut oil is liquid or solid. I personally like mine a bit more pasty and will keep adding more diatomaceous earth until I get it to where I want.

I love this toothpaste and in the morning I often "oil pull" with it before brushing my teeth with it. I love the flavor and textures and the way my mouth tastes and feels after using this toothpaste! I have made it several times and each time it is a little different. I've also added cinnamon to one batch, but prefer it without.


Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

My New Hobby: Fermenting!

This has been a busy day of fermenting food and drink and here are the results!! Still have a little more to do, but oh my! It is so worth it! 

Here's what's in the jars above:

1. The three half-gallon jars in the back have my new cordito in them. This is a new recipe I tried and will blog on that soon.

2. The half-gallon jar to the right of the jars of cordito is sauerkraut that I just finished making.

3. The half-gallon jar in front of the sauerkraut is some sourdough starter I've been working on for over a week. If it turns out, I'll blog on that, too.

4. The three soda bottles in front of the sourdough starter are full of second-ferment kombucha that have aged a week.

5. The pint-and-a-half jars in the middle of the photo are full of second-ferment kombucha that have aged a couple weeks.

6. The half-gallon jar to the left with the "white cap" on is my new batch of kombucha.

7. The pint-and-a-half jar in front of the new batch of kombucha with the "white cap" on is my second time making kefir. I just received this in the mail a couple days ago.

8. The three soda bottles in front of the jar of kefir is my second-ferment kefir.

Obviously these weren't all done today, but I did work on a good portion of it, including the new batch of sauerkraut that I haven't capped yet and the kombucha and kefir I bottled into the new soda bottles I bought. I also fed my sourdough starter a couple times today.

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Vegetable Broth

Do you suffer with Candida overgrowth? Both The Candida Diet and Dr. Axe's websites posted similar vegetable broth cleansing recipes. Here is my version.

For my broth I started with two quarts of water and added some chopped onions ...

 and some kale and celery leaves, courtesy of my garden.

Along with this, I added lots of garlic and some sea salt.

I brought it to a boil and then lowered the heat to simmer for 20 minutes.

When done, I strained the liquid into two half gallon jars.

 After cooling down, I covered them and stored them in the refrigerator.

To use: Warm one cupful of the broth in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Sip on the broth throughout the day along with lots of water to help your body expel toxins from your system.

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Sourdough Bread Starter

Don't you just hate when you want to use the internet and it seems your high speed internet service acts more like a dial-up?! That's what we've been dealing with for several months now. I have several blogs I'd love to post, but my internet service just isn't cooperating. And ever since Black Friday, it's gotten even worse!! So I'm going to give this blog a try and see how far I get ...

Doesn't my bread in the photo above make you want to sink your teeth into it? It sure didn't last too long either. What didn't get eaten immediately was consumed toasted!

This was my first attempt at making a sourdough bread starter. I chose to use the recipe I found on Our Seven Dwarfs. I rather liked the idea of using instant mashed potato flakes since we just experienced a hamburger on a piece of toasted potato bread for a delectable taste!!

Day 1 of my sourdough starter was on Sunday, November 14th. I rounded up the few ingredients, measured them out, and placed them in the jar. Mixed them altogether and covered it with a towel.

On the morning of Day 5, which was the following Friday, I added:
3 T. instant potatoes
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. warm water
I mixed it up thoroughly and headed off to work.

On my return from work, I made my first two loaves of bread with the starter and waited for it to rise enough to bake.
1 c. sourdough starter
1-1/2 c. warm water
1/2 c. olive oil
4 T. butter, melted
6 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1-1/2 t. sea salt

I layered these ingredients in my breadmaker pan with the liquid ingredients on the bottom, the flour covering the liquid ingredients, and the remaining dry ingredients on top.

I selected the dough cycle and as the dough kneaded, I added more flour until the dough pulled away from the sides of the breadpan.

When the dough was done kneading, I divided it in two and placed them in my two bread stone pans. I placed the pans in the oven and turned the warmer on in order for the bread to rise. I left them until around 9:30 and knew I needed to bake the bread soon or I wouldn't be able to get up on time for work.

The bread didn't seem high enough in the pans, but once I turned the oven up to 350 degrees, the dough continued to raise a little more. I left them in for 45 minutes before taking them out and putting them onto a cooling rack. I tried a sample and headed to bed.

I was nearly asleep when my daughter came into my bedroom and said, "Mom, this bread is amazing!!" Ahhh ... just what I needed to hear before drifting off to sleep. Good night.

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Easy Method for Homemade Bread

Who doesn't love fresh homemade bread? I've found a quick method to make up a couple loaves so that we're able to enjoy homemade bread frequently. This easy method requires using the dough cycle on a breadmaker.

Years ago, I used to bake my bread right in the breadmaker pan; however, after doing this several times and washing the pan, eventually the seal cracked and the pan became useless. The seal is not supposed to become wet. At the time, the machine was still pretty new and it was costly to replace the whole machine. We chose to order a new breadmaker pan which was not cheap either, but cheaper than replacing the whole machine.

From that time forward, I chose to only use the dough cycle on my breadmaker. We preferred the bread baked in an oven anyway because of it's smaller size to fit into the toaster. We also felt that by baking the dough right in the breadmaker pan, the heat eventually caused the seal to become dry and brittle. Since then, we never used any other cycle on the machine other than the dough cycle. It's been many years now and the seal is still going strong.

Eliminating bread baking in the machine led to my trying to rush through the tedious process of bread making each time I wanted homemade bread. Eventually, I started cutting corners and I discovered the quickest way to whip up a loaf of bread or making any other type of dough.

It really doesn't matter what bread recipe is used, but here's the gist of it. For my breadmaker, all liquid ingredients go in the bottom of the pan. A layer of flour covers the liquid ingredients. On the flour layer is placed any other grains and remaining dry ingredients. Your breadmaker may be slightly different ingredient order, so refer to your user's manual.

Select the dough cycle on the breadmaker. When cycle is complete, place bread in greased loaf pan. Raise in warm oven, then bake. It's that simple. Let's get started.

First, if the recipe requires eggs, put that in the bottom of the breadmaker pan.

Grab a large microwaveable bowl and place all your liquid ingredients (except the eggs, of course, since we don't want to cook them) in the bowl. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat until very warm to hot. I usually figure about one minute for each cup of liquid. The bread recipe I used called for butter, honey, cottage cheese and water.

When finished heating the liquids, if you want, you can mix them together.

Or just pour into the bottom of the breadmaker pan along with the eggs.

Now it's time for the dry ingredients. I added about a cup of flour on top of the liquid ingredients. I like oats in my bread and lately have been using a lot of different types of grains and seeds. So I placed some oats in my Ninja chopper to grind them up.

Next I measured out about a quarter cup each of flaxseed, quinoa and bulgar. I've never used bulgar before but had some in my freezer so thought I'd give it a try. I placed them in the chopper to grind and then added it to the breadmaker pan. I also threw in about a quarter cup of sunflower nuts since my husband and I really like them in bread. Basically I replaced a few cups of flour with other grains for the total amount needed.

Once the dry ingredients are added, measure out the remaining ingredients such as the yeast and salt. Select the dough cycle on the breadmaker and then start the machine. Continue to add flour or oats or whatever your recipe calls for until the dough is thickened.

Depending on the size of your recipe, you may need to help the breadmaker along with the mixing by using a butter knife and running the knife in a circular motion as you add more flour. Keep adding a little more flour until the dough moves away from the sides of the pan.

Once the cycle is through, drop the dough onto the table. If your recipe is for two loaves, cut the dough in half and place each into a greased loaf pan.

No need to press the dough out and roll into a loaf. This is where I save time and just plop it into the pan. I suppose if I were going to take the bread to a special event or enter it at the fair, I would take the extra time and make it look pretty. But around here, we're more concerned about the taste and how fast we get to eat it! 

Luckily, I have a warmer setting on my oven. So I choose the lowest setting and place the pans in the oven. I only leave the warmer on for about twenty minutes and then shut it off and leave the bread inside to raise. If you don't have an oven warmer, you could just put your oven on the lowest setting to warm it up and then shut it off and place the loaves in for raising.

Once they're raised, bake them for the allotted time. Remove from pans and place on a cooling rack.

We've never really waited long enough for the bread to cool since we fight for the crust as soon as it's on the rack!

Here's a close up of the texture. Mmmmm ...

Once we've had our fill and the bread is thoroughly cooled down, I slice it up, bag them and put them in the freezer. Then whenever we want a slice of bread, we pull one from the bag and pop it in the toaster for a wonderful piece of homemade toast!

Can't get much easier than that!

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!