The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Kafir and Kafir Whey

Aileen Reid's picture
Aileen Reid

Kafir and Kafir Whey

First of all, I do not use a 'starter'.  I make fermented bread but add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast to my dough before letting it ferment on the counter for 24 hours.  Recently, I've started adding some of my kafir whey to my water quantity.  It adds a little something to the bread.  When I use the actual Kafir, I get a baguette that would mirror a sourdough loaf in taste, but the kafir makes the crumb softer than an artisan bread.  so, here's my question......

 

has anyone used Kafir as their starter.  I'm going to experiment and see if the Kafir will actually act as a wild yeast, and just wondered if anyone has given this a whirl.     

clazar123's picture
clazar123

On this forum it is usually spelled "kefir". Use the search box with this spelling and you will get a list with a LOT of past posts.

Sounds delicious!

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

If a sourdough recipe asks for 100g starter at 100% hydration you can create a starter by mixing 50g kefir with 50g flour, wait for it to bubble up then use as normal. No need for added yeast.

The yeasts and bacteria within kefir are very similar to a sourdough starter. Once it is mature (bubbled up and peaked) then follow the sourdough recipe as normal.

The only thing you may need to do is to watch the starter + dough and not the clock. Which is good advice anyway! Depending on your kefir, and how warm it is, it may take anywhere between 12-24 hours for your starter to mature but then the dough should be within a more "similar" timescale to what is advised within the recipe.

A kefir bread, I have found, has great oven spring and really produces a tasty loaf.

Enjoy experimenting and best of luck.