Simit is a circular bread in Turkey, typically encrusted with sesame seeds and normally eaten for breakfast or tea time. It is widely known as Turkish bagel in the United States. I have seen a lot of bakers trying to bake yeast based or sourdough Simit. They look so temptingly delicious and I have no regret of trying it. I used the Yudane Method in this recipe as I wanted the texture to be moist, soft and slightly chewy. Please click "Bread Making Method" to understand more details on Yudane Method.
Have a family favorite recipe you want to convert to sourdough? Here's an article that shows you how to replace yeast with sourdough starter.
I might as well apologize now because this is going to be lengthy! Switching over to much less processed foods was something we decided to do last year. It has helped us in so many ways health wise and I don't see us ever going back. Once you learn some of the things about processed foods, you can't unlearn them….. The hubs and I have both always enjoyed baking our own bread but used to just do it for fun. After researching and reading for the best kinds of breads we can make for our family, I came to natural yeast. This book, The Art of Baking With Natural Yeast, has been a great resource for recipes and the "whys" of using natural yeast in your home. As well as this book called Nourishing Traditions. If you don't own these, add them to your list! Here are just three benefits to using natural yeast as opposed to store bought, quick rise. (which is FINE, if that's just easier for you. But hopefully after reading this you'll see how easy-time consuming, but easy- it is to make your own yeast full of health for you and your family!) 1. Natural yeast breaks down harmful enzymes in grains. 2. Natural yeast takes the nutrition in grains-the ones your body craves-and makes them easily available for digestion. 3. Natural yeast converts dough into a digestible food source that will not spike your body's defenses. It predigests SUGARS for diabetics, breaks down GLUTEN for the intolerant, and turns calcium-leaching phytic acid into a cancer-fighting antioxidant. *these are taken from the book Art of Baking With Natural Yeast And these are just the first three that are mentioned! There are so many more. I could just quote the book word for word on all the goodness. Many, many delicious recipes included! Natural yeast - a super hero in the world of baking with whole wheat, I tell ya!! So how to find and make natural yeast! Get that goodness in you! Wild yeast is all around us. They can be captured by adding organic grapes, apples, rye, wheat or even juniper berries with water and flour and allowing the mixture to ferment and grow. Yep, it's alive! It is its own little ecosystem in a jar. The lactobacilli and wild yeasts feed on the sugars that are in the flour and break down things our body can't, including gluten. While eating, it releases carbon dioxide, making little bubbles. This is what causes your bread to rise. As you make starter, you will see that sometimes a brown liquid forms on the top. The is made of ethanol and acetic acid. This DOES NOT mean your starter is ruined. Your starter is fine. Pour it off and stir. Or some people just stir it right back in. Ok, that was quite a mouthful of information. But great to know! The easiest way to make your own natural yeast is to use some flour! You will need: flour filtered water jar cheesecloth (optional) We use organic whole wheat. (This process does take quite a bit of flour) It doesn't matter the amount you start with. I used one cup but you could do a half or even a quarter cup. I wouldn't go above a cup because that will use a ridiculous amount of flour at feeding time and a very large container! Your jar will need to be big enough for your mixture to double in size. Put an even amount of flour and water in the jar. Stir well to combine. Should be a thick pancake batter consistency. Stir it three times per day until bubbles form. (It is very helpful to do this at meal times because it's easier to remember. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Keep it on the counter right where you prep meals so you see it!) Keep it on the counter top covered with cheesecloth or loosely with a lid. We never had luck with a lid because it didn't get enough air. Cheesecloth works great! Bubbles forming depends on how fresh your flour is. The more fresh the flour, the faster your bubbles will appear. It will probably take about 12 -24 hours. Once the bubbles appear, you need to start feeding it. It eats flour and water. Feed it once per day. Remove half and replace it with the same amount of flour AND water. Continue to stir three times a day (feeding it counts as stirring) Wait for it to start expanding. You need to feed it this way daily until it can double its size in 12 hours or less. Now you will feed it once per day at a ratio of 1:2:2. Stir it down and measure out your starter. I measure out a cup. Dump out the rest, it's not quite ready to cook with. Put the cup back into the container (does't need to be cleaned) and feed it double the amount of starter. One cup starter will be fed 2 cups flour and 2 cups water. Stir well to combine. Feed it this way once per day until it can double in 12 hours or less again. (This only took ours one feeding) (No need to stir three times a day anymore, let it do it's thing.) Now comes the part where it takes a lot of flour. You are going to feed it twice per day for a week, the same way you feed it above. The goal is to get it to double in 8 hours or less. This means you have a healthy and active starter that is ready for baking. It can happen in less than a week, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't. Give it the full 7 days if it needs it. Now you can bake with it or stick it in your fridge! It slows down growing in the fridge and only needs to be fed once a week. We usually bake with it, (feed it after using it) and stick in the fridge for the rest of the week. It will last you as long you continue to feed it. I forgot to feed it one week and panicked that I killed it. Took it out and fed it. And it was FINE. They are pretty resilient so don't stress about it. You will know that it's dead if it's starts growing mold. The tangy sour smell (like sourdough bread) is normal and what you want. Enjoy your starter and delicious, HEALTHY bread! Your starter can be split and shared with friends too! All you need is a quarter cup to keep it going. So split it and share the love! :) And make yumminess like these whole wheat cinnamon rolls…….
THEE BEST SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD. Hands down.
A light, tender and delicious Czech-inspired pastry. This recipe makes 24 delicious fruit-filled kolaches with 100% natural yeast. Perfect for a special breakfast or to make for company, these are incredibly delicious pastries you can make in your home kitchen.
Natural Yeast. Wild Yeast. Sourdough. Wild Sourdough. To put it simply, these words all mean the exact same thing -- a homegrown
I have attempted Sourdough Banh Mi (Vietnamese Baguette) several times with egg, eggless as well as egg white only and also with Yudane and Non-Yudane Method. I found that the recipe with egg is probably better as I get a more fluffy crumb. The texture is very soft, fluffy with crispy crust. The crust is very crispy and it stays for few hours (around 2 hours for our tropical high humidity weather here). Please toast the bread to restore the crispy crust if necessary.
THEE BEST SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD. Hands down.
Sourdough is getting quite a bit of attention these days, isn't it? If you've never heard of it before, you're probably wondering why. Well, there are multiple reasons, and I'm going to clue you in
Ok, if you’re here and you’re Italian I know what you’re thinking…. “SOURDOUGH PASTA?! That is far from authentic!” You’re not wrong. Sourdough pasta is not an ancient Italian tradition. It is not something you will probably find if you go visit Italy. Let us explain…. Why Sourdough? Sourdough (AKA natural yeast) has so many wonderful health benefits. The main ... Read More
The easiest way to make your own yeast is to grow a sourdough starter. All you have to do is capture wild yeast using flour and water.
Sweet, baked peaches topped with a sourdough oatmeal crisp topping that bakes up into the most delicious ooey gooey, warm oatmeal-cookie style sourdough peach crisp. Add a scoop of ice cream and enjoy this taste of sweet sweet summer!
This loaf of bread was created with yeast cultivated from an apple and a jar of water… …and so was this one…how cool is that??? I saw a mention of yeast water on Instagram so set …
Yeast water is made by capturing and cultivating wild yeast found on fruit. When left to ferment, this water can be used to create a wild yeast starter that's perfect for all kinds of baking!
Bubbly, fizzy, and just a bit murky, making a wild yeast starter can seem a little daunting, but it's one of the easiest kitchen projects you can undertake. There's only a single step: sealing fruit into a jar filled with water. And then you wait. In less than a week, you have a yeasty starter you can use to bake bread.Fruits, vegetables, and even wild herbs are all sources for wild yeast, but dried fruit is one of the easiest for newcomers to use. Figs, apricots, and raisins work well.
When I teach sourdough bread baking at my workshops, the overwhelming majority of questions I get are about the sourdough starter. Not only about its …
Learn how to make the most perfect, soft and fluffy sourdough sandwich bread! An active sourdough starter gives this bread a beautiful rise without any need for added yeast.
I re-baked the Toasted Oat Porridge Sourdough Bread that I last baked 2 years ago with an improved recipe. This time I used extra virgin olive to toast the rolled oats. Actually, I got quite a similar taste to butter toasted oats. I am very pleased with the result. However, some prefer toasted butter instead.
Thanks XL for introducing to me this natural yeast called Herman Starter. I've always curious with sourdough starter which seems rather complex to me. She assured me that this Herman Starter is much more user friendly and only require feeding it every 5 days to maintain its activeness. The top picture is the starter blessed by XL and after feeding 1:1:1:1 starter : milk: flour: sugar, it bubbled very well! After 5 days of fermentation, its ready for use! A portion was set aside, feed and maintain for another 5 days....the cycle goes go...hopefully it will stay active! The first recipe I've tried using the Herman Starter is this fluffy natural yeast pancake! Soft and tender crumbs with lovely yeast fragrant. Ingredient 100gm Herman starter 200gm cake flour 20gm sugar 30gm melted butter 230ml fresh milk Method Sift cake flour into a mixing bowl. Add in sugar and stir well to combine. Add in Herman starter, fresh milk and melted butter. Whisk to combine everything into a smooth thick batter. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and allow it to proof in a warm area for 2-3 hours until double in bulk. Lightly grease a non stick pan. Drop about 1/4 cup batter into hot pan and pan fry over low heat till golden brown at the base. Flip over and cook the other side. Repeat till batter is completed. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter.
Once upon a time, I thought that tortillas could be one of our “compromise” foods. Hubby eats a LOT of them, and I figured they can’t have that many ingredients, so I decided that they could be something that I would purchase, rather than make at home. Until the fateful day when I merrily pushed my cart up the […]
This spelt sourdough focaccia has a crispy exterior and a fluffy interior with a delicious nutty flavor! The easy and versatile Italian bread can be topped with any of your favorite toppings and even used as a sandwich bread.
Learn how to make your very own rye starter from scratch with 2 simple ingredients. A rye starter can completely replace store-bought yeast for all of your rye baking projects!
These simple sourdough rolls are perfect for dinner or making sandwiches. If you are not ready for artisan loaves, give these a try! They freeze well too.
These sourdough beignets are a breeze to make and can even be made in the same day! The fluffy and light pillows of fried dough are topped with powdered sugar for a perfect Mardi Gras treat.
Yeast water is made by capturing and cultivating wild yeast found on fruit. When left to ferment, this water can be used to create a wild yeast starter that's perfect for all kinds of baking!
This easy recipe for sourdough granola can easily be tailored to suit your taste preferences and ingredients you have on hand.
Looking for killer homemade sourdough pizza dough that yields incredible flavor and texture yet isn't overly complicated to make? This is your recipe.
