koktel od kupine i hibiskusa s mentom

U prošlom postu sam podijelila recept za bezalkoholni kombucha-mojito od dinje s ljubičastim bosiljkom. Kako vam ne bi bilo dosadno, a i zato što obožavam bobičasto voće, smiksala sam vam još jedan - od kupine i hibiskusa. I kupina i hibiskus su stvarno moćne namirnice bogate antioksidansima koje povoljno utječu na naše zdravlje. Još u kombinaciji s fermentiranim probiotskim napitkom i svježim listovima mente iz vrta, pravi osvježavajući ljetni eliksir... Za probiotski "kick" sam ovog puta koristila vodeni kefir, ali ako nemate, slobodno ga zamijenite kombuchom ili mineralnom vodom s malo limunovog soka. I dalje će biti eliksir, sigurno.

Koristila sam divne sočne eko kupine s Malog placa. Budući da se kupine malo lakše kvare, odlučila sam ih odmah zamrznuti i koristiti umjesto leda. Napisane količine su dovoljne za dvije osobe, pa ih podijelite na dvije čaše prilikom izrade koktela.

što/
3/4 šalice ohlađenog čaja od hibiskusa
3/4 šalice zaleđenih kupina
3/4 šalice vodenog kefira ili mineralne vode u koju ste iscijedili malo limuna
1 mala šaka listova mente
1 jušna žlica sirupa agave (opcija)

kako/
Zamrznite svježe kupine preko noći. Stavite 3-4 veće čaške cvjetova hibiskusa (oko 1 jušna žlica ako je u komadićima) u šalicu proključale vode i ostavite da se namače dok se ne ohladi. Ako ste čaj pripremili večer prije, stavite ga u hladnjak preko noći. Pljesnite listove mente među rukama kako bi pustili eterična ulja, te ih stavite u čaše. Po želji dodajte malo agavinog sirupa. Izblendajte zamrznute kupine sa čajem od hibiskusa, ulijte u čaše s mentom i lagano promiješajte. Ulijte ohlađeni vodeni kefir do vrha čaše, ukrasite listovima mente i poslužite.

koktel od dinje i bosiljka

Bez obzira što nas ovdje u kontinentu ljetni pljuskovi dovoljno redovito osvježavaju, pa i poplavljuju malo, ljeto je i dalje pravo vrijeme za osvježavajuće koktele. Kada kažem osvježavajuće, mislim na bezalkoholne (ljutite se slobodno, nije me briga, bezalkoholni su najbolji). Inače svakog ljeta radim neku varijaciju na mojito s vodenim kefirom, a budući da su ove godine svi poludjeli za kombuchom, mislim da je napokon dovoljno okej i nepretenciozno podijeliti jedan recept za koktel s kombuchom. Ako ipak nemate kombuchu kod kuće, nema veze, možete jednostavno koristiti mineralnu vodu i po potrebi povećati količinu limete i agavinog sirupa u receptu. Količine koje pišem su za dvije osobe, pa ih kod izrade koktela podijelite na dvije čaše. I naravno, ne bi to bilo to da na Malom placu nisam našla najslađe dinje ove godine, pa vam predstavljam mojito od dinje s malim zaokretom. Umjesto mente sam koristila ljubičasti bosiljak i cijela kombinacija okusa je ludilo!

što/

1 šalica dinje narezane na kockice

3/4 šalice leda u kockicama

1/2 limete

1 mala šaka listova bosiljka

1 jušna žlica sirupa agave (opcija)

3/4 šalice kombuche bez dodatnog okusa

kako/

Stavite listove bosiljka, limetu narezanu na kriške i agavin sirup u čaše. Izgnječite sve skupa kako bi se arome prožele. Ne morate imati neki posebni "fancy" pribor za koktele - možete se poslužiti drškom drvene kuhače. Izblendajte dinju s ledom, prebacite u čašu s limetom i bosiljkom, pa sve skupa lagano promiješajte. Ulijte kombuchu u čašu i po želji opet lagano promiješajte. Poslužite ukrašeno listovima bosiljka i kriškama limete.

pečene šparoge s fermentiranim umakom od badema

Nekako sam navikla u ovo doba godine već debelo biti u Dalmaciji i jesti divlje šparoge koje sam ubrala taj dan, no šta je tu je - Zagreb je isto lijep, a Mali plac je priskočio u spas s prekrasnim domaćim šparogama iz uzgoja. Uspjela sam se suzdržati i pojesti samo nekoliko dok su još bile sirove - neviđeno rijetka situacija, ali nisam požalila! Od već provjereno finih bračkih badema ovaj put sam napravila fermentirani umak s limunom. Inače najčešće fermentiram pomoću vodenog kefira ili kombuche, no ovo je zaista jednostavna fermentacija koju svatko može napraviti kod kuće (a čak se i rimuje).

što/
1/2 šalice badema
1/2 šalice vode
sok 1 limuna
1 prstohvat himalajske soli

250 g šparoga
1 jušna žlica maslinovog ulja
1 prstohvat himalajske soli
2 prstohvata prehrambenog kvasca
1 prstohvat mljevenog crnog papra

kako/
Izblendajte bademe s vodom i sokom limuna u potpuno glatku smjesu. Prebacite smjesu u staklenku, nataknite poklopac i ostavite na toplom mjestu bez direktnog sunčevog svjetla nekoliko dana, odnosno dok ne primijetite mjehuriće od fermentacije na stijenci staklenke. Dodajte sol (i malo vode ako vam se čini da je smjesa pregusta) i promiješajte ili izblendajte za kremastiju teksturu.

Šparoge posložite na pleh za pečenje. Ako su dijelovi pri bazi jako žilavi, možete odrezati tih 1-2 centimetra i iskoristiti za juhu. Začinite šparoge maslinovim uljem, himalajskom soli, paprom i suhim kvascem. Pecite na 180 °C oko 15 minuta. Poslužite šparoge i prelijte umakom od badema i limuna. Ja sam ih ovaj put iskombinirala sa zelenom salatom i rotkvicama. Začinila sam svježe povrće samo s malo soli i aceta balsamica, koji odlično paše uz šparoge. Dobar tek!

vodeni kefir s ananasom

Water kefir with pineapple RECIPE <<< find it on my new blog.

kombucha

Domaća kombucha - sekundarna fermentacija s prirodnim sokovima višnje, maline, crnog ribiza i jabuke. Inače mi je stan uvijek pun razne fermentirajuće hrane, od kiselog kupusa, kimchija, kiselog tijesta do vodenog kefira, kombuche i octa. Osim što je zabavno pratiti proces fermentacije i doslovno uzgajati život u staklenci, fermentirana hrana bogata je probiotskim mikroorganizmima koji doprinose zdravlju našeg probavnog sustava, a time i cjelokupnom zdravlju organizma.

/ Homemade kombucha - second fermentation was done with raspberry, black currant, cherry and apple juices. Not seasonal but it was so flavourful I couldn't resist! There are always so many things fermenting all around my place. From kimchi, sauerkraut and sourdough to water kefir, kombucha and vinegar. My sister recently gave me a new kombucha SCOBY to help me fulfill my fermentationist dreams in Croatia again...
Besides fermentation being a fun process to watch (and that joy of literally creating new life in a jar), fermented foods are full of beneficial microorganisms that help us improve gut health, which is a good way to keep a healthy immune system and generally a nicely functioning body.

ocat od jabuke i dunje sa šumskim voćem

/apple, quince and berries vinegar/

After a few years (oh my oh my) of promising to share the recipe for home-made apple cider vinegar, i will finally try and write it down for you. I think one of the reasons I waited this long is the fact that I do it different way evert year, and to be honest, I don't have a special recipe. I just let the apples ferment... So this won't be a recipe in classical sense, but more of a descriptive how-to.

There is one old proven way to make apple cider vinegar, the way one Croatian Grandma, one of my favourite grandmas, used to do it and it always resulted in amazing vinegar. Grandma had many apple trees in her garden, that gave plenty of fruits each year. She would use up lots of them to make vinegar - she would just slice them very thin, fill huge glass jars almost to the top with sliced apples, covered them and let them sit for a few months. She would then strain the vinegar and that was it, that easy.

Grandma's vinegar was great, but as a girl who likes to experiment a lot, I could not stick to that one simple recipe, even to try it once - instead I figured other interesting ways to make fermented apple goodness. Every year was something else, sometimes I was satisfied, sometimes not so much because the vinegar would turn out too mild, not sour enough. Last year's project was something cool and worth mentioning, my favourite so far: kefir-enhanced vinegar made out of home-grown apples, quinces and berries. It turned out really delicious (can you also agree that vinegar can be delicious??), almost perfect. I use it to season salads, but I also drink it occasionally, diluted with water (1:4 or so) to provide my body with some probiotics.

I can't really recall the exact amounts of everything to write a proper recipe, but here is more or less how it went: i filled a 5 liter glass jar half way with apples, then with quinces to 3/4 of the volume, and added 2 handfuls of frozen/defrosted mixed berries. Then I added 5 tablespoons of raw cane sugar, 1/2 cup of fully fermented water kefir, 5 tablespoons of last year's wine vinegar (you can use any non-pasteurised naturally fermented vinegar, it will accelerate the fermentation process because it already has the fermenting bacteria in it) and filled the jar with water, just a bit over the level of the fruits. I put a smaller jar to keep the fruits under water to prevent them form catching mould, covered the big jar with a lid and waited for nature to do its magic. After 3 months (it can take more or less than that, depending on temperature, amount of sugar in fruits and other factors), the liquid in the jar had turned into really sour and perfectly tasty fruit vinegar. There was a biofilm on top of vinegar and fruits mixture, which was formed by bacteria. You can use that film to accelerate fermentation in your next batch of vinegar. When I strained the vinegar, it was pretty translucent and lightly pink. And it really did taste amazing.

That's it, the magic of homemade vinegar. I encourage you to try your own ways - once you understand the basics about fermentation, you can play and see what gives you the best results.
Have fun and enjoy the fermenting!

plant yogurt - part 3

I've been promising to write this plant yogurt post for quite a while now, so here it is finally. To all my Croatian followers - I'm sorry for writing only in English lately; I've been busy working as a chef without a free day for last four months, so I'm usually posting from my phone somewhere on the go and it's hard to translate on a small screen. I'll get back to writing in Croatian+English in October, so stay tuned!

And now the yogurt.

During last five years or so I have experimented a lot with fermentation of various plant foods, got a lot of really cool results and gained some precious new knowledge. Some of it I've described on this blog. One of my favourites was almond yogurt made from homemade almond milk fermented with water kefir grains. I had not tried making yogurt "the fast way" using probiotic capsules until this summer because i thought it was unnecessary, having all these wonderful and more natural methods to do it. But then i found myself living on an island with a jar of barely functioning water kefir, too much work to do to even bother trying to get some kefir by mail, real hunger for some plant yogurt and a little health food store that had exactly what I needed - a box of vegan probiotic capsules and a few various types of plant milk.

I decided to give it a try without too much research. A few almost successful intuitive tries and reading too many articles about making yogurt in a yogurt-maker lead to developing this simple and cheap DIY method that might not be as perfect and easy as with a yogurt-maker but is certainly applicable in many more occasions.

I tried it with full-fat coconut milk and plain soy milk (just soy and water; it's ok if it has just a little bit of natural sweetener, oil or salt but the simpler the better). You should choose the milk that tastes good to you by itself; if your soy milk has a strong soy flavour that you generally dislike but it's ok in a cup of coffee, then get it from another brand because you will taste it in the yogurt as well. Coconut milk gives a beautiful, smooth, creamy yogurt and you can't go wrong here, but for my taste it's even too creamy and oily and I can only eat it like a desert or occasional treat - in small amounts and with some fruits in it. Anyway, you should experiment and see what fits your taste buds the best. The probiotic strains that i used were Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium infans and Bifidobacterium longum. I'm not saying that is the optimal mix - it was just the only one I could get in the store and it worked fine. Some of the species probably died if soy milk wasn't suitable food for them (hence this is not the perfect way, I just want to show you that you don't need perfect conditions for making plant yogurt) but fermentation still happened and I got a really nice yogurt.

Here is how: i heated 700 ml of soy milk to around 40 °C in a double boiler, poured it into a clean jar, emptied a vegan probiotic capsule inside and stirred it with a spoon. I covered the top of the jar with a cloth and left it in my clothes locker at work (you see? Not at all perfect and it doesn't have to be). Next to this jar, i placed a jar filled with hot water to maintain the temperature for the fermentation and left it there for 24 hours. In 24 hours (and it's summer in the Mediterranean, so keep in mind that it can take longer in cooler climate) I had a perfectly thick and sour soy yogurt with a thin layer of "whey" on the bottom. You can strain the whey through a coffee filter if you want, i just mix it all and get a bit thinner yogurt.

And now here is another cool thing - you can keep this yogurt in the fridge for more than a week and use the last 4-5 tablespoons of it for making the next batch - the same way but with this yogurt instead of probiotic capsule. I think it's even better to continue cultivating it this way because the bacteria that are not suitable for fermenting soy milk die out, and the ones that you need continue reproducing happily (ok, maybe not happily but you are happy). Even the taste gets better with every batch if you do it right.

Now, get your good tasting plant milk and probiotic (or even just store bought yogurt and you can skip the capsule step!), make sure you have some very clean equipment to make it and start to experiment with this wonderful thing called fermentation. You won't be disappointed, and your body will be grateful :)

kruh od kiselog tijesta /recept

U prošlom postu sam ukratko objasnila po čemu se kruh od kiselog tijesta razlikuje od "normalnog" kruha i zašto ga čak i ljudi kojima kruh inače ne odgovara u prehrani često mogu jesti bez ikakvih problema. Sada ću napisati vrlo intuitivan recept za izradu takvog kruha. Ako ste već istraživali o kiselom tijestu po internetu, sigurno ste primijetili da nema baš odokativnih recepata i da se često sve mjeri u gram, a postupak ponekad izgleda kao protokol za laboratorijsku vježbu. Ti detaljni opisi su korisni za bolje razumijevanje cijelog procesa, ali budući da ih je pun internet, ovdje ću napisati postupak koji će biti od koristi i ljudima koji se ne mogu strogo držati recepta, već sve rade po osjećaju (jer znam da nas ima...). Uostalom, "naši stari" nisu imali precizne kuhinjske vage, niti su znali što znači autoliza, a radili su kruh na ovaj način.

Ono što je vrlo važno ako želite napraviti dobar kruh od kiselog tijesta je dobar starter. Nema kraćeg puta niti alternativnog rješenja, bez dobrog startera to nije to. Zato je u početku važno imati dovoljno strpljenja da se starter razvije, a jednom kada se razvije, imate ga zauvijek.

Što je uopće starter? To je fermentirana mješavina brašna i vode koja je puna nama korisnih mikroorganizama iz zraka i sa žitarica (kvasaca i bakterija) koji se hrane šećerima iz žitarica, a u procesu razgradnje šećera nastaju mliječna kiselina i ugljični dioksid. Svježi starter zato ima kiselkasti miris i pun je mjehurića, dok starter koji je malo dulje odstajao ima miris kvasca i alkohola (razgradnja se odvija dalje do alkohola, a kvasci se još više namnože). Oba spomenuta su dobra za izradu kiselog tijesta, ali vrlo je važno da tekstura bude jako prozračna i mjehuričasta. Ako u starteru nema puno mjehurića, znači da nije dovoljno fermentirao, pa se niti kruh izrađen s takvim starterom neće dići, nego će biti težak i sabijen.

kako napraviti dobar starter/
Pomiješajte približno jednake količine brašna* i vode (volumno malo više brašna), za početak oko 2-3 jušne žlice, i dobro izmiješajte. Smjesa bi trebala biti gusta ali tekuća, kao na slici. Ostavite na sobnoj temperaturi u staklenci s nataknutim poklopcem da fermentira, pa nakon 24 sata dodajte još oko 3 (ravne) jušne žlice brašna i 2 jušne žlice vode i dobro promiješajte. Postupak ponovite nakon još 24 sata. Osjetite kako se miris mijenja iz blago orašastog u blago kiselkasti i kako se lagano počinju razvijati mjehurići. To znači da se polako razvijaju mikroorganizmi koji se hrane šećerima iz brašna i koji su potrebni za kasniju fermentaciju kruha. Dakle, starter je prepun živih mikrobića koja je potrebno hraniti svaki dan kako bi se odvijali procesi koji su nama ovdje potrebni. Nakon još 24 sata, ukoliko već miriše dosta kiselo, pola startera odlijte u drugu staklenku (to vam neće trebati za kruh, ali možete od toga napraviti jako fine palačinke ili nešto drugo), a ostatak nahranite, odnosno dodajte još brašna i vode. Sada se fermentacija već odvija relativno brzo, pa možete hraniti starter dva puta dnevno, recimo ujutro i navečer, a u jednom od tih navrata prvo odliti dio u onu staklenku za palačinke. Može se raditi i bez odlijevanja, ali po mom iskustvu je bolje odliti dio jednom dnevno jer inače prebrzo fermentira u alkohol. Nakon 5-7 dana, ovisno o temperaturi u prostoriji, starter bi vam trebao izgledati savršeno pjenasto, mjehurićasto i prozračno (možete provjeriti da li pluta na vodi). Takav starter možete koristiti za izradu kiselog tijesta.

Nemojte nikada iskoristiti sav starter; uvijek ostavite barem nekoliko žlica i nadohranite ga, kako bi se fermentacija mogla nastaviti odvijati i kako biste uvijek imali spreman starter. On bi sada svaki dan trebao razviti prozračnu teksturu punu mjehurića i biti spreman za izradu kruha. Ukoliko ga držite na sobnoj temperaturi, potrebno ga je nadohranjivati dva puta dnevno kao što je već opisano, a ako ne pečete kruh toliko često, možete ga držati u frižideru pa po potrebi izvaditi, nahraniti i pričekati oko 12 sati da se aktivira (da se razviju mjehurići). Višak startera možete i pokloniti nekome.

*ja koristim samo domaće pirovo brašno iz cijelog zrna koje nije baš niti prosijano i uvijek odlično ispadne. Ako se u tijesto za kruh doda malo bijelog pirovog brašna, razvije se više mjehurića i kruh se bolje digne (isprobano), ali meni je okus bolji kada koristim samo brašno od cijelog zrna. Pa kako vam drago.

kako napraviti kruh od kiselog tijesta/
Ulijte šalicu mlake vode u zdjelu. Dodajte oko (1/2-)2/3 šalice startera, žlicu po žlicu, tako da možete usput provjeriti kvalitetu startera. Ako pluta na vodi, znači da je dobar, a ako ne, znači da još nije dovoljno fermentirao (to se vidi i prije stavljanja u vodu - mora imati baš puno mjehurića i biti lagan i prozračan). Promiješajte prstima da se starter razmuti u vodi. Nastavite miješati, a drugom rukom sipajte brašno dok ne dobijete tijesto koje je moguće mijesiti rukama bez da se previše lijepi, ali je još uvijek dosta mekano. Dobro ga izmijesite i ostavite da odstoji u zdjeli pokriveno mokrom krpom nekoliko sati. Možete ga ostaviti i dulje, ja ga često izmijesim ujutro prije nego izađem iz kuće, pa nastavim raditi s njim tek nakon 8-9 sati. Nakon što je odstajalo, primjetit ćete da se već diglo i da su se razvili mjehurići - sada ga izvadite iz zdjele i dobro posolite, ali ga više ne mijesite na klasičan način. Sada u nekoliko navrata s razmacima od pola sata (a možete i samo jednom ako nemate vremena ili vam se ne da razmišljati o tome) više puta razvucite tijesto i preklopite ga, nježno i bez stiskanja. Što više puta to napravite, to će biti ljepši mjehurići kada se ispeče. Nakon zadnjeg presavijanja, stavite tijesto u kalup u kojem će se peći i ostavite ga da odstoji još nekoliko sati (da sve skupa, od početka procesa, bude barem 12 h). Možete ga i staviti u hladnjak preko noći ako ne želite odmah peći, na hladnom će se fermentacija dalje odvijati ali vrlo sporo. Kada je kruh spreman, odnosno kada se digao na sobnoj temperaturi i osjetite da je barem donekle ispunjen mjehurićima ugljičnog dioksida od fermentacije, stavite ga u pećnicu zagrijanu na 200 °C i pecite oko pola sata. Ako na pećnici imate program pečenja s više vlage, koristite njega, a ako nemate, bilo bi idealno poklopiti kruh nekim velikim loncem ili protvanom jer će na taj način ostati sočniji iznutra. Kruh je pečen kada izvana porumeni, a kora postane tvrda. Ako lagano lupite prstima po kori i čuje se kao da je unutra šuplje, to je gotovo sigurno znak da vam je kruh odlično ispao.

[ENGLISH]

sourdough bread /recipe

In my previous post I wrote a little bit about sourdough bread, its advantages in comparison to "normal" bread and why many people who would normally have to avoid bread in their diets, can eat sourdough bread without any problem. Now I will write a pretty intuitive recipe for making such bread. If you already did some research on sourdough online, you must have noticed that there are almost no approximate "recipes" and that quantities of all ingredients are usually precisely measured. The whole procedure sometimes reminds me on laboratory practice protocols. Those detailed descriptions can be useful if you want to understand the whole process more deeply, but since the internet is full of such writings, I will now present a lazy baker's way to make sourdough without measuring anything - for all those people who can never follow a recipe and like to do everything by feel (don't worry, that includes me too). I'm sure that our ancestors didn't have kitchen scales or thermometers, or awareness of the definition of the word autolyse, and they could still make good sourdough bread.

There is one thing that is crucial for a good sourdough bread, and that is a good starter. There is no shortcut or alternative solution; without a proper starter it won't be the same thing. That is why you need some patience in the very beginning of the process. Once the starter has developed, you can have it forever.

What is a sourdough starter anyway?
It is a fermented mixture of flour and water which is full of microorganisms (wild yeasts and bacteria that naturally live/exist on the grains or in the air) that are useful for us: they feed on the sugars from the grains, and some of the important products of that feeding process are lactic acid and carbon dioxide. That is why freshly fermented starter smells sour and has lots of bubbles in it, and an older starter smells like yeast and alcohol (further fermentation leads to occurrence of alcohol, and yeasts naturally reproduce more and more). Both of these starters are good for sourdough making, but it is very important that their texture is very bubbly, light and airy. If there are not many bubbles in a starter, it means that it had not fermented enough and hence the bread will turn out very heavy.

how to make a good sourdough starter/
Mix approximately same quantities (a few tbsp) of water and flour* (there should be a bit more flour than water, volume-wise). The mixture should be thick, but still pretty liquid, like the one on the picture. Leave it in a lightly covered jar at a room temperature for 24 hours, and then add 3 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp water. Repeat the procedure after another 24 hours. Now you should already be able to sense that the smell of the mixture is changing from mild and nutty to more sour, vinegar-like smell. You should also be able to see some bubbles forming inside the mixture. Those are signs that our dear microorganisms are feeding on the sugars form the grains and reproducing. That means that our starter is filled with living microbeings that need to be fed regularly in order to keep the processes that we are interested in going. After another 24 hours you can feed it the same way again, or, if it already smells very sour, you can first pour half of it into another jar and then feed it. You won't need the half that you poured out, but you can always make pancakes from it, or use it in some other recipe (so don't just throw it away). Now the fermentation is probably already going on pretty fast and your starter needs to be fed twice a day, for example in the morning and in the evening. Just add some flour and water as usual. Once a day, before feeding, discard half of it into that pancake-jar. You can skip that and just keep the whole thing, but in my experience it ferments too fast and gets loaded with alcohol if you don't pour some of it out once a day. After 5-7 days, the starter should look/feel perfectly bubbly and light and if you drop some in the water, it should float. Now you can use it to make sourdough.

Don't use all of it; always leave at least a few tbsp of starter and continue feeding it, so that the fermentation goes on and you always have some starter ready for making new dough. Now it should get nice and bubbly every day, so you can make the bread daily if you want. If you keep it at a room temperature, it needs to be fed every day (preferably even twice a day, as described), but if you don't bake as often, you can keep it in the fridge and take it out and feed it (and wait for a day until it develops enough bubbles) when you need to make bread. You can also give some starter to your friends...if your friends are as crazy and dedicated as you and have interest in making sourdough bread..

*i use only homemade whole-grain spelt flour that is naturally a bit coarse (milled with stone mill, completely unprocessed) and the bread turns out great every time. If you want more bubbly final texture of the bread, you can use some white spelt flour as well. I tried it and it works, but I prefer the taste of completely whole-grain bread.

how to make sourdough bread/
Pour 1 cup lukewarm water into a bowl. Add approximately (1/2-)2/3 cup starter, spoon by spoon so that you can check the quality of the starter. If it floats, it's good, and if not, it means that it hasn't fermented enough.  Mix it with your fingers and continue mixing while adding flour with your other hand. Add enough flour to form a soft but easily kneadable dough that preferably doesn't stick too much. Knead it well and leave it in the bowl, covered with a wet kitchen cloth, for at least a couple of hours. I usually leave mine for 8-9 hours because I make it in the morning and then go out. Then take it out of the bowl (it should have already risen at least a bit by now), add enough salt and don't knead it the classical way anymore. Just stretch it and fold it for 5 or more times and let it sit for half an hour, then repeat the stretch and fold and place it into a baking mould. Let it sit some more covered with a wet cloth. It should sit for at least 12 hours altogether (from the moment of mixing flour and water). You can also leave it in the fridge overnight if you want to bake it tomorrow, the fermentation will continue going on very slowly at a lower temperature. When the dough is ready - when it has risen at a room temperature and you can feel that it is bubbly inside from all that fermentation, you can put it into an oven preheated to 200 °C and bake it for around 30 minutes. If you have a program on your oven that adds moisture, it is good to use it, and if not, you can cover the bread with a big pot or a baking tray while baking, as that will help to keep it more soft and moist from the inside. The bread is baked when it gets golden-brown from the outside and the crust turns hard. If you knock:) on the crust and you hear a sound as if it is empty inside, you can be almost sure that your bread turned out great.

kiselo tijesto

Gledate sve nekakve veganske hambiće u zadnje vrijeme na ovom blogu pa se možda netko i zapitao jesam li pored tih sirovih radosti zaista počela opet jesti kruh. Paaa i ne baš, ne redovito, ali više se ne ustručavam pojesti šnitu-dvije kada ispečem štrucu za dragog. Zašto? Zbog kiselog tijesta. Što je kiselo tijesto? Krenimo od početka...

Ako pratite ovaj blog, vjerojatno već znate moju filozofiju oko žitarica i mahunarki (ali i ostalih sjemenki). Smatram da one mogu biti prikladna hrana za čovjeka jedino ako se jedu proklijale ili fermentirane - između ostalog zato što sadrže gomilu škroba koji je čovjeku sam po sebi težak za probavu, kao i antinutrijenata, kemijskih spojeva koje je priroda osmislila s itekako korisnom ulogom za jednu sjemenku, no u čovjekovom probavnom sustavu oni vežu na sebe tijelu dragocjene minerale i tako onemogućuju njihovu apsorpciju.

Onda valjda razumijete što je pogrešno kod većine današnjeg kruha. I tu ne mislim na kruh iz pekara i supermarketa koji je pun raznih gluposti, njega niti ne računam kao nešto što bi bilo tko trebao unositi u sebe. Mislim na domaći kruh od dizanog tijesta, kako se danas najčešće radi. To je kruh kojemu je pomoću kultiviranog kvasca ubrzan proces "dizanja"; kvasci su mikrogljive koje se hrane šećerima (iz žitarica, no vjerojatno znate da će se tijesto bolje dići ako dodate i žlicu npr. smeđeg šećera uz kvasac), te kao jedan od produkata fermentacije stvaraju ugljikov dioksid, zbog čega se u tijestu stvaraju mjehurići pa se ono "diže". Još jedna ključna komponenta potrebna za dizano tijesto je gluten, koji će se rastezati kao opna oko mjehurića zraka. Zašto ovo sve skupa nije baš idealno? Zato što u tom kratkom procesu dizanja tijesta pomoću kupovnog kvasca koji danas traje svega sat vremena, ako i toliko, većina brašna ne stigne fermentirati, fitinska kiselina se ne stigne razgraditi, tijesto ostaje puno škroba, a gluten...gluten, pisala sam već o njemu.

Nekada se kruh nije radio na ovakav instant-način, nekad su ljudi možda bolje razumjeli što je hrana i posvećivali joj više vremena. U redu, cijeli stil života je bio drugačiji, nije sve bilo ovako užurbano i ljudi su imali vremena fermentirati kruh po 12 sati, ali zato nisu obolijevali zbog žitarica u prehrani kao što je slučaj danas. Danas stalno slušamo o štetnosti žitarica i intoleranciji na gluten, a prije 100 godina toga nije bilo. Nekada su ljudi bolje znali kako pripremiti te namirnice kako bi postale prihvatljive čovjekovom tijelu kao hrana. Naravno da ova priča ima puno više komponenata (i [ova] je jedna od njih), ali danas pišem o kruhu.

Po čemu se kiselo tijesto razlikuje od modernog dizanog tijesta? Po tome što je kod kiselog tijesta za taj proces dizanja tijesta, odnosno stvaranja mjehurića unutar tijesta, zaslužna dugotrajna fermentacija brašna pomoću mikroorganizama (divljih kvasaca i bakterija) iz zraka i sa žitarica, odnosno brašna. U tom procesu, koji u ovom slučaju zaista zahvaća brašno, odnosno mljevene žitarice (kao što bi i trebao, a naši preci su to znali), dolazi do razgradnje mnogih tvari koje su čovjeku inače teško probavljive. Molekule škroba se razgrađuju na jednostavnije šećere, a mnogobrojni nutrijenti prirodno prisutni u žitaricama postaju dostupniji našem tijelu za apsorpciju. Zbog veće količine mliječne kiseline koja nastaje ovakvom fermentacijom, dolazi do većeg stupnja razgradnje fitinske kiseline koja se ponaša kao antinutrijent. Ono zbog čega je kruh od kiselog tijesta također hvaljen je njegov nizak glikemijski indeks u odnosu na standardni kruh, što znači da razina glukoze u krvi nakon što čovjek pojede ovakav kruh neće rapidno narasti. Iduća stvar će možda zvučati kao neka ugabuga-informacija, ali često se navodi kako se velik dio glutena u tom dugotrajnom procesu fermentacije tijesta razgradi na aminokiseline. Iako nisam našla stručnu literaturu o tome, vrlo sam sklona povjerovati u te navode. Ono što mogu reći iz vlastitog iskustva je da ako jedem previše žitarica s glutenom, osjećam se pomalo umorno i kao da mi se stvara nekakav upalni proces u tijelu, dok se nakon što pojedem fermentirani kruh osjećam odlično. Nakon čitanja dosta iskustava drugih ljudi, shvatila sam da nisam jedina. Sve u svemu, ako se ne želite odreći kruha u prehrani a znate da vam ne čini neku uslugu zdravlju, pokušajte s kruhom od kiselog tijesta, razlika je ogromna.

Kiselo tijesto se može raditi i od žitarica bez glutena. Ali ako imate samo neki oblik intolerancije na gluten, možete probati i s kiselim tijestom od pira, mnogima ne smeta iako pir sadrži gluten, a neki odgovorno tvrde da im ni pšenični kiseli kruh ne smeta iako inače imaju intoleranciju; to ne bih znala jer nisam probala. U tom slučaju će kruh imati manje onih zgodnih mjehurića koji nastaju zbog razvlačenja glutena, ali žitarice će biti fermentirane, a to je najvažnije. Ovaj kruh na fotkama sam radila od kombinacije neprosijanog integralnog pirovog brašna i rižinog brašna, zato nema one mjehure iz reklama za francusku pekaru. Ali okus i tekstura su divni. Detaljan opis kako napraviti kiselo tijesto ću objaviti uskoro, a do tada preporučam [ovaj] recept (bez recepta:). Upravo taj da vidite da se ne mora sve savršeno izvagati, kao što to nisu ni naši preci radili dok nisu još postojale one dilerske vagice. Savjetujem da obratite pozornost na to kako treba izgledati dobar starter, kao i na metodu razvlačenja tijesta. A uskoro ću i ja o tome ponešto napisati i uslikati postupak. Pa... živili! I probali kiseli kruh.

[ENGLISH]

sourdough

After seeing all those pictures of vegan burgers, some of those rare dedicated followers of this blog might wonder if I started eating bread despite saying it's not good for you over and over again. Well, I didn't really start eating bread regularly, but I don't mind eating an occasional slice when I make a loaf for my boyfriend. Why? Because sourdough. What is sourdough? Let me explain some things first...

If you have, by any chance, been following this blog for some time, you might already know what is my philosophy about grains and legumes (and other seeds) in human diet. I think those food groups can be an appropriate part of human diet only if they are either sprouted or fermented - because they are full of starches that are not really suitable for proper digestion, and are also packed with some molecules (that nature made for a reason, to help the plant), such as phytic acid, that act as antinutrients in human digestive system. They bind precious minerals and prevent them from being absorbed in human body.

Then I guess you understand what is so wrong about most of today's bread. And I don't mean that whoknowswhat that you can buy in supermarkets and is full of chemicals. In my opinion, that shouldn't be considered food at all. I mean, you know, the most common type of handmade bread that requires pre-cultivated fresh or dried yeast for the dough to rise. Yeasts are actually fungi that feed on sugars (usually from the flour, but you probably know that if you add some sucrose /brown sugar/ to the dough, it will rise more and quicker), and one of the fermentation products is carbon dioxide which makes bubbles within the dough, making it rise. That process is made as short as possible today, leaving no time for the flour to actually ferment. That means the phytic acid won't get decomposed and there will be lots of starch molecules in the dough. Gluten, which traps those nice bubbles in the dough, can be another problem, as I already wrote in one of previous posts.

Not that long ago, bread was not made this modern, instant-way. Our ancestors probably had bigger awareness of what is actually food and how to prepare it. OK, the whole lifestyle wasn't so fast back then and they probably had time to ferment bread for 12 hours, but that is why they didn't get health conditions from eating grains, as modern humans do. Today we hear so much about grains being bad and people being gluten-intolerant and so on. Some conditions that didn't exist 100 years ago... Those people probably knew how to prepare grains to make them appropriate food for human body. Of course this story has more components (one of them is [this one]), but today I'm writing about bread.

What makes sourdough different form modern leaven dough? 
Sourdough bread includes long fermentation of flour with wild yeasts and bacteria that are found on the grains and in the air. The fermentation also results in forming carbon dioxide bubbles inside the dough that make the dough rise, but there are some bigger and more important changes that also happen. The grains included in this process actually ferment, as they really should, and many of their harmful compounds get decomposed. Starches get broken down into simpler sugars, and phytic acid gets decomposed in presence of relatively high concentrations of lactic acid. The minerals and other precious nutrients get much more available for human body to absorb. Sourdough bread is also characterized by lower glycemic index in comparison to "normal" bread, which means it doesn't make blood glucose levels rise too high after consuming it. I also found lots of claims that most of the gluten in sourdough gets broken down to amino-acids in this long fermentation process, but I didn't find any written scientific proof for that. However, I think there must be some truth to it because I felt the difference myself: when I eat too much grains that contain gluten, I feel tired and as if there is an inflammation process going on in my body. After I eat sourdough bread, I feel fantastic. I read about lots of cases where gluten-intolerant people had no problems after eating sourdough bread. All in all, if you know that bread is bad for you but still like its taste or usefulness in your everyday feeding habits, give sourdough bread a try - there is a huge difference in how you'll feel afterwards.

Sourdough can be made from gluten-free grains as well, but it won't look all nice and bubbly as if it jumped out of a french bakery commercial. But the grains (flour) in it will get fermented, and that is all that really matters. This bread on the pictures was made from coarse spelt flower mixed with rice flour, hence its not-so-bubbly look. Nevertheless, the taste and texture were amazing. I will write a post with detailed description of how to make sourdough at home as soon as I have some time, and until then, watch [this guy]. I love this video because it shows that you don't need to measure everything and follow a strict recipe. Our great-grandmas' grandmas didn't have those little kitchen scales. Just pay special attention to how a good starter should look, and to the dough stretching technique. I will write something about it soon, and make some photos of the process. Until then, I hope you try some sourdough bread and fall in love with it..:-)

kimchi

Ovaj recept čeka da bude napisan još od jeseni i već sam mislila odustati i čekati do iduće jeseni, ali nekidan sam skužila da još uvijek ima kineskog kupusa po trgovinama. Pa zato evo malo egzotike za one kojima nije bilo dosta kiselog zelja ove zime i kojima se jede ukiseljena hrana i u proljeće. I za ljubitelje zanimljivih okusa. Kao i sva fermentirana hrana, kimchi je bogat probiotskim mikroorganizmima koji doprinose zdravlju probavnog sustava, a time i zdravlju čitavog organizma. Ja sam se zaljubila u ovo fermentirano čudo na prvi griz, pa me veseli što ću napokon podijeliti ovo otkriće. Pravi kimchi se tradicionalno radi u Koreji od napa kupusa i uključuje ponešto drugačije dodatke i omjere (sadrži više ljutih sastojaka i rižine kaše, riblji temeljac itd.), no ja sam ovaj recept prilagodila svojim nježnim balkanskim okusnim pupoljcima i veganskim prehrambenim navikama.

što/
1 velika glavica kineskog (napa) kupusa /da, baš upravo točno tog kupusa
1 manja mrkva
1/2 korijena daikona
2 mlada luka
1 manja glavica luka
1 list nori algi
4 velika režnja češnjaka
komadić đumbira (1-2 cm svježeg podanka)
1-2 čajne žlice ljute crvene paprike ili kajenskog papra
4 jušne žlice slatke crvene paprike
{1 žlica brašna ljepljive riže + 6 žlica vode}
2-3 čajne žlice ječmenog slada ili datuljinog sirupa
2 jušne žlice soja sosa
1 čaša soli
10 čaša vode

kako/
Otopite 1 čašu soli u 10 čaša vode. Razrežite glavicu kineskog kupusa po dužini na 4 jednaka dijela (kao na slici), stavite ih u veliku zdjelu i prelijte otopinom soli u vodi. Poklopite kupus tanjurom i stavite na njega nešto što će ga držati pod vodom (ja sam stavila još jednu  zdjelu s vodom na tanjur). Ostavite da odstoji oko 2 sata na sobnoj temperaturi. Za to vrijeme pripremite pastu sa začinima: žlicu brašna ljepljive riže razmutite u 6 žlica vode i kuhajte na laganoj vatri dok se ne zgusne. Maknite s vatre i dodajte slad ili datuljin sirup. Pričekajte da se smjesa malo ohladi, pa dodajte začine - ljutu i slatku papriku, izblendani (ili sitno narezani/naribani) češnjak, luk i đumbir, soja sos i nori alge narezane na sitne komadiće. Izvadite kupus iz slane vode, a možete ga i malo isprati pod tekućom vodom kako ne bi ostao bio preslan. Po želji svaki komad još jednom prerežite uzdužno, da dobijete uže "trake". Narežite mrkvu, daikon i mladi luk na tanke trake. Za rezanje mrkve i daikona možete koristiti i gulilicu za krumpir. Stavite kupus i ostalo povrće zajedno u zdjelu, dodajte pastu sa začinima i dobro rukama umiješajte začine u povrće (rasporedite ih između svih listova kupusa). Zarolajte svaki komad kupusa od baze prema vrhovima listova zajedno s komadima mrkve, daikona i mladog luka i slažite ih u veliku staklenku. Kada ste složili svo povrće, malo ga utisnite kako unutra ne bi ostalo zraka i prelijte s ono malo začinske smjese i tekućine što je ostalo na dnu zdjele. Ostavite barem nekoliko centimetara zraka iznad povrća u staklenci. Poklopite staklenku, odnosno samo nataknite poklopac, i ostavite da odstoji na sobnoj temperaturi barem nekoliko dana. Meni je bilo super nakon tjedan dana, ali razni faktori utječu na brzinu fermentacije, pa je najsigurnije nakon nekoliko dana svaki dan izvaditi malo i probati. Ostavite da fermentira na sobnoj temperaturi dok ne bude taman kiselo po vašem ukusu (ne možete pogriješiti), a nakon toga spremite u hladnjak. U hladnjaku će se fermentacija nastavljati događati, ali jako sporo, tako da nećete osjetiti neku razliku u kiselosti. Za probu sam upravo otvorila staklenku kimchija koja mi stoji u frižideru već 6 mjeseci i postao je samo mrvicu kiseliji, a okus je još uvijek divan.

što ako/
Pasta od ljepljive riže služi da se začini lakše zadrže među listovima kupusa, ali ako želite, možete preskočiti taj korak i napraviti potpuno sirovi kimchi - samo izblendajte luk, češnjak i đumbir u pastu i unutra umiješajte ostatak začina.
Ja ne mogu jesti jako ljuto pa nisam htjela pretjerati, ali vi prilagodite ljutinu svom ukusu.

[ENGLISH]

vegan kimchi

I've been wanting to post this recipe since last autumn, but I keep forgetting. I was about to give up until next autumn, but recently I spotted some napa cabbage in a grocery store, so I decided to write it. For all of you who love fermented food and interesting flavours. Like all the fermented food, kimchi is full of probiotic microorganisms that are very beneficial for your digestive system, and therefore for the whole body. I fell in love with kimchi at first bite and I'm so glad to finally share this amazing discovery with you. Kimchi is traditionally made in Korea, and real kimchi includes some different ingredients and ratios (it should taste more spicy and usually contains more rice porridge and some fish sauce), but I adjusted this recipe to fit my gentle balkan taste buds and vegan feeding habits.

what/

1 big head of napa cabbage
1 smaller carrot
1/2 daikon root
2 green onions
1 smaller onion
1 sheet of nori algae
4 big cloves of garlic
a piece of ginger (1-2 cm of fresh root)
1-2 tsp ground chili or cayenne pepper
4 tbsp sweet red pepper
{1 tbsp glutinous rice flour + 6 tbsp water}
2-3 tsp barley malt or date syrup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup sea salt
10 cup water

how/
Prepare the salt solution by mixing 1 cup sea salt with 10 cups water. Cut the napa cabbage in four equal pieces lengthwise (as shown in the picture). Soak the cabbage in the salty solution for 2 hours at a room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare the spice paste: mix 1 tbsp glutinous rice flour with 6 tbsp water and bring to a boil. Cook and stir on a low heat until it thickens. Remove the pot from the heat and add some barley malt. Wait until it cools down a bit and add sweet and hot pepper, blended (or finely chopped) onion, garlic and ginger, and finely chopped nori sheet. Cut the carrot, daikon and green onions into very thin pieces. Remove the cabbage from the salty water, and, if you want it to be less salty, rinse it a bit. Now put everything in a large bowl and use your hands to mix the spice paste well with the vegetables. Make sure that all the cabage leaves are covered with the spice paste. When it's well mixed, roll the cabbage leaves together with carrot, daikon and green onions and put them in a glass jar. Press everything a bit so that there is no air left within your future kimchi, but leave at least few centimeters of air above the vegetables. Put the lid lightly on the jar and let the kimchi ferment at room temperature. In my experience, it should take between 3 days and a week for it to get as sour as I like it, but you should give it a taste every once in awhile to see if the sourness is up to your taste (there is no wrong or right). Once it gets properly sour, you should keep it in the fridge. There will still be some fermentation going on, but it will be happening very very slowly. I just ate some 6 months old kimchi from my fridge and it did get a tiny bit more sour, but the taste is still as amazing as it was when I made it.

what if/
If you want a completely raw kimchi, you can skip the rice paste and just make a paste form blended onion, garlic and spices. Rice paste is good because it makes the spices stay on the leaves. Also, if you like it spicier, add some more hot pepper powder (I can't stand too much of it, so this is a milder version).

fermentirani sir od suncokreta

Ovo je samo nastavak na recept za jogurt od orašastih plodova ali napisat ću sve otpočetka tako da imate sve na jednom mjestu.

što/
1 šalica suncokretovih sjemenki
1-2 šake indijskih oraščića (opcija - daju super okus)
2/3 - 1 šalica vode
1 jušna žlica tibicos kefirnih zrnaca
1 (nepuna) jušna žlica muscovado šećera (nećete vi jesti šećer, kefirni mikroorganizmi će ga jesti)
nekoliko kapi limunovog soka

kako/
Suncokretove sjemenke i indijske oraščiće namočite 8 sati u vodi i procijedite. Dobro ih izblendajte s 2/3 šalice vode (po potrebi dodajte još malo vode ako je jako gusto - treba biti kremasto ali ne pregusto), šećerom, malo limunovog soka i kefirnim zrncima. Ako imate blender koji se jako zagrijava dok dulje radi, onda izblendajte sve osim kefirnih zrnaca, pričekajte da se smjesa ohladi i zatim dodajte kefirna zrnca i kratko izblendajte sve skupa. Ostavite na sobnoj temperaturi u lagano pokrivenoj (ne potpuno zatvorenoj) staklenci 1-2 dana, odnosno dok ne fermentira do željenog okusa. Smjesa bi trebala postati puna mjehurića i imati okus jogurta. Kada je gotovo, dobro izmiješajte žlicom i sada imate gusti jogurt ili krem-sir i možete ga i tako pojesti ili upotrijebiti u nekom kolaču. Da biste dobili čvršći sir, prebacite smjesu u cjediljku prekrivenu kuhinjskom krpom ili nekoliko slojeva gaze i oslonjenu na nekakvu zdjelu i [1] ostavite u hladnjaku barem nekoliko dana i voda će se ocijediti u zdjelu a sir očvrsnuti ILI [2] stavite u dehidrator na 46 °C oko 6 sati. Nakon nekoliko sati će već biti moguće izvaditi sir iz krpe pa ga možete staviti samog na policu dehidratora da se lakše suši. Po želji posipajte sir začinima i čuvajte u hladnjaku.

[ENG]

fermented sunflower seed cheese


This is very similar to the almond yogurt recipe, but I will write it all here again so that you have it in one place.

what/
1 cup sunflower seeds
1-2 handful cashews (optional, but they give amazing taste and creaminess)
2/3 - 1 cup water
1 tbsp tibicos / water kefir grains
1 (not full) tbsp muscovado sugar (you won't be eating the sugar, your kefir microorganisms will)
a few drops of lemon juice

how/
Soak the sunflower seeds and cashews in water for 8 hours and strain. Blend them well with 2/3 cup water (if needed, add some more water, it should be creamy, not too thick). If you have a high-speed blender that heats a lot when it works, add the kefir grains after the mixture is properly blended and cooled a bit and then blend everything again just a bit, so it doesn't heat the grains too much. Leave this mixture at a room temperature in a lightly covered jar for 1-2 days, or until it ferments to desired taste. The mixture should grow a bit, get bubbly and taste like yogurt. When it is ready, mix it well with a spoon (or even in a blender) and now you have a thick yogurt or cream cheese. You can eat it just like that or use in a cake. To get a thicker cheese that you can cut in slices and eat with crackers, pour the mixture into a strainer with a cheesecloth or kitchen cloth in it, put a bowl under it and [1] leave it in the fridge for at least a couple of days and let the water (''whey'') strain into a bowl OR [2] put it in a dehydrator on 46 °C for about 6 hours. After a few hours it will already be possible to remove the cheese from the cloth and put on dehydrator shelf - that will make the drying process quicker and more even. When it is dehydrated, you can sprinkle the cheese with some spices. Store it in the fridge.

fermentirani jogurt od badema

što/
1 čaša badema
2 čaše vode (ili vodenog kefira za bržu fermentaciju)
1 jušna žlica tibicos kefirnih zrnaca
2-3 čajne žličice kokosovog šećera / tamnog muscovado šećera / bilo kakvog što manje rafiniranog zaslaživača (može i pasta od datulja) - šećer je potreban da tibicos ne bude gladan i da se može dijeliti i množiti.
malo limunovog soka

kako/
Bademe namočte oko 8 sati, ocijedite vodu i stavite ih u blender s 2 čaše vode ili vodenog kefira, kefirnim zrncima, šećerom/datuljama i malo limunovog soka. Dobro izblendajte do kremaste teksture. Ulijte u staklenku, prekrijte ju gazom ili krpicom (a može i poklopcem ali nemojte ga zavrnuti) i ostavite oko 24 h na sobnoj temperaturi - možda će trebati i malo dulje ako je u prostoriji hladno. Kada smjesa poprimi mjehurićastu teksturu, zgusne se i postane kiselksta (okus kefira ili jogurta), znači da je jogurt gotov i možete ga spremiti u hladnjak.

što ako/
Ako želite potpuno glatku teksturu bez vlakana, ili ako nemate dovoljno dobar blender i ne možete postići kremastu teksturu, nakon blendanja možete procijediti tekućinu kroz platnenu vrećicu kao što biste učinili da radite bademovo mlijeko. Na taj način ćete dobiti relativno rijedak, tekući jogurt.

Ako volite čvršći jogurt, možete ga uliti u cjediljku prekrivenu komadom žutice ili više slojeva gaze i podbočenu na zdjelicu i ostaviti u frižideru koji dan. Tako će u zdjelicu kapati -bademova sirutka-, ajme fora, a na krpici/gazi će ostati gusti kremasti jogurt. Kako bi se ravnomjernije cijedilo, možete tu i tamo promiješati. Preporučam ovaj korak, pogotovo ako ste ocijedili tekućinu od vlakana, jer ćete ovako dobiti predivnu kremastu teksturu. Toliko je dobro da sad pokušavam napisat post ali ne mogu prestat lizat krpicu u kojoj se cijedilo...

i još/
Možete za jogurt koristiti i neke druge orašaste plodove. Na ovaj način možete napraviti i fermentirani sir od badema, ali o tome ću pisati u nekom od idućih postova.

[ENGLISH]

almond yogurt
soon! 

sirovi kiseli krastavci

što/
(za staklenku od 400 mL)
2 krastavca
2 režnja češnjaka
gotovi vodeni kefir, bez zrnaca
nekoliko prstohvata himalajske soli
prstohvat bijelog papra u prahu
čajna žličica suhog origana

kako/
Ulijte u čašu oko 150-200 mL vodenog kefira, dodajte sol i začine i promiješajte. Narežite krastavce na ploške i stavite u posebnu staklenku. Narežite češnjak na komaiće željene veličine (ili ostavite u komadu) i dodajte u  staklenku. Prelijte krastavce i češnjak s priređenom otopinom i po potrebi dodajte još kefira, da tekućina bude oko 1 cm od vrha staklenke. Ostavite da stoji 2 dana na sunčanom mjestu, a ako nije sunčano, 3 dana na sobnoj temperaturi će biti dovoljna. Nakon otvaranja čuvajte u hladnjaku.

zašto/
Za razliku od ''klasičnog'' ukiseljenog povrća koje se radi s vrelom mješavinom octa, vode, soli i začina, ovo je živa hrana i osim što je puna nutrijenata, sadrži i probiotike iz kefira.

što ako/
Umjesto čistog kefira, možete koristiti mješavinu kefira i jabučnog octa (2:1 ili kako vam je već draže).
Ovo je potpuno improvizirani ''recept'' napravljen s onime što sam imala u kuhinji. Meni se okus jako sviđa - ljutkasto je i aromatično, ali naravno da možete dodati klasične začine za kisele krastavce (kopar, gorušica, crni papar u zrnu) ako vam je tako draže.
Bit ovog recepta je u kiseljenju s vodenim kefirom, no ako nemate vodeni kefir moguće je napraviti sirove kisele krastavce s mješavinom octa, vode i malo soli (isto se ostavi stajati par dana na suncu ili samo na sobnoj temperaturi).

i još/
Za kiseljenje povrća nije loše napraviti malo kiseliji kefir - dodati malo više šećera u vodu kojom se ''zrnca'' hrane i pustiti da fermentira dulje nego što biste ostavili da ga radite za piće (barem 3-4 dana, kušajte povremeno, što je kiseliji to bolje). Na ovaj način možete raditi i drugo povrće. Voće je isto moguće fermentirati na ovaj način, no u tom slučaju očekujte da će vam se pri otvaranju staklenke tekućina jako zapjeniti, jer se bakterije i mikrogljive iz kefira nastavljaju hraniti šećerom iz voća i proizvoditi ugljični dioksid.

[ENGLISH]

raw pickled cucumbers

what/
(for a 400 mL jar)
2 cucumbers
2 garlic cloves
already made water kefir, without grains
a few pinches of Himalayan salt
a pinch of ground white pepper
1 teaspoon of dried oregano

how/
Add salt and spices to 150-200 mL of water kefir and mix it. Slice the cucumbers and garlic and put in a glass jar. Add the kefir brine to the jar and if necessary, add more kefir, so that the level of liquid is approximately 1 cm form the top of the jar. Let it sit for 2 days on a sunny place or just 3 days on the room temperature. After opening, keep in the fridge.

why/ 

Unlike the ''classic'' pickled vegetables that are made with boiling mixture of vinegar, water, salt and spices, this is a living food and besides being full of nutrients, it contains many probiotic microorganisms from the kefir.

what if/
Instead of pure kefir brine, you can use a mixture of kefir and apple cider vinegar (2:1 or however you prefer).

This recipe was a complete improvisation and I used what I had in the kitchen in that moment, but I really like how it turned out - the taste is a bit spicy and aromatic. If you prefer the more common spices for pickling such as mustard, whole black pepper seeds and dill, feel free to use them instead.
The point of this recipe is to use water kefir for pickling, but if you don't have water kefir, it is possible to make pickled cucumbers using a brine made with water, vinegar and a bit of salt (the procedure is the same - leave them on the sun for a few days, or just at the room temperature and that's it).

also/
It is good to make kefir a bit more sour if you are using it for pickling - just add a bit more sugar to the water in which the ''grains'' are feeding and leave it to ferment for a longer period (at least 3-4 days, taste it occasionally, the more sour the better).
You can also pickle other vegetables this way. It is possible to ferment fruits this way as well, but in that case you can expect it to get very fizzy when you open the jar because the microorganisms are going to continue feeding on the sugars that are found in fruits and produce carbon dioxide. 

vodeni kefir

što/
Kefir je probiotsko piće nastalo djelovanjem bakterija i mikrogljiva koje razgrađuju šećere. Vodena kefirna zrnca su kolonije takvih mikroorganizama koji se hrane uglavnom saharozom fermentirajući je u mliječnu kiselinu, ugljični dioksid i etanol.
Vodeni kefir je odličan izvor probiotskih mikroorganizama koji uvelike doprinose održavanju zdravlja probavnog sustava, a time i cijelog organizma. Osim probiotskih bakterija, vodeni kefir sadrži i druge tvari koje imaju povoljan učnak na ljudski organizam, primjerice neke vitamine B skupine, vitamin K i folnu kiselinu.

kako/
U staklenku uliti oko 750 mL vode i u njoj otopiti 3-4 velike žlice tamnog muscovado šećera (ili nekog drugog nerafiniranog šećera). Staviti u vodu oko 4 velike žlice kefirnih zrnaca. Dodati krišku limuna i nekoliko suhih smokava ili pola šake grožđica. Staklenku je najbolje poklopiti krpicom ili gazom, ali može se i lagano poklopiti poklopcem (ne zavrnuti poklopac). Pustiti da fermentira 1-3 dana na sobnoj temperaturi i zatim procijediti. Zrnca ponovno staviti u vodenu otopinu šećera.

što ako/
Nakon 1-3 dana, procijeđeni kefir možete odmah piti, ali moguće je napraviti i sekundarnu fermentaciju s voćnim sokom. Ja obično dodam iscijeđeni sok dvije naranče u 0.5-0.75 L kefira i ostavim na sobnoj temperaturi 1-2 dana. Nakon toga, kefir je potrebno čuvati u hladnjaku. Što dulje stoji, smanjuje se sadržaj šećera i povećava sadržaj etanola. Ukoliko ostavite kefir u frižideru tjedan dana ili dulje, dobit ćete laganu voćnu ''pivu''. Osobno ne preferiram alkohol ali mojoj cimerici se jako svidjelo!
S gotovim vodenim kefirom, ukoliko ne napravite sekundarnu fermentaciju, možete kiseliti povrće, a možete ga koristiti i za njegu kose i kože (post uskoro).

gdje nabaviti zrnca/
Po internetu postoje grupe za razmjenu kefirnih zrnaca i kombuche, samo guglajte ''kefirna zrnca razmjena'' na jeziku zemlje u kojoj trenutačno živite i velika je šansa da ćete naći grupu. Ja sam tako našla grupu u Portugalu i dogovorila se s čovjekom iz susjednog grada za primopredaju. Za Hrvatsku postoji fejsbuk grupa [ova], samo treba naglasiti da tražite zrnca za vodeni kefir, a ne mliječni. Ako ne nađete nikoga u vašoj blizini, možete se dogovoriti s ljudima da vam pošalju poštom.

i još/
Budući da su rast i razmnožavanje normalna pojava u živom svijetu, nakon nekog vremena ćete primjetiti kako se broj kefirnih zrnaca povećao. Višak kefirnih zrnaca možete pokloniti prijateljima, pojesti (da, pojesti), staviti u kašasti sok ili spremiti u frižider s malo vodene otopine šećera (na taj način će se proces fermentacije jako usporiti).

pa i još malo/
Kefirna zrnca su kolonije mikroorgnizama koji se hrane šećerima i razgrađuju ih - u slučaju mliječnog kefira radi se o razgradnji laktoze, a u slučaju vodenog, o razgradnji saharoze. O mliječnom kefiru neću pisati iz više razloga. Mislim da danas jako mali postotak ljudi ima priliku konzumirati pravo, sirovo mlijeko zdravih životinja, a osim toga ni sama ne koristim mliječne proizvode u prehrani a ovdje pišem o stvarima koje i sama jedem. Mliječna kefirna zrnca su uglavnom poznatija i dostupnija od vodenih, pa ćete lako naći literaturu ili savjet ako vam treba. Mliječna zrnca moguće je također prebaciti na vodenu prehranu - napisat ću u jednom od idućih postova kako.

[ENGLISH]

water kefir

soon soon soon