PKD Recipes

Rye Black Peasant Bread

CHEF
rise 12-24 hours
If using cold refrigerated chef (previously left over levain) about a half a day before baking your next loaf, allow it to come to room temperature. Mix the refrigerated previous chef with ⅓ cup of water and ½ cup of spelt flour. Allow it to sit out on the countertop in a glass jar for 12-24 hours or until it develops fine bubbles. For its rising I keep it in a glass covered jar with a rubber band to mark the beginning of the rising. Once it has fermented (12-24 hours) this becomes your chef for baking today. Adding almond milk to replace water in this recipe makes a softer crust.
Water Choices
Mineral water
Filtered water
Tap water that has been left out overnight to dissipate the chlorine.

Four steps to bake non-yeasted breads.
CHEF Step 1-Begin by making a CHEF
LEVAIN Step 2-Second is the LEVAIN
BAKING Step 3-Third step is BAKING
CHEF Step 4-The final step is caring for left over CHEF

CHEF Step 1 (Takes 4 days to make.)
Day 1
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½ C. flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. I have been told to add a tiny pinch of yeast (Sekowa Bachferment special) to assure a vibrant CHEF. I have not found this step to be necessary. For first time bakers, try a tiny pinch of yeast to assure that you produce a vibrant CHEF or STARTER. This yeast step may be omitted. Add all to a tall 2-3 quart clear glass container with a lid. Stir well to make a thick, soft dough. The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the flour. Do not add more flour or water. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with a lid and let stand in a moderate area (about 70ºF) for 24 hours. Put a rubber band around the jar at the top line of the CHEF. With a rubber band in place, one can easily view the rising CHEF. 70º is the temperature in a wine cellar or basement. The refrigerator is too cold for a beginning CHEF. Try a cool corner of the kitchen counter top or the back of a closet. Avoid placing the CHEF on the top of the refrigerator as this area contains refrigerator coils, undesirably warming the CHEF too quickly. For tropical environments or in the summer months, one may wish to use a thermometer to find a cool area of the kitchen or place the CHEF into the refrigerator at night and remove it in the morning.

CHEF Step 1
Day 2
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½ C. flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
When you first observe the CHEF in the morning it will have doubled in volume. You can tell this has happened by the previously placed rubber band marking the beginning volume. Add water first then add flour. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the CHEF. Place in a 70ºF draft-free place for 24 hours. The CHEF should have the consistency of soft dough. Consider adding a little more flour or water to create this texture.

CHEF Step 1
Day 3
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½ C. flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. CHEF will now have the texture of a thick batter and will have doubled in volume. Let it stand at 70ºF in a draft free place for another 24 hours.

CHEF Step 1
Day 4
CHEF is now fully ripe, with many bubbles and a batter like consistency, similar to pancake batter. It is ready to be added to the next step. If you do not want to bake bread today, refrigerate the CHEF up to 3 days. After 3 days, bring the CHEF again to room temperature, add  1/3  cup water of water and ½ cup flour, stir rapidly, aerating the 3-day-old-CHEF.

LEVAIN Step 2
rise 6-10 hours
1 ¼ C. rye flour
All the CHEF
Bring the CHEF to room temperature.  2 hours will bring refrigerated CHEF to room temperature. Add flour directly to the batter-like CHEF. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the mixture. This should make the mixture very stiff. This stiff form is important for ripening the LEVAIN. If the batter is too water-y it becomes very sour and tangy. Scrape down the sides and let stand in a cool 70ºF draft-free place for 6-10 hours, or until doubled. Inside a bread machine with the machine unplugged will do nicely. Do not let it rise beyond 10 hours or there will not be enough strength in the LEVAIN to encourage the bread to rise.

BAKING Step 3
Ingredients 15 minutes
1 Tbsp dark molasses
¼ C. warm water touch inside of the wrist
1 Tbsp Tupelo honey
¾ tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 C. LEVAIN
1 Tbsp Himalayan pink crystal salt
¾ C. rye flour
¾ C. spelt flour
water as needed

Knead 15 minutes
Bring LEVAIN, flour, water, and the mixing bowl, all to room temperature. If your flour is cold from being kept in the fridge, warm it a little. Taking these extra steps helps the bread to rise nicely. It behave quite differently when all ingredients are first brought to room temperature. Mix CHEF and water with a wooden spoon or a wire whip. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly frothy and the LEVAIN is partly dissolved. Add 1 cup of flour and stir until well combined. Add salt and just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Add more flour until the dough is firm and smooth, about 25-50 times. Stop kneading when the dough is soft, and a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly. Shape into a ball.

BAKING Step 3
RISE THE DOUGH (2 hours)
rise 2 hours
Cover and let the dough to rise for 2 hours. Try a deep wide bowl, cover with a huge plate to keep drafts away. If you have a bread machine, lightly oil the inside of the machine. Keep the bread machine turned off with the door closed, a perfect place for a 2-hour rise.
LET THE DOUGH REST
rest 30 minutes
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center an dpulling up on the sides. Knead the dough very lightly to form a tight ball. Place it on a lightly floured board. Cover with a clean damp canvas or linen cloth. Place in a moderately warm 74º – 80º draft free spot for 30 minutes.
SHAPE THE LOAVES
rest 5 minutes
Knead dough very lightly to form a ball. Flatten with the heel of your hand on a lightly floured surface into a disk about 8 inches in diameter. Shape dough into a torpedo or fit it within an oiled bread pan. Knead it tightly.
SECOND RISE OF THE DOUGH
rise 2 hours
Place the dough seam side down in a traditional bread-baking pan that has been lightly oiled or place the loaf seam-side up in a well-floured couche within a basket. A basket or bowl with a diameter of 8 inches and a depth of 3 – 4 inches will do. Lay inside a clean, lightweight even linen towel dusted with flour. By letting the dough rest in a cushioned, floured container, this will give a loaf that will take on the shape and markings of the basket. The crust will be thicker and bolder from the extra flour becoming embedded in the dough upon rising. This creates a rustic, earthy looking crust. Place in a moderately warm 74º – 80º F draft free spot until almost doubled in volume, approximately 2 hours. Sometimes I wrap everything with a thick towel to protect the rising bread from any drafts. Cover and allow it to rise for an additional 2-4 hours until doubled in size. Or place it in the fridge overnight if you wish to bake the bread the following morning.
Refrigerated Dough
rise 2-4 hours if refrigerated
When the dough is shaped it is at this point that the dough can be put into the refrigerator overnight. Refrigerating overnight is an important step to decrease the phytic acid content. The following morning (if you have placed the loaf in the refrigerator overnight) allow it 1-2 hours to come to room temperature and allow it to rise an additional 2-4 hours.
IMPORTANT STEP
score loaf
pre-heat the oven to 450º F.
Using a very sharp, serrated knife or a single-edge razor blade, score the loaf by making quick shallow cuts 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep along the surface. I always seem to forget to score the loaf. If baking in a basket or free form, use a well-floured smooth linen or smooth cotton towel (called a couche) as an aid, gently roll one loaf from the couche (towel) onto a lightly floured wooden plank (known as a peel) so that it sits seam side down. Use the peel to slide the loaf onto the hot baking stone. At this point if you want a free form flatter rounder bread, just place it on the heated stone. I sometimes prepare my breads free form by braiding the dough and allowing it to rise. Once I preheat the oven and pop it in, spray the walls, I pull up a chair and watch the show unfold as the bread beautifully starts rising taking on a golden brown color. This glorious piece of dough made with water, salt, and flour suddenly are transformed as they begin to expand, inflate and take on a life of their own. The aromas fill my kitchen.

BAKING Step 3
Creating Steam
Position the baking stone in the center of the oven. When the dough is first put into the oven spray the oven walls with water from a sprayer. The technique is to quickly spray the inner walls and the floor of the oven with cold water from spray bottle or splash water into the oven from a bowl. The idea is to create an abundance of hot steam. Avoid hitting the light bulb in some ovens, or it may burst. Close the oven door to trap the steam, wait three minutes. Repeat this in about three minutes and again in another three minutes. Alternatively get an old pan, place some clean rocks in it and fill it with water. I use both techniques.
Bake for about 20 minutes then lower the heat to 400º and bake another 20 minutes until golden brown.
Rap the baked of the loaf with the back of your knuckles. If it sounds hollow, it is done, if not bake for an additional 5 minutes. If you can wait, allow the bread to cool before slicing. 24 hours is best. I cannot wait and slice into it first thing. Then I do wait to put the entire loaf through a slicing machine.
BAKING Step 3
I try to bake bread on flower days according to the bio-dynamic methods described by Rudolph Steiner. There is an free online calendar here. Or Marie Thun’s calendar can also be purchased.

CHEF Step 4
Earlier you had some left over levain to save for another baking day. Take the left over levain and add to this ⅓ cup of water + ¼ cup of spelt flour; adding the water first. Mix well to aerate, adding fresh oxygen. Allow to rise a bit while you finish baking the bread then place in a cool area or in the refrigerator (I put mine in the wine cooler) for baking another day. This then becomes your new CHEF. Some have tried freezing the chef while they are traveling.

For a sweeter bread, fed the CHEF twice in a 24 hour period just before baking your next loaf. To bake your next loaf, allow CHEF, flour, water, and mixing bowl, all to come to room temperature. The process for making these non-yeasted breads is indeed a long one, but once you experience biting into a savory warm slice of spelt bread, made fresh from your own stone lined oven, you will be handsomely rewarded through your efforts. Early on I did a taste test. I thought my first loaves were flat and I assumed the taste would also be flat. I compared a slice from a commercially made loaf of non-yeasted spelt bread to my own, and my own won hands down.

Soup Broccoli

Ingredients
3 cups broccoli
drizzle of olive oil
slice of goat cheese or almond dill cheese
All ingredients high in vitamin K, exactly what is needed for an ailing liver and increasing bone density.

Gordon Ramsey Broccoli Soup
Watch this easy fast video by Gordon Ramsey for  broccoli soup.
If this does not bring up the recipe, do a search on you tube for gordon ramsey broccoli soup. It is fast easy delicious.

Broccoli with Garlic

Ingredients
3 C. broccoli
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
Freshly ground pepper

Preparation
Press garlic through a device. Allow garlic to sit while you steam 3 cups cut up broccoli for about 5 minutes. Add finely pressed garlic to olive oil. Drizzle garlic olive oil over broccoli. Toss the steamed broccoli and top with a few turns of the pepper mill. Add a touch of Himalayan pink salt for seasoning. Broccoli is especially useful for ailing kidneys and for correcting bleeding tendencies from low vitamin K.

Broccoli Lemon

Ingredients
3 C. raw broccoli
1 tsp olive oil
juice half a lemon
zest from a lemon

Preparation
Steam 3 cups of raw broccoli for about 5 minutes. Squeeze a half a lemon over the cooked broccoli. Mix lemon zest with olive oil and toss over the steamed broccoli, sprinkle with a touch of Himalayan pink salt. Broccoli is especially useful for ailing kidneys.

Masala Dosas

Making Dosa
Left over or unused STARTER from bread baking makes delicious dosas–a sourdough large pancake from India. Use the left over STARTER by adding water and a little flour. Cook it on a well oiled large pan like a wok or larger. Rolling the pan will result in a thin mixture to form a dosa or try spreading the mix in the pan using a wooden spoon moving in a circular fashion to achieve a thin dosa. Cook on both sides. These can be stuffed with vegetables and are served in the South of India for breakfast. Pictured is a dosa served with almond yogurt and sambal.

Ingredients Masala Filling
2 large rutabagas
(traditionally potato is used) chopped cooked
1 medium onion chopped
½ tsp yellow split peas
½ tsp mustard seed
½ tsp turmeric or a coin slice of fresh turmeric root
1 Tbsp oil

Preparation of Dosa Filling
Heat oil, add mustard seed, split peas, onions and spices. Fry about 5 minutes. Add the rutabagas and toss together. Add water and adjust the seasonings. Add the filling inside the dosa.

Ingredients Sambal
Grated galangal
2 garlic cloves
1 lemongrass root, finely chopped
1 lime zest
3 Tbsp lemon juice
coarse Himalayan salt
1 tsp tupelo honey +
½ cup tupelo honey

Preparation Sambal
Chop the galangal, garlic, lemongrass and place in a mortar. Add half of the lime zest (reserving the other half for later). Crush the ingredients together with the mortar & pestle. Gradually add the lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt and continue pounding. The salt will assist breaking down the other ingredients. Taste the mix add a little tupelo honey and assure the combination of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavors is balanced. Add additional amounts of the ingredients as required to balance the taste to your liking.

Add the mix to a cold pan. Place the pan over high heat. Be careful not to let the flame come up around the sides of the pan (this will burn the edges). Mix the sambal with a wooden spoon as it heats. Add additional tupelo honey. This will caramelize the mix and bring the flavors together. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the mixture is pulpy. When the mix is almost done, add the remaining lime rind. Cook for a further 90 seconds.

Spelt Crêpes

Ingredients
½ C. whole spelt flour
½ C. water

Preparation
Mix the water and the flour together using a wire whisk. Allow it to sit out overnight to ferment. In the morning thin the batter with water if necessary. Cook on a hot skillet. Fold in the crepe some sliced roasted apples or pears or peaches and roll together. Serve hot.

Spelt Pancakes

Ingredients

1 egg or egg yolk (or Egg Replacer)
¾ C. almond milk & lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp Tupelo honey
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ C. whole spelt flour
tsp aluminum free baking powder
¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt
¼ tsp nutmeg

Preparation
Mix the wet ingredients in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Add more milk to make a thin batter. Allow the mixture to rest for about ten minutes while you heat a cast iron skillet or an electric griddle. Add a few drops of oil to the skillet. Sprinkle water over the skillet. If the water dances and sizzles, it is hot enough. Pour a ⅓ cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form then flip over. Serve with fresh fruit, or an all fruit jam.

Spelt Porridge

Chop spelt grains in the food processor then soak overnight. I have tasted them cooked whole and cooked chopped. I prefer the taste of the chopped. To me it resembles a bowl of warmed chopped nuts that I dearly love. The whole kernels taste fine too, just different. Experiment and see, which tastes you prefer. I also have a flake-making-machine on my grinder. This presses the grain into flattened flakes. Spelt flakes, like oat flakes, have yet another interesting taste.

If mornings are rushed: (The way I usually make spelt cereal.)

The night before, chop the spelt kernels first in the food processor, soak them in twice the amount of water, bring to a boil, then a slow simmer for about a half hour or 20 – 30 minutes. Then in they go into the fridge for an overnight diminishing of their phytic acid. In the morning I add more water, heat and serve. This can be placed in a wide mouth thermos to be kept warm for later.

By cooking grains by this method, spelt becomes even more alkaline and it has greatly diminished phytates, the phytic acid. .
A friend of mine was so into minimizing phytates that for cakes, cookies, and muffins she soaks the spelt kernels overnight. In the morning she dries them in the oven. This makes bulgur. Then she grinds the spelt bulgur into flour that will not require any further soaking to rid it of phytic acid.

Soba Noodles

Ingredients
2 C. buckwheat flour combined with 1 C. spelt
2 extra large eggs
½ C. warm almond or rice milk
⅓ tsp Himalayan pink salt

Preparation
Combine the flours and salt directly on a large pastry board or smooth work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour. Lightly beat the eggs with milk and pour the mixture into the well. Using a fork, gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well. Beat gently in a constant direction to prevent air pockets from forming. Use your free hand to protect the outer wall until the wet mixture is well integrated. When the mixture becomes too stiff to work with a fork, scrape the dough from the fork into the well and continue forming the dough with your hands. Draw in the flour very gradually from the bottom of the wall, again being careful to keep air out of the dough and prevent air pockets from forming. Continue forming the dough into a very soft ball. It should be firm enough to handle, but soft and very pliable. If there is too much flour to be absorbed, do not use it all. Conversely, work in a little more flour if necessary. The perfect consistency is soft but not sticky, responsive to being touched and worked with. Using the heels of your hands, flatten the dough ball and knead it from the middle outward, folding it in half after working it each time. Knead both sides, maintaining a round shape, for about 10 minutes, until the dough is even and elastic.
Cover the dough with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes, or up to 3 hours.

or Mix Dough in a Food Processor
Pasta dough can be mixed in a food processor. Place the dry ingredients in the bowl. Combine the eggs, oil, if using, salt, and any other flavoring such as tomato paste separately, then pour into the bowl. Turn the machine on and process until a ball is formed and the ingredients are well mixed. If the mixture is to dry to form a ball, add a little water and pulse once. Cut as for fettuccine.

Eden brand makes a spelt soba noodles. Eden® Spelt Soba is a combination of two supremely energizing and strengthening, non-hybridized grains, spelt (Triticum spelta) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Spelt is also known as dinkel and farro, spelt is an ancient and distant cousin to modern wheat. It was one of the first grains to be cultivated and has grown on Earth for about 9,000 years. The twelfth century healer St. Hildegard wrote about spelt, “It produces a strong body and healthy blood for those who eat it and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful.” Both spelt and buckwheat are valued for their rich flavor and health benefit, and both can be easily enjoyed by most people who have wheat allergies. Spelt is easy for the body to assimilate because it is uniquely water soluble. Buckwheat is excellent for stabilizing blood sugar and it contains high amounts of rutin, a flavonoid that causes decreased capillary fragility. Buckwheat is rich in all eight essential amino acids, especially lysine. Soba (buckwheat) noodles have been the healthy fast food of Japan for centuries. It is similar to spaghetti, but cut square.
Eden Spelt Soba is an excellent source of thiamin and a good source of protein and magnesium. Each is a low sodium, low fat food. As with the buckwheat and spring wheat, the spelt and kamut used at Eden’s Canadian pasta plant is 100 percent Canadian organically grown. Eden’s noodles are made by the same roll and cut process as traditional handmade noodles in Japan. The flour is slowly kneaded with pure water and a bit of sea salt which helps to bind the dough, enhances the flavor, and naturally preserves the finished pasta. The dough is then rested for hours; an essential step in creating the right texture. When finished it is repeatedly layered and laminated, and then rolled out and cut on a bladed roller. The pasta is cut into long sections, lifted on racks, and rolled into the drying room. It is allowed to dry slowly for up to twenty-four hours depending upon thickness, temperature, and humidity.

Sprouted Essene (Ezekiel) Bread Savory

Ingredients
¼ C. soaked for 2 hours almonds
¾ C. soaked for 2 hours walnuts
2 C. sprouted spelt kernels
3 pitted dates
¼ C. shredded apple
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp fresh parsley chopped finely

Preparation
Soak almonds, walnuts for 2 hours; rinse under running water. In a separate glass bowl soak the dates in water for an hour. Drain nuts and dates along with the remainder of ingredients and work in a food processor or puree in a gear juicer or blend in a high speed blender. Mold this into a loaf shape and dehydrate for 17 hours or bake in an oven at 90º for about 5 hours. When done the loaf should feel crisp on the outside and moist in the middle. Slice with a serrated knife.

Spelt Tortillas

Ingredients
½ C spelt flour
½ – ⅔ C. warm water
pinch Himalayan salt

Preparation
Put your flour into a mixing bowl and your warm water and salt into a jug. Add a small amount of the water at a time, mixing the whole thing with your fingers or pallet knife. Gently work the flour and water into a soft dough – you may not require all of the water. Once you have your dough, sprinkle flour over your work surface and knead the dough for a couple of minutes or until you get a kind of marble effect. Split dough into small balls. Leave to rest for around 30 minutes, if possible allow it to ferment overnight. 

I have made these in the morning and left them standing in a mixing bowl covered with a clean tea towel for the whole day and then rolled and cooked them in the evening time. When ready, heat your pan on full power, then dust your working surface with flour and divide your dough. You can make as many tortillas as you want from this piece of dough, depending on whether you prefer large or small tortillas. Roll them out into circles if possible but it really doesn’t matter what shape you end up with.  Once you have rolled one out fairly thinly place it onto your hot pan and gently go round the outside edge of the tortilla pressing down very gently with a piece of kitchen towel. (wrap the kitchen towel around your fingers for protection as sometimes steam escapes and may burn you). This helps to seal the tortilla and they will start to puff up while cooking.  After a few seconds turn the tortilla over, if it sticks to the pan then the pan is not hot enough.  Depending on how large the tortillas are, the whole process should only take between 30-60 seconds. Once the tortilla is cooked remove it to a warm plate.  Tortillas can always be re-heated on a hot griddle for a few seconds if they get too cold.

Spelt Chapatis

Ingredients
2 C. spelt flour
½ – ¾ C. warm water

Preparation
Add flour to a mixing bowl or food processor. Add ½ cup of water. If using a food processor, drizzle remaining water through the opening by the tablespoon until it makes a slightly firm dough and it clings together in a ball as the food processor turns. If doing by hand, continue to mix and add water until a firm ball can be formed. Transfer to a work surface and knead for about 25 – 30 times, turning it over. Let it rest for 2 hours covered with a damp cloth. Roll into a sausage shape divide into 12 pieces. Roll out into thin rounds on a lightly floured surface, about 5 inch in diameter. Heat a flat iron griddle and rub vigorously with olive oil. Cook over medium heat until little brown flecks appear on the surface, then turn. Press down on each chapatis after you turn it to encourage it to puff up, rise, and inflate with air. Stack the flat chapatis and keep warm while the remainder are cooked.

Sprouted Spelt Chapattis

Soak the spelt grains 2 – 4 days. Rinse and drain daily. Allow it to sprout just a little bit of a tail but not turn green. Place a cupful of the sprouted grains into a food processor and grind and add to this one cup of spelt flour and about 5 Tablespoons of water. Leave overnight to rise on its own.

The next morning divide this into 8 parts, rolling each part out into a round chapattis. Sometimes one can get a tortilla press or some individuals pass the dough back and forth between their two hands flattening and rounding it as they go. Another method is to get a flat bottomed pot and press the dough downward which leaves a nice round chapatti or tortilla.

Heat a dry iron skillet on medium.  Roll out each section on a floured board and place in hot skillet until the dough begins to bubble and brown slightly or puff up.

Flip tortilla and do the same thing on the other side.  Let cool, place in covered container.

Spelt Bagels no Yeast

Start by grinding spelt grain fresh every day. Mix this freshly ground flour with water to make a CHEF. Allow it to stand from 6-10 hours. Adding water first, then flour to make a CHEF.

Some differences when using spelt:
When incorporating spelt into an existing recipe, reduce the liquid by 10-15%. For non-yeasted bread reduce the knead time by &#8532 and allow 30 minutes rest at least for full development.

CHEF
rise 12-24 hours
If using cold refrigerated chef (previously left over levain) about a half a day before baking your next loaf, allow it to come to room temperature. Mix the refrigerated previous chef with ⅓ cup of water and ½ cup of spelt flour. Allow it to sit out on the countertop in a glass jar for 12-24 hours or until it develops fine bubbles. For its rising I keep it in a glass covered jar with a rubber band to mark the beginning of the rising. Once it has fermented (12-24 hours) this becomes your chef for baking today. Adding almond milk to replace water in this recipe makes a softer crust.

Water Choices
Mineral water
Filtered water
Tap water that has been left out overnight to dissipate the chlorine.

Four steps to bake non-yeasted breads.

CHEF Step 1-Begin by making a CHEF
LEVAIN Step 2-Second is the LEVAIN
MAKING BAGELS Step 3-Third step is MAKING the bagels
LEFTOVER CHEF Step 4-The final step is caring for left over CHEF

CHEF Step 1 (Takes 4 days to make.)
Day 1
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. I have been told to add a tiny pinch of yeast (Sekowa Bachferment special) to assure a vibrant CHEF. I have not found this step to be necessary. For first time bakers, try a tiny pinch of yeast to assure that you produce a vibrant CHEF. This yeast step may be omitted. Add all to a tall 2-3 quart clear glass container with a lid. Stir well to make a thick, soft dough. The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the flour. Do not add more flour or water. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with a lid and let stand in a moderate area (about 70ºF) for 24 hours. Put a rubber band around the jar at the top line of the CHEF. With a rubber band in place, one can easily view the rising CHEF. 70º is the temperature in a wine cellar or basement. The refrigerator is too cold for a beginning CHEF. Try a cool corner of the kitchen counter top or the back of a closet. Avoid placing the CHEF on the top of the refrigerator as this area contains refrigerator coils, undesirably warming the CHEF too quickly. For tropical environments or in the summer months, one may wish to use a thermometer to find a cool area of the kitchen or place the CHEF into the refrigerator at night and remove it in the morning.

CHEF Step 1 NOTE
Now I try to bake on a flower day from Maria Thun’s biodynamic calendar. She has experimented practically applying Rudolph Steiner’s techniques to everyday life including when to grow certain things, when to taste wine and when to bake. Maria Thun on wine.

CHEF Step 1
Day 2
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
When you first observe the CHEF in the morning it will have doubled in volume. You can tell this has happened by the previously placed rubber band marking the beginning volume. Add water first then add flour. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the CHEF. Place in a 70ºF draft-free place for 24 hours. The CHEF should have the consistency of soft dough. Consider adding a little more flour or water to create this texture.

CHEF Step 1
Day 3
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. CHEF will now have the texture of a thick batter and will have doubled in volume. Let it stand at 70ºF in a draft free place for another 24 hours.

CHEF Step 1
Day 4
CHEF is now fully ripe, with many bubbles and a batter like consistency, similar to pancake batter. It is ready to be added to the next step. If you do not want to bake bread today, refrigerate the CHEF up to 3 days. After 3 days, bring the CHEF again to room temperature, add ⅓ cup water of water and ½ cup flour, stir rapidly, aerating the 3-day-old-CHEF.

LEVAIN Step 2
rise 6-10 hours
1 ¼  cups of spelt flour
All the CHEF
Bring the CHEF to room temperature.  2 hours will bring refrigerated CHEF to room temperature. Add flour directly to the batter-like CHEF. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the mixture. This should make the mixture very stiff. This stiff form is important for ripening the CHEF. If the batter is too water-y it becomes very sour and tangy. Scrape down the sides and let stand in a cool 70ºF draft-free place for 6-10 hours, or until doubled. Inside a bread machine with the machine unplugged will do nicely. Do not let it rise beyond 10 hours or there will not be enough strength in the LEVAIN to encourage the bread to rise.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
Ingredients
2 C. white spelt flour
1 C. LEVAIN
1 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 C. water

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
Preparation
Bring LEVAIN, flour, water, and the mixing bowl, all to room temperature. If your flour is cold from being kept in the fridge, warm it a little. Taking these extra steps helps the bread to rise nicely. It behave quite differently when all ingredients are first brought to room temperature. Mix CHEF and water with a wooden spoon or a wire whip. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly frothy and the LEVAIN is partly dissolved. Add 1 cup of flour and stir until well combined. Add salt and just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Add more flour until the dough is firm and smooth, about 25-50 times. Stop kneading when the dough is soft, and a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly. Shape into a ball.
knead 15 minutes

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
RISE THE DOUGH
rise 2 hours
Cover and let the dough to rise for 2 hours. Try a deep wide bowl, cover with a huge plate to keep drafts away.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
LET THE DOUGH REST
rest 30 minutes
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center an dpulling up on the sides. Knead the dough very lightly to form a tight ball. Place it on a lightly floured board. Cover with a clean damp canvas or linen cloth. Place in a moderately warm 74º – 80º draft free spot for 30 minutes.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
SHAPE THE BAGELS
rise 5 minutes
Knead dough very lightly to form a ball. Flatten with the heel of your hand on a lightly floured surface into a disk about 8 inches in diameter. Shape dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a rope about 20 inches in length, tapering the ends slightly. Bring the tapered ends together and overlap by 2 inches. With the end that is facing outward, wrap and enclose the other end and pinch to seal. Set aside on a lightly floured surface, cover with a clean linen or canvas cloth, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
Just before the next step, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and stir in 1 tablespoon of coarse salt. Maintain heat at a gentle simmer. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
simmer in water 2-4 minutes
pre-heat over 400º
bake 25 minutes
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and light sprinkling of yellow cornmeal. After their brief rest, the bagels are placed into simmering water for about 2-4 minutes, flipping them over with a slotted spoon halfway between cooking time. Remove and place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or to a light golden brown. Cool for several minutes before slicing.

LEFTOVER CHEF Step 4
Earlier you had some left over levain to save for another baking day. Take the left over levain and add to this ⅓ cup of water + ¼ cup of spelt flour; adding the water first. Mix well to aerate, adding fresh oxygen. Allow to rise a bit while you finish baking the bread then place in a cool area or in the refrigerator (I put mine in the wine cooler) for baking another day. This then becomes your new CHEF. Some have tried freezing the chef while they are traveling.

LEFTOVER CHEF Step 4
For a sweeter bread, fed the CHEF twice in a 24 hour period just before baking your next loaf. To bake your next loaf, allow CHEF, flour, water, and mixing bowl, all to come to room temperature. The process for making these non-yeasted bagels is indeed a long one, but once you experience biting into a savory warm bagel, made fresh from your own stone lined oven, you will be handsomely rewarded through your efforts.

Spelt Bagels with Yeast

Ingredients
2 C. white spelt flour
1 C. whole grain spelt flour
2 tsp Sekowa Spezial Backferment lactic acid yeast
2 tsp Tupelo honey
1 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 C. water

Preparation
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the oil and water; mix with a wooden spoon until all comes together and commence kneading on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic; about 10 minutes. Place dough back into the bowl, cover with plate and a linen or canvas cloth. Allow to rise for about 90 minutes in a warm place until proofed to 1½ times the size in bulk. If unable to find backferment, try regular yeast 2 1/2 teaspoons.

[Just before the next step, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and stir in 1 tablespoon of coarse salt. Maintain heat at a gentle simmer. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.]

After the initial rising period, punch down dough and divide into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a rope of 10 inches in length, tapering the ends slightly. Bring the tapered ends together and overlap by 2 inches. With the end that is facing outward, wrap and enclose the other end and pinch to seal. Set aside on a lightly floured surface, cover with a clean linen or canvas cloth, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

[Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and a light sprinkling of yellow cornmeal.]
After their brief rest, the bagels are placed into the simmering water for about 2 minutes, flipping them over with a slotted spoon halfway between cooking time. Remove and place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or to a light golden brown in a 400º preheated oven. Cool for several minutes before slicing.

Saffron Lemon Cake with Raspberry Coulis

Ingredients
½ C. boiling water
½ tsp saffron threads
3 C. spelt flour
¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt
3 tsp baking powder
½ C. olive oil
1 C. Just Like Sugar for baking®
2 eggs beaten
lemon zest from 2 lemons
½ C. fresh lemon juice from 2 lemons

Preparation
Heat oven to 350º. Add boiling water to saffron threads and steep for 30 minutes. Put in a high speed blender or forr processor. Add sugar to the oil. Add eggs. Sift dry infredients together add to creamed mixture stirring just enough to moisten.  Turn into two lightly oiled and floured loaf pans. Bake in preheated oven 350º for 40 -45 minutes. Serve with fresh raspberries or raspberry coulis.

Raspberry Coulis
1 C. raspberries
2 Tbsp Tupelo honey
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Blend together.

Rye Crisps Crackers

Ingredients
½ C. whole spelt grains
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp Himalayan pink salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp caraway seeds
¾ C. rye flour

Preparation
Sprout the spelt berries by soaking in water from 2-4 days. Rinse and drain each morning.  Do not sprout so long that there are any green shoots. Grind fairly fine in a food processor or high-speed blender. Mix in oil, salt, soda, seeds, and enough rye flour to form a stiff dough. Form into golf-ball sized rounds. Roll out on a well-floured board as thin as possible, not thicker than ¼ inch thick. Bake on a dry griddle on low heat for about 5 minutes on each side or in a medium low oven until very slightly brown.

Lemon Cheesecake Raw Vegan

Crust Ingredients
1 ½ C. almonds (soaked 2 hours)
4 medjool dates
2 Tbsp coconut oil
⅓ C. dried shredded unsweetened coconut

Preparation
Process in food processor. Before pressing the crust into the bottom of the springform pan (or pie plate), sprinkle dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut on the bottom of the pan. Then, press in the crust. This helps prevents the crust from sticking to the pan, making each slice beautiful and easy to serve.  Try a second glass plate to help press the crust.

Cheesecake filling Ingredients
3 C. cashews soaked overnight
¾ C. coconut oil
¾ C. tupelo honey
Juice and zest from Meyer lemon
dash Himalayan pink salt

Preparation
Blend ingredients in high speed blender. Pour mixture on top of crust. Tap pan to remove any bubbles.

Blackberry Sauce Ingredients
2 C. blackberries
½ C. dates or tupelo honey

Preparation
Blend in a high speed blender. Pour sauce over and freeze together or serve sauce separately.

Apricot Scones

Ingredients
2 ¼ C. spelt flour
½ tsp Himalayan salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ C. dried cut up apricots

1 tsp almond powder
Zest 1 orange
1 ounce orange juice
⅓ C. almond milk
¼ C. olive oil
Chia egg (grind 1 Tbsp chia; add 2 Tbsp water; allow to thicken)
4 Tbsp Tupelo honey

Preparation
Mix spelt flour with salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add almond milk, honey, chia egg, and oil. Chop dried apricots and gently fold into batter. Drop onto parchment lined baking sheet or drop spoonfuls onto a heated oven stone. Bake at 400º for 15 minutes until golden brown in color. Serve warm with passion fruit butter.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients for batter
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 egg
⅓ C. rice milk
1 C. spelt flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
dash Himalayan pink salt

Ingredients for filling
1 Tbsp vanilla or
Vanilla bean scraped
2 C. sliced fresh peaches
⅓ C. tupelo honey
½ tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp tapioca

Preparation
Beat egg well with oil. Stir in milk. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt; beat until smooth. Mix peaches, honey, nutmeg, and toss with tapioca mixed with a little water. Pour batter on top. Bake 375º oven for 20 minutes. Lower oven to 340º and bake additional 15 minutes, until bubbly. If this is not sweet enough for you, pour a tablespoon of tupelo honey over each individual serving, otherwise serve warm, fresh from the oven with a cup of chamomile tea.

Lemon Egg

This is a recipe for calcium citrate or lemon egg. It helps keep our bones strong while protecting our kidneys. One person has used lemon egg to help maintain alkalinity. Her nightly urinary pH runs about 7.8.

This takes about a day to complete. Carefully fill a wide mouth jar with a clean, whole, uncracked egg. Cover the egg with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Cover the jar and place in the refrigerator. Bubbles will form on the egg shell. The egg shell will begin dissolving and finally the mixture turns white. This make take about 24 hours. Carefully remove the egg and use as normal. There should still be a soft membrane surrounding the egg but no shell as this has dissolved into the lemon juice to make calcium citrate. Remove the egg. Place a tight lid on the remaining mixture. Shake well. The mixture will keep refrigerated for 3 days. Then toss and start fresh.

Take no more than one teaspoon per day initially because it can be very powerful. Start slowly. The amount may gradually be increased. Each individual is unique. Take the mixture for two weeks, and then leave off for two weeks. Take sips slowly, testing your nightly urinary pH to be sure you do not become too alkaline. Hold off if your nightly urinary pH registers 8.5.

Using the removed egg
Slowly cook the removed egg. Allow to cool. Once cooled carefully peel away the membrane and add it to the lemon egg mixture. This eggshell membrane has been found to be useful for osteoarthritis. In 7 days participants noticed increased flexibility.

Make your own eggshell membrane
Rinse about a dozen shells well in water. Remove any egg bits that might be stuck but don’t remove membrane as these have extra nutrients. Fill a stock pot with approximately 6 cups of filtered water and bring to a boil. Carefully put your eggshells into water. Let cook for 10 minutes. Drain shells. Spread the shells on glass or stainless steel baking sheet and let dry overnight. In the morning, put in a 200º oven for about 10 minutes or in a dehydrator. Once completed, put a few shells into a blender and run until they are pulverized into a granular form. Continue until all of your shells are powder. Store in a tightly sealed Mason jar in the cupboard away from heat or moisture.

Louise’s lemon egg

Try taking the shells of 2 cooked eggs, carefully peeling away all the white lining from the inside of the shells (previously soaking the eggs in warm water before cooking). Put the shells in a glass jar. Squeeze the juice from 1 to 1 ½ lemons over the egg shells. Crush the mixture with a fork into as many small pieces as possible increasing the surface area for the lemon reaction. After 24 hours strain and sip.

Another Lemon egg Recipe
Wash empty cooked eggshells in warm water until all the egg white is removed. Do not remove the membrane if you have arthritis or joint pains. The membrane contains nutrients to help this. Allow the washed shell to air dry. Grind the shells in a food processor.
Ingredients
½ teaspoon of powdered egg shell (approximately 400 mg of calcium)
½ a lemon juiced
Preparation
Put the powdered egg shell in a clean glass jar, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Leave at room temperature for 6 hours but no longer than 12 hours. Take a spoonful. Toss what you do not use and mix again the following day. Take only for two weeks then leave off for two weeks.

Here is a clinical trial using Natural Eggshell Membrane  NEM to help osteoarthritis.