PKD Recipes

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 ⅔ and allow 30 minutes rest at least for full development. I find the time and patience needed for baking non-yeasted spelt bread so very relaxing. This recipe requires spelt flour and water.
NOTE
Try baking on flower days 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. An iPhone app for flower days is available.
Rudolph Steiner on Bread baking. “Honey and salt stand at opposite poles . . .and create a dynamic field. Salt and honey take their place and the bread rises under the influences of tension between them. The bread rose steadily around 6 am, whereas yeast bread rose at midnight.” Consider trying to freshly grind flour from grains.

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 the water in a recipe makes for a softer crust.

WATER CHOICES
Mineral water
Filtered water
City tap water that has been left out overnight to dissipate any residual chlorine.

FOUR STEPS to bake non-yeasted bread:
CHEF Step 1
LEVAIN Step 2
BAKING Step 3
LEFTOVER LEVAIN Step 4

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
PREPARATION
First add water then add flour. Some add a tiny pinch of yeast known as Sekowa Bachferment special to assure a vibrant CHEF. Many have not found this step to be necessary. Add all to a tall 2-3 quart clear glass container with a lid. Stir well making 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 mixed CHEF. With a rubber band in place, one can easily view the amount the Chef has risen. 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
PREPARATION
When you first observe the CHEF in the morning it will have doubled in volume. You can tell this has happened by observing the previously placed rubber band marking the beginning volume. First add water 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
Add ⅓ C. water and ½ C. flour, stir rapidly, aerating the 3-day-old-CHEF. The 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, skim off any accumulated liquid. The fluid on top might look a bit dark. Bring the CHEF once again to room temperature. This may take about two hours.

LEVAIN Step 2
rise 6-10 hours
1 ¼ cups of spelt flour
Use all the CHEF

LEVAIN Step 2 PREPARATION
Bring the CHEF to room temperature. 2 hours will bring a 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 batter 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.

BAKING Step 3
Third step is BAKING the spelt bread

LEFTOVER LEVAIN Step 4
Fourth step is caring for left over spelt LEVAIN converting it back to a CHEF for baking for another day.
Once you have made the LEVAIN you will not use all of it for the bread recipes. Take the left over LEVAIN and this will become your new CHEF to bake with another day. To this left over LEVAIN make this is the same bowl or container so the bits cloning to the wall or the jar are used. Add ⅓ cup water of water and ½ cup flour, stir rapidly, aerating the mixture. Allow to stand while you prepare a clean glass jar. I use a scraper to add it to a clean jar. Once made, this left over LEVAIN can become your new CHEF. Check that it has risen a bit and has become bubbly, it can be put in a cool place until you bake with it another day. When you are ready to use this new CHEF, pour off any liquid that has accumulated on the top. Add to this CHEF ⅓ cup water of water and ½ cup flour and allow it to rise for 6-8 hours. Once it is bubbly then add the entire CHEF to 1 ¼  cups of flour. This then becomes your new LEVAIN. Let the new LEVAIN stand for 6-10 hours. Incorporate a portion of this LEVAIN into your bread recipe, again taking any left over LEVAIN to become your next CHEF.
. . .
BROWN RICE CHEF

This is a Brown rice chef from the web. I have not tried this recipe but have posted it for our gluten free friends.

A knowledgeable gluten free sourdough baker suggested to feed the chef every 8 hours and use a fermented drink called Water Kefir add it directly to the chef on the first day. Water Kefir is a culture that is used to make a dairy free drink much like lemon soda. I purchased my grains and made the water kefir using water, sugar, raisins and lemon. It fermented in less than 48 hours and I put a few tablespoons of it into brown rice flour and water. I built the chef gradually feeding it every 8 hours until I had the amount I needed. I was happy to see activity beginning shortly after 48 hours. Each subsequent feeding created increasing activity with large and small bubbles and hissing sounds when I stirred it down. This very live chef easily leavened the bread recipe without the use of eggs, commercial yeast, baking soda, or baking powder which was of prime importance to me being allergic to eggs and sensitive to the other ingredients.

I call this chef Boosted Brown Rice Chef because I have boosted its activity with Water Kefir. I find I can get a dependable chef every time when I use water kefir as a booster.

If you do not want to add flour and water for 4 days to make a CHEF and you are lucky enough to live in Germany, this honey based yeast creates a lactic acid ferment that is also permissible. Sekowa Special Backferment is available on this translated page.
. . .
WATER KEFIR RECIPE
You will need water kefir grains
Nearly fill a wide mouth quart jar with water.
Add 2 tablespoons sugar, stirring to dissolve
Add 20 raisins
Add a slice of lemon or lime
Add the contents of your bottle of water kefir grains into the quart jar.
Cover with a paper towel or cloth and secure with a rubber band.
When raisins float to the top, scoop them and the lemon slice out and discard.
Ferment the water kefir for 6 more hours on the counter with the paper towel.
Then store in fridge and use as needed.
When you have used the liquid down to about an inch in the jar start a new batch in a new jar and pour the water kefir grains plus the liquid their in right into the new jar, cover and ferment.

Water Kefir is a good tonic that strengthens the digestive system. Try drinking small sips before meals. 2 tablespoons is enough for a bread chef. Water kefir gets fizzy with time. It’s a tonic with probiotics and enzymes.