Kefir Bread Recipes

Looking for a well tested kefir bread recipe. I have found that kefir bread is super tasty, but my recipe always comes out a bit dense-- Does anyone have a time tested recipe for their kefir bread? Thanks.

You might try adding a teaspoon of baking soda to dough as it is readied for the shorter rise after final shaping and before baking.

Hmmm, I never heard of kefir bread before but it sounds good, and I am interested.  I know you asked for a tested recipe, and I don't have one, but here is a recipe from the cultures for health website

___________
Kefir contains various strains of yeast. These yeasts are similar in properties to those found in a sourdough starter, so kefir can be used make bread with no additional yeast or sourdough starter!
Ingredients:

   4 cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour
   1 1/2 tps. salt
   2 Tbsp. honey
   Scant 2 cups milk kefir

Instructions:

   Mix flour and salt well in a large bowl. Pour in honey and 1 1/2 cups milk kefir; mix well. Add additional milk kefir until dough is sticky but pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
   Knead 5-10 minutes or until dough is soft and smooth.
   Transfer to an oiled bowl and ferment for 12-24 hours.
   Punch down. Place in a loaf pan, cover, and let rise in a warm place until it reaches the top of the pan.
   Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until done through and golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.
_______________

You could also try the no knead reicpe:  3 c flour, 1 1/2 cup water, teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon yeast, subbing the kefir for the water and yeast.  

With that recipe, you mix the ingredients together cover loosely and let rise about 8 hours in a cool but not cold place, then shape the loaves, preheat the oven and a closed heavy pot (cast iron dutch oven, old crock pot insert with glass lid, romertopf or other clay baker).  When oven and pot with lid have reached 475, put the dough in the hot pot, replace the lid and put in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.  Take the lid off and let bake another 10 minutes, let cool at least an hour before cutting.  (and if you can't wait, then break or tear the warm bread rather than cutting).

This bread keeps well for a few days, but it is better to store it cut side down on a plate or cutting board than in a plastic bag.  inside the plastic bag, the bread molds.

I'm going to watch this thread to see what recipes are posted.  I've been making vollkornbrot with whole rye berries, it requires fermenting, and I think I might be able to use kefir to ferment rather than sour dough.
thanks so much for the idea

Thanks for the recipe. It looks very similar to the one I was using. I may need to let it just rise longer, or possibly add a little baking soda as suggested. I highly suggest making it, it gives an awesome sourdough taste and I think kefir is a little less high maintenance than sourdough starter.

That's what I was thinking, that kefir as a starter would simplify my life instead of the sour dough starter that you have to feed and reactivate and all that.

I got my recipe from homesteadlady.com.  I don't have the actual link, and it has many variations. Makes wonderful bread; my husband doesn't care for cultured food, and he likes it.

Daniel Ray, I use sourdough starter not supermarket yeast.    I also use water kefir [not milk kefir]    and what I do is substitute the water for the Kefir, in buildng the dough.   I also don't knead the bread I do stretch and folds instead and long fermentations which makes a real flavourful bread.    

If you are using supermarket yeast, and milk kefir I would suggest  you proof your yeast to see if it's any good.    Add to that 1 cup flour 1 cup of milk kefir and let it sit at room temperature [in the warmest art of your kitchen] covered over night then proceed to make up your dough.     After making up the dough, let it rest for 1 hour.  Come back and do stretch and folds.    [ look at you bread in the 4 directions  pick up the north and stretch up and over on itself, do the same for the east south and west.    Let it rest again for about 30 minutes and do it again.  Do this for about 4 more times.      By doing this Nature is building up the gluten you need.     AFter you're done,  you can either let it rise until double and proceed to bake your bread or what I do is cover it with cling film and then put it in a kitchem size garbage bag and put it in the fridge over night.      Take it out and form it and bake it off as usual.  

Thekla, I tried out the recipe you posted. I love kefir, been making it for years, but never made bread with it before. I think it turned out alright. I threw in some sunflower and flax seeds cause I like seedy breads. I enjoy baking bread and am rather new making it so this is my first bread without yeast. The dough rising moved at the speed of a glacier. I baked it in a cast iron loaf pan and it was stubborn to remove. I oiled the pan but I still had to run a knife down the sides and a small spot stuck to the bottom in the very center. Maybe another 5 minutes baking would fix that. It tastes good, and it's on the denser, chewy side of the bread spectrum.

James, I finished my last few slices of the vollkornbrot I made more than a week ago, and have started on some bread that will use kefir, so I am glad to hear of your success and satisfaction.

I will sprout the kamut (don't have any rye in the kernel), then when I wet grind the kamut, I'll add rye flour, salt and kefir.  I am putting the rye in there because of the phytase, which many grains don't have.  Rye has gluten which is needed for "yeast" breads, and it has phytase.  The phytase is an enzyme that changes phytic acid in to something that is not an anti-nutrient....

It will take me several days before this batch of bread is baked and ready to eat.

one thing about baking in in the preheated pot:   it is not supposed to stick, but it does often enough that I sprinkle sesame seeds into the pot right before I plop the dough in.  Then even if it tries to hold on, the baked bread can not get a tight grip on the surface of the pan.   And because I like toasted sesame, I sprinkle some on top too.  

This looks amazing, I have been drinking kefir water for the past year but never thought to use it for cooking! What a fantastic idea!  Does anyone know if there is a recipe that can be made using kefir and a dehydrator to make flat bread?  Thanks

So I glanced at other kefir bread recipes on the interwebs yesterday when I was baking that bread and I saw a few that just replaced the water in the recipe with the same amount of water kefir. Just do that one change and proceed with the recipe as instructed is how I understood it. Some still involved adding yeast, some did not. I also make water kefir and I want to try this too, but I can only eat so much bread in a day. When I do give it a try, I will report back with the recipe I chose and how it turned out.

seems like it would work, but I wonder what would be accomplished by it?  wouldn't all the life forms get killed in the dehydration process, (just  like in baking, but in baking you are getting the leavening action from the organisms)
educate me!

I never liked kefir but the bread looks delicious I have to try it. The other good thing is that it is cultured.

Is this the milk kefir that you make by putting kefir "grains" in milk?
What is kefir water?

Yes, milk kefir comes from putting kefir "grains" in milk, 24 hours later it's kefir. Water kefir requires a different kind of kefir "grain", add those to pure water (no chlorine or crap) with raw unprocessed cane sugar and unsulfured molasses, and about 2-4 days later you have water kefir.

You can "wean" milk kefire grains off the milk and onto the sugary water solution (fruit juice).  

Take it slow, starting with well-established milk grains and slowly change the ratio of milk:juice until you get full juice.

Should take at least a month.

This is one I've been making for a few years. Milk kefir not only makes the bread taste nice, it makes for a softer, lighter loaf. It also seems to preserve the bread which remains fresh for longer.

Wholemeal Kefir Bread

Sponge:
2 c kefir (480 g)
3/4 tsp dry yeast
300 g stoneground wholemeal flour

The Next Day:
300 g stoneground wholemeal flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Make sponge the night before.

Next morning put sponge into bowl of mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add rest of ingredients and mix. Add more flour if needed. Dough should be reasonably soft to make a light loaf. Dough should not be sticky when finished kneading. Knead for about 10 minutes.

Put dough into oiled bowl and cover to rise. Let rise three times before shaping dough to large, well buttered loaf pan. Cover the rising loaf in the pan with a damp tea towel.

When well risen, slash loaf. Bake at 190 C for 20 minutes, turn loaf and continue for another 20 minutes or till tests done.

Remove from the pan and cool on rack, covered with the (almost dry by this time) tea towel.

I'm sorry if this is in this thread and I've missed it:

Does anyone have a recipe for a "fresh" kefir bread for the bread machine?

IOW, a recipe that does not require making anything ahead of time; just dump the ingredients into the machine and push the button?

Thanks!
-John

Hi John,

Possibly some one will have already done the experimenting, but you may have to take on the role of researcher.

The most important thing in a bread machine is probably not putting in too much flour and liquids that it overflows the pan.

Does your bread machine have on ly one program?  That would be a challenge, but if  you have a way around the standard timing and kneading, seems like you could adapt the above recipe, and with a few test loaves, come up with the recipe for the next person who asks your question.

Sounds good.  I will try a few loaves and report back soon.

That's the spirit, keep us posted!

John Todd wrote:Sounds good.  I will try a few loaves and report back soon.

How did you get on John?