Naturally Leavened Rosemary Focaccia Bread

This is a fun version of focaccia bread I made using naturally leavened dough. Super yummy!

Naturally Leavened Dr. Dough Master Recipe
1/3 cup (80 g) natural leaven
1 1/3 cups (313 g) water
1 1/2 t (8 g) salt
4 cups (475 g) whole grain flour

Instructions for Naturally Leavened Rosemary Focaccia Bread
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
2 T fresh rosemary or 2 t dried rosemary

Step 1: Make your leavening the night before. In the morning, check to make sure your leaven is bubbly, light and at peak performance. This is crucial when you are making bread. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. You can mix it by hand or in a stand mixer. You can knead the dough for a bit if you like, but it is not necessary. Let the dough rest, covered with a wet towel and bowl, at room temperature, for 4-10 hours.

Step 2: Roll out dough slightly larger than a 12" x 18" baking sheet. Pour EVOO in pan and then place dough in pan, then flip once so the other side is oiled. Press dough into edges of pan. Sprinkle with seasonings. Cut with pizza cutter into 15 pieces, 5 long and 3 wide. Cover and let rise until fluffy and nearly double in size, approximately one hour.

I got this awesome baking sheet and lid which helps with the rising process.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. We served the hot bread with basil pesto and a mixture of EVOO, balsamic vinegar, and freshly cracked pepper.

Stuffin' Muffins

My husband LOVES stuffing! It is his favorite holiday dish.  He loves his stuffing dry with very traditional veggies and herbs. So I made this recipe just for him! (I will have to share my favorite cashew stuffing recipe with apples and butternut squash another day!)

I used all fresh herbs for an intense richness and I used my own homemade dried bread cubes from naturally leavened bread.  I simply cut up one 2 lb loaf of naturally leavened bread into cubes and dried it in the oven at about 300 degrees until dry. 

Hubby's Favorite Stuffin' Muffins

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely minced in food processor

5 celery spears, finely minced in food processor

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 T fresh sage, finely chopped

1 T fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 T fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 t Himalayan salt

pinch pepper

1 1/2 T homemade vegetable broth powder

8 cups (approx) dried bread cubes (from 2 lbs bread)

4 cups water (more if needed)

Heat olive oil in large pot. Saute onion until translucent.  Add celery, fresh herbs and seasonings and cook about five minutes. Add bread cubes and liquid to desired thickness.  My husband likes a more dry stuffing, so I do not add tons of liquid.  To make the stuffing more crispy, I make my stuffing into muffins! For uniform muffins, use a 4 T stainless-steel-scoop and scoop the stuffing mixture into a muffin container, sprayed with olive oil.  Makes 24 muffins.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 60 minutes or until crispy on the outside.

Naturally Leavened Italian Bread Sticks

 

This is one of my favorite ways to use my natural leavening. It is adapted from a recipe I learned from the Natural Leavening Class I attended. These bread sticks are perfect to serve with soup or salad.

Naturally Leavened Dr. Dough Master Recipe
1/3 cup (80 g) natural leaven
1 1/3 cups (313 g) water
1 1/2 t (8 g) salt
4 cups (475 g) whole grain flour

Instructions for Naturally Leavened Italian Bread Sticks
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 t minced garlic or 1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
2 T fresh chopped herbs or 2 t Italian seasoning
4 T Parmesan cheese

Step 1: Make your leavening the night before. In the morning, check to make sure your leaven is bubbly, light and at peak performance. This is crucial when you are making bread. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. You can mix it by hand or in a stand mixer. You can knead the dough for a bit if you like, but it is not necessary. Let the dough rest, covered with a wet towel and bowl, at room temperature, for 4-10 hours.

Step 2: Roll out dough slightly larger than a 12" x 18" baking sheet. Pour EVOO in pan and then place dough in pan, then flip once so the other side is oiled. Press dough into edges of pan. Sprinkle with seasonings and cheese. Cut with pizza cutter into 16 bread sticks, 2 long and 8 wide. Cover and let rise until fluffy and nearly double in size.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Naturally Leavened Pitas

Another wonderful recipe I learned from the Natural Leavening Class I attended! These pitas are delicious and puff effortlessly...they are perfect for sandwiches.

Naturally Leavened Dr. Dough Master Recipe
1/3 cup (80 g) natural leaven
1 1/3 cups (313 g) water
1 1/2 t (8 g) salt
4 cups (475 g) whole grain flour

Instructions for Naturally Leavened Pitas
Step 1: Make your leavening the night before. In the morning, check to make sure your leaven is bubbly, light and at peak performance. This is crucial when you are making bread. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. You can mix it by hand or in a stand mixer. You can knead the dough for a bit if you like, but it is not necessary. Let the dough rest, covered with a wet towel and bowl, at room temperature, for 4-10 hours.

Step 2: Preheat oven to 550 degrees. Divide dough into 8 sections for small pitas. (You can make whatever size you like...this is just what I prefer.) Flatten the dough with a rolling pin to about 3/16" thick rounds.

Step 3: Bake on a preheated stone in oven for 3-5 minutes until the dough puffs for a minute. Remove and cool. Make sure not to stack them until completely cool. Keeps well in freezer. I like to make veggie hummus sandwiches with these. My children love them with a little honey.

Naturally Leavened Old World Loaf Bread

I have had so much fun learning about Natural Leavening and making my own bread. To learn more, see my Natural Leavening post. I learned this amazing recipe from "Dr. Dough" when I went to one of his classes on natural leavening. It is a simple recipe for bread, with only four ingredients. I have listed the grams measurement as well, because it is so much easier to make this with a kitchen scale. (Learned that from Dr. Dough as well...the bread comes out perfect!) Once you have made this "master recipe" for 2 lbs of dough, you can use it to make many other things as well.

Naturally Leavened Dr. Dough Master Recipe
1/3 cup (80 g) natural leaven
1 1/3 cups (313 g) water
1 1/2 t (8 g) salt
4 cups (475 g) whole grain flour

Instructions for Naturally Leavened Old World Loaf Bread
Step 1: Make your leavening the night before. In the morning, check to make sure your leaven is bubbly, light and at peak performance. This is crucial when you are making bread. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. You can mix it by hand or in a stand mixer. You can knead the dough for a bit if you like, but it is not necessary. Let the dough rest, covered with a wet towel and bowl, at room temperature, for 4-10 hours.

Step 2: Form the bread into a round loaf and place seam side up in a 6" bowl. Cover once more with warm, wet towel and a bowl as a lid and let rise until double in size.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place dough on preheated stone seam side down and gently slash the top of the bread with a sharp knife. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy warm bread! (You can store sliced bread in freezer. Simply remove from freezer and place in toaster.) Delicious dipped in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.)

Naturally Leavened Fruity Muffins

To learn more, see my Natural Leavening post. This recipe was adapted from Amy's Blue Berry Muffins. I have tried many versions of this original recipe and this is my favorite adaption. It is nearly identical to my pancake and waffle recipe, except I use 1 T less oil and 1 T more coconut sugar. This recipe enables my children to make whatever kind of muffins they want just by switching the fruit on top!

Naturally Leavened Fruity Muffins 

1 chia seed egg replacer

2 cups natural leavening 

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t Himalayan salt

2 T sprouted ground flax (one of my favorite products)

3 T coconut sugar

1 T coconut oil (plus more to oil pan)

1/4 cup almond milk
fruit of choice
(we have used chopped apples, blueberries, raspberries,
chopped strawberries, and blackberries with success)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the water and chia seed together as an egg replacer and let set for about 10 minutes. Add natural leavening to Vitamix along with all remaining ingredients except fruit. When chia seeds have soaked long enough, add this to the mixture and blend, using the stir stick to mix thoroughly. I use my favorite 4 T Stainless Steel Scoop to scoop mixture into a well-oiled muffin tin. (I cannot reiterate this enough-you must smother the pan in coconut oil or the muffins will stick!! Also, paper liners DO NOT work with this recipe!)

Top the muffin batter with the fruit of your choice and bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top. I have found the fruits with more water need a little longer cooking time. Cool slightly and serve. My children LOVE making their own fruit concoctions on top of the muffins. You can put a lot of fruit or a little...definitely make it fun and try some new combinations. You can even make them plain with no fruit, additionally sweetened with a 1/4 t of coconut sugar on top! My children love them!! We eat them with a green smoothie in the morning!  And another cool thing about them....no crumbs!!

Naturally Leavened Chia Flax Waffles

This is another favorite in our house. I use the exact same recipe as my Chia Flax Pancakes, but make waffles in our waffle iron instead! We serve them with pure maple syrup, or for a more special breakfast topped with fresh berries, bananas, and our favorite Whipped "Coconut" Cream.  ENJOY!

Naturally Leavened Chia Flax Pancakes

This is my children's most FAVORITE breakfast!  Sometimes we even make these for dinner!!  For more information on natural leavening...check out my previous Natural Leavening Post. Basically, the night before you add 1 cup water and 1 1/2 cups whole grain flour to some of your natural leavening start.  The start will feed on this and grow to be beautiful, tenacious, and healthy leavening approximately 12 hours later. This makes generally 2 cups of leavening, the perfect amount for pancakes the next morning! Here is my version of naturally leavened whole grain pancakes...adapted from "Dr. Dough's" recipe.

Naturally Leavened Chia Flax Pancakes 

1 chia seed egg replacer

2 cups natural leavening

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t Himalayan salt

2 T sprouted ground flax (one of my favorite products)

2 T coconut sugar

2 T coconut oil

1/4 cup almond milk

Mix the water and chia seed together as an egg replacer and let set for about 10 minutes. Add natural leavening to Vitamix along with all remaining ingredients. When chia seeds have soaked long enough, add this to the mixture and blend, using the stir stick to mix thoroughly. Place on preheated 300 degree griddle. Flip when the edges and tops start to look dry.  My children like it best served with pure maple syrup and fruit. They are even delicious plain. We also enjoy making all types of shapes and letters with our batter. Makes enough for 3-4 people. Perfect with a green smoothie for breakfast!

Chia Seed Egg Replacer

Chia seeds are super healthy, amazing little seeds that when combined with liquid create a wonderful binding gel-like substance.  I have recently started making an egg replacer with chia seeds. I do this for several reasons...chia seeds are packed full of nutrients, particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids which help with depression; I want to minimize animal products in my diet; I always have water and chia seeds on hand, I do not always have a fresh egg; and the chia seeds taste wonderful in my Naturally Leavened Whole Grain Pancakes recipe. (Which I will share tomorrow!) 

Chia Seed Egg Replacer

1/4 cup water

1 T chia seed

Combine and let sit for at least 5 minutes or until desired consistency is achieved.

Healthy Tip: Use Whole Grain Natural Leavening

Using whole grain natural leavening is yet another baby step to increasing health. Natural leavening is a sour dough culture full of healthy bacteria. This type of healthy microflora multiplies slowly and there is much evidence to suggest that this fermentation process is better for your digestive and immune system. The natural leavening process neutralizes the phytic acid found in wheat and other grains (which is said to rob nutrients from the body) and also breaks down the proteins in gluten making it easier to digest. Natural leavening is also said to enrich the bread with nutrients and beneficial enzymes as it ferments. Many people who cannot handle digesting gluten can eat naturally leavened breads.

I was introduced to natural leavening by my awesome Chiropractor, Dr. Matthew McClean.  He is known as "Dr. Dough" and I was able to take some classes taught by him and his wife, Amy McClean R.D. They are writing a book which should be out soon, but you can learn more on their Natural Leavening Website. It can be a little tricky to understand how to feed your natural leavening start at first, it takes LOTS OF PRACTICE and patience.  But once you understand what to do and how to take care of it, you can make wonderful quick breads like pancakes and muffins, delicious whole grain sour dough bread, as well as many more things with your natural leavening and IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH! Stay tuned for several recipes using whole grain natural leavening!!