BUCKWHEAT BREAD

I can't tell you how much I love this bread.  The recipe is genius, and it is all thanks to two lovely souls named Roberto and Anke from Conscious Catering.  It's got everything going for it - it's gluten free, grain free, and yeast free.  What it is not free from is flavour.  It makes living without bread a breeze.  It not only works as an amazing toast bread, you can also modify the recipe to make crepes, pancakes, and even muffins.  Once you try this, you will be hooked.

BUCKWHEAT BREAD

2 cups organic buckwheat groats

3/4 cups water

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Method: Rinse the buckwheat groats well and soak for 2-8 hours.  Drain the groats and rinse well.  Mix the groats with the 3/4 cups water and blend in a food processor or blender until creamy.  Transfer to a  glass bowl, cover with a cloth, and allow to ferment for 16-24.  If you don't plan on baking right away, fermented batter can store in the fridge up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Add the salt  to the batter and stir well.  Grease a loaf pan and/or line it with parchment paper and pour batter into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Allow loaf to cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing.  Refrigerate or freeze and toast well before serving slathered in salty butter.

PANCAKES: Add 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk.

CREPES:  Add 1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, and 1/4 cup melted butter.

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****TODAY'S TWEETABLE:  It makes living without bread a breeze @KeepingItRealNL

SOAKING

I don't even know where to begin.  Such a huge transformation has taken place in terms of the way I view food, health, the earth, animals, my diet.......wow.  All I can say is READ "The Vegetarian Myth"!

  Lierre Kieth tells a heartfelt tale of her journey from veganism to hardcore environmentally conscious eating, which just happens to mean eating lots of pasture raised meat/dairy, organic vegetables and sustainably caught fish.  After reading this book I made so many more connections between agriculture, environmentalism, and the diseases that plague modern civilization. I've come to realize that relying so heavily on grains as the bulk of my diet is really not a good idea.  So all week I've been off the grain.

This morning I decided to make a breakfast using grain, but instead of making crepes the way I usually do, I soaked the flour in kefir overnight on the counter to reduce the phytic content, which inhibits digestion and assimilation of the nutrients that grains can offer us.  I also made sure to go wheat free, using local organic spelt and buckwheat flours too.  Looks like from now on if I eat grains they will have to be in the form of sourdough breads or soaked/sprouted/fermented.  It has been a huge adjustment, but for now, I am okay with maybe a once a week indulgence instead of my usual everyday addiction.  This has also led to some intense fantasies of living with no electricity on a large piece of land, fishing, hunting, and foraging.  HMMMM not so crazy really.

GALETTES DE SARRASIN

Soaked Buckwheat Crepes

250 g organic buckwheat flour

260 g organic spelt flour (I used light and whole grain)

5-10g sea salt

400 ml organic kefir

200 ml organic whole milk (raw if you can get it)

300ml (or more) water

100 g unsalted organic butter, melted plus more for pan

1 organic egg, lightly beaten

Method:  Sift the flours into a large bowl.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the kefir, stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a thick, smooth batter.  Add the milk, cover bowl and let sit at room temperature overnight.  In the morning, stir in salt, egg, butter, and enough water to make a batter the consistency of thick cream. 

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.  Add a dab of butter and then pour just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan, tilting and moving the pan to get the batter moving.  Cook the galette quickly until lightly browned on the bottom, then turn it over and lightly brown the other side.  At this point you can add desired fillings, fold, and then serve.