Kerfir soaked spelt blueberry and vanilla muffins

After a long break from blogging due to pregnancy and also a hectic catering schedule here is a very simple and nourishing muffin recipe inspired by the muffin recipe in nourishing traditions by Sally Fallon, I soaked the flour for 24 hours and once done it is elastic and resembles the texture of sourdough. Soaking grains has many nutritional advantages the main one been easy digestion. If you have every tried any of the eithopian flatbreads or indian breads they are all fermented up to 3 days in water or a culture to make them more digestable, we don't do it much here in the western world but its well worth investgating for your families gut health.
Here is a great little article for more info

3 cups spelt flour (I grinded mine from grain in a thermomix but you don't have too!)
2 cups home made kefir or buttermilk
3 tablespoon raw honey
1 teaspoon real vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 fresh organic eggs
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter
1/2 teaspoon seasalt
1 cup blueberries

Method
In a large bowl sift the flour and add the kefir or buttermilk
Cover the bowl with a teatowel and leave in a warm place in the kitchen for 24 hours
Grease a muffin tin with some coconut oil or butter
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees
Whisk eggs in a clean bowl
Take your mixture that has been fermenting for 24 hours and add the raw honey, coconut oil or butter, vanilla, eggs, baking soda and seasalt
In each little hole of the muffin pan add 4 blueberries then ladle in the flour mixture and add 5 more blueberries on top
Bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes
I have added cultured cream to my muffins just before eating which is delicious or have some yoghurt

Spelt gingerbread men

This weeks recipe is from Susan our wonderful cook, and super organic mamma

Thanks for sharing your recipe Susan I can't wait to try them with my niece Mia.

Hi Belinda - I baked some really yummy spelt gingerbread men with my daughter Olivia this afternoon so thought I would pass on the recipe! I adapted the recipe from a few different recipes that I found, to make it more nutrient dense and a little lighter on the sugar, replaced brown sugar and golden syrup with molasses sugar and a little bit of honey. Changed the flour to spelt, added some fresh ginger and ditched all modern icing sugar decoration and went back to the old women in the fairytale's idea of currants and orange peel! Baking the gingerbread men turned out to be a great afternoon with the kids, Olivia loved decorating them and we ate them together reading the fairytale over and over :-)


Ingredients

125g organic butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup, firmly packed molasses sugar (I used Billington’s brand)
1/4 cup honey
1 large organic egg, separated
2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 tbs ground ginger
½ - 1 tsp of finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Extra flour, to dust
Currants, raisins and fine strips of orange rind – to decorate

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 trays with baking paper (or lightly grease with melted butter)

Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until paler and creamy. Add the honey and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, fresh and dried ginger, mixed spice and bicarb soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about ½ cm thick. Use gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Decorate using currants for eyes and nose, orange rind for mouth and raisins or sultanas for buttons.

Bake in oven for 7-10 minutes or until brown (I like mine crunchy so cook for 10, but reduce time if you like the gingerbread soft). Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.