Sourdough English Muffins- E

    
      Have you tried making your own sourdough yet? I have been working with my own sourdough on and off for about three years now. What first turned me on to learning more about sourdough was reading about it in the Nourishing Traditions book, which I HIGHLY recommend if you do not already own a copy!! Sourdough bread has many health benefits! It  has been shown to reduce the Phytic acid in grains. Phytic acid is the substance that God place in all grains to prevent them from sprouting prematurely. It's what gives them the ability to be store long term (which when you think about it is a wonderful blessing, especially where there isn't modern refrigeration, etc.).


     The problem with Phytic acid is that it also prohibits you from absorbing many of the nurtrients in whole grain foods as well. Sourdoughing solves this problem by minimizing the phytic acid in the flour as it sits and slowly rises. Which means that the amount of nutrients you receive from eating sourdough is much higher than in regular whole grain foods. 


     Sourdough is also easier to digest, partially breaks down some of the glutens , making it easier to digest for people with gluten sensitivity (NOT a gluten allergy like Celiacs). Don't like the sourdough tang? Well THIS recipe is perfect for you then, since we add baking soda at the end. "Soda sweetens" which means it looses the tangy flavor of traditions sourdough, without loosing the benefits! 


     You need to have an active sourdough starter to complete this recipe, if you have a friend who does sourdough that would be a wonderful place to get some starter! (I was blessed enough to have someone who shared with me after our big move, since our starter didn't make it through the 104 temp on our journey to the South ) If not, a starter is simple to make either by collecting your own wild yeast from the air or by buying a dried starter and rehydrating it. Your starter should have been fed within the last twelve hours.

Ingredients: 

(the night before)

1/2 cup sourdough starter

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 cup filtered water

2 cups whole wheat, spelt, or rye flour

(to be added in the morning)

1 tsp Truvia
1 tsp unrefined sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

      Mix the first three ingredients together in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon. It's important to use a non-reactive bowl and utencil for sourdough, so NO metal bowl or aluminum utencils! Your dough should be sticky but not wet.


 Cover with a towel and leave to sit out overnight (or atleast 8 hours) NOTE: I live in a warm climate and a poorly insulated home! In the summer sometimes my kitchen is in the mid 80's to low 90's all night (and a few month of the year its in the 40's inside overnight), this dough CAN sit out up to 24 hours and still be fine, however I would not recommend more than 8-12 hours if you are in a very warm season or climate. If you need to have it sour longer than that for whatever reason, I would probably let it sour in the fridge for 24 hours. If you live where it is in the 60 or 70's in your home overnight (or have better climate control than us LOL) then up to 24 hours on the counter is fine. You may also need longer souring time if your house gets very cold overnight.


     In the morning, your dough should look slightly risen. (NOT risen like a yeast dough, just slightly more puffy)



     Add the Truvia, salt and baking soda, and stir to incorporate well. At this point I heat up my cast iron griddle on the stove top to medium. A frying pan would work as well, however, I like the cast iron because I do not add any oil and the English muffins do not stick (make sure your pan is hot before you put the dough on it) Slightly flour your hands and break the dough into 6 equal pieces. It WILL be sticky and it will slightly stick to your hands. Just try not to handle it too much. =) Roll and flatten into English muffin shapes and place them on the griddle.

Cook until slightly browned on the bottom (about 7 minutes for me, but this will vary with your type of stove and cooking surface). Flip them over gently and cook them for 5 minute on the other side.


I finish them by placing them in the oven at 350 for a last 5 or 10 minutes to make sure the insides are fully cooked.

Sourdough will have a slightly marbled coloring to it after it's cooked. This is totally normal and due to the distribution of the sourdough starter through the flour. I use a little All-Fruit with fiber Jelly on mine to keep it an E meal. If you are not doing the Trim Healthy Mama diet or are at goal weight, then I recommend some yummy grassfed butter on top! For my kids, I do grassfed butter and raw honey, as the amylase in the honey is excellent at helping you to digest grains.
I hope you try this THM version of English Sourdough Muffins! Please feel free to ask questions or let me know how it went in the comments!









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