what can i do with all my whey?

[bluebell]

i have lots of whey left over from my dripped yogurt. i'm going to make some saurkraut as in the NT recipe as i've only made saurkraut with just salt before so will try this out. but what else can i do with it? i don't think i could bare to drink it straight. but i'd hate to waste it.

[pixiepunk]

you can use it to substitute liquid in most recipes, use it as the liquid to make rice, etc. and the NT ginger carrots are TDF!

[Feb2003]

I don't use whey in my veggie ferments as I've heard mixed reviews on the resulting texture...

I can drink it with lemon juice in it...sounds strange, but give it a tiny try! I sweeten it with honey for my dss (like a lemonade), but I like it without. Also, you can pour some in your/you child's juice or smoothie and you may never know it's there.

I also keep some around for using to soak grains...

[texmati]

we are not NT, but I've seen people use it instead of water in flat breads like naan and roti.

I think it's good for you!

[bluebell]

Originally Posted by Feb2003

I don't use whey in my veggie ferments as I've heard mixed reviews on the resulting texture...

I can drink it with lemon juice in it...sounds strange, but give it a tiny try! I sweeten it with honey for my dss (like a lemonade), but I like it without. Also, you can pour some in your/you child's juice or smoothie and you may never know it's there.

I also keep some around for using to soak grains...

yes i'm thinking i'll make my saurkraut without the whey and just use the salt on its own.
perhaps i'll try the drinking it like you suggest.
soaking grains is good we hardly eat grains but it would make a change to have some once in a while!

thanks everyone for your suggestions.

[Althetrainer]

I don't know what NT is but I use whey to make sourdough breads, wash my vegetables and fruits, soak grains, wash my face and hair etc. I have one spray bottle in the fridge to clean my fruits and veggies, one bottle to wash my face and hair. 1/2 gallon to make bread with. My husband says kefir and whey have taken over our house. LOL

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by Althetrainer

I don't know what NT is but I use whey to ...wash my face and hair etc.

First, I think by "NT" she was referring to the cookbook Nourishing Traditions where the author uses whey in her ferments to inoculate them. Since this book also explains a lot of the basics for why and how to eat traditional foods it's often referred to in this forum by it's initials.

Second, I'd love to hear more about how you use the whey on your hair and face!! I use very diluted baking soda to wash and diluted acv to rinse my hair, but I'm always interested in trying another kitchen item. I've used acv on my face a little as a toner. How do you use the whey? ie full strenght? leave it on? I usually massage a little CO all over my face. If I had on makeup or feel dirty, I'll use extra CO and rinse with very hot water or use a hot, wet washcloth to gently remove it.

Third, where are you getting 1/2 a gallon? LOL I'm just curious if you're an avid cheese maker, if you have a cow, etc.

[Althetrainer]

kefir whey

Thanks Feb2003. I often come here and found myself lost, trying to figure what people are talking about.

Interesting enough, I don't use anything fancy with my kefir whey. I simply spray some whey to soak a cotton ball, dab all over my face, let it dry for a few minutes then rinse with cold water. For my hair, I do the same thing. Wash with just a dab of shampoo, then spray whey all over it. Wash and condition as usual. Hope you're not too disappointed with my answers!

I don't make old cheese but I make kefir cream cheese for dips, dressings, and even lemon icing drizzle over cakes and other desserts. It doesn't take long to collect 1/2 a gallon of whey! I love it so do my sourdough breads! LOL They rise a lot better and the whey enhances the sourdough flavor. My family loves the sourdough whey sesame and roasted garlic breads I make. :

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by Althetrainer

Thanks Feb2003. I often come here and found myself lost, trying to figure what people are talking about.

Glad to help! I love coming and learning new stuff. We've been eating TF (traditional foods) for years, but everyone incorporates it a little differently depending on what they're ready for, family history, prior food tastes, local culture/food, etc. I find it all fascinating!!

Originally Posted by Althetrainer

I don't use anything fancy with my kefir whey. ... Hope you're not too disappointed with my answers!

Of course not! It sounds very interesting and I LOVE simple.

Originally Posted by Althetrainer

My family loves the sourdough whey sesame and roasted garlic breads I make. :

It's almost painful to read about this before eating breakfast! I've never made sourdough so explaining it from ground zero might take too much time, but if you don't mind, I'd *love* to hear your recipe/method because that sounds fabulous! :

[Althetrainer]

sourdough

If you want to make sourdough bread, the first thing you need to do is to make a sourdough starter. There are two ways to make a sourdough starter 1)capture your own wild yeast 2)use commercial yeast as a booster.

Now, sourdough snobs will tell you never use commercial yeast because it's NOT real sourdough. I have to agree that for hundreds of years people had made breads without commercial yeast. They simply used flour and water. However, I don't despise people who use commercial yeast to start. It's easier and for most inexperienced 1st timers, and it's a great start. The downside of using commercial yeast is that 1) the starter may not last for very long due to various factors 2) you don't get the same satisfaction from it as you would by capturing your own wild yeast 3) snobs will tell you that you don't have a real sourdough starter.

Having said that, my first batch of starter was based on commercial yeast. I didn't know any better then so I followed some instructions and added some commercial yeast into the flour/water mixture and let it sit. It didn't take more than 2 days for the starter to become very active. I still remember my 1st 2 loaves of sourdough sandwich bread. I was in 7th heaven! Some starter that boosted by commercial yeast don't last. But I was lucky, mine last for weeks and I managed to make loaves after loaves from it.

Then I became ambitious. I wanted to try capturing wild yeast on my own. Learned it from a very good poster in a bread forum that I belong. Took me about 14 days to have a stable starter that was strong enough to make breads. Once I got that "real thing" going I let go of the original starter that was commercial yeast base. By that time, the commercial yeast based starter had already changed... it was more like a real starter... but I was so proud of my new baby that I didn't have any problem to part with the first one.

The bottom line is, you can cultivate your own wild yeast starter or using commercial yeast to kick start. Whichever way works for you, by all means, go with it.

Once you have your starter going, you need to take care of it like your baby. Well, it's a lot less work but you won't want to neglect it or it will die on you. The best way to maintain a starter is to feed it periodically with flour and water. Then when you're not using it, keep it in the fridge. Some starter has a higher hydration level while others, lower. It really depends on your taste and how you like to maintain it. As long as your starter has enough strength to rise the dough, the hydration level is not a big deal.

So you feed your starter and keep it active and happy. When you're ready to bake bread, you need to have your starter out in room temperature at least the night before you make bread. Don't feel alarm... it's not that difficult.

Say, if you want to make bread on Sunday, you have to take your starter out (if in the fridge) to let it come to room temperature. Don't have to do much, just let in sit on your counter-top. Once it's in room temperature you can feed it once or twice, depends on the recipe. My recipe is always very straight forward so I only feed it once before bed time.

The starter mixed with new flour and water and the wild yeast in the starter will ferment the new flour. By the next morning, some 8 - 12 hours later, the mixture will look all bubbly and smell a bit like alcohol. Once again, nothing alarming about it. It's all very normal. If you see your starter active like that (we call it a sponge in this stage), you can proceed to use it to make bread.

The sponge that you made is the base of your bread. A simple sourdough loaf requires only flour, water and salt and the sponge of course. For a bit more fancy dough, you add oil and sugar. The last two ingredients basically just increase the flavor and texture of the bread. You can make a loaf without them.

Anyway, mix all the ingredients into the sponge and knead the dough like how you make regular bread. The biggest difference between making bread with commercial yeast and sourdough bread is TIME. Remember you had already let the sponge sit for 8 - 12 hours. Now, after mixing all the ingredients together, you have to let it rise for a few more hours.

Most commercial yeast boosted dough takes no more than 60 minutes for the first rise. Sourdough takes much longer than that. We live in Canada and our kitchen is always cool even in the summer so it takes more at least 3 hours (summer) and up to 4 even 5 hours (winter) for the first rise. Then you punch the dough down like what you do with making regular bread, shape the dough for final proof. The final proof for a regular loaf takes, say, 30 - 45 minutes. For sourdough, it takes around 2 - 3 hours. Now again, you don't have to do anything while the dough is rising. You just have to make sure that you are available when the dough needs some work i.e. punch down, shaping etc.

Once the dough is 2 - 3 times bigger you can bake it as usual. For artisan breads most people like to use very high temperature to achieve the thick crusty crust. But I make sourdough sandwich loaves so I use lower temperature (no more than 350F) and bake no more for 50 minutes. I just make sure the internal temperature reaches at least 190F and let the loaf continue to cook for the next two hours while cooling on a rack. Once it's completely cooled, I slice the loaf and store it in a commercial bread bag.

Sourdough bread doesn't need to go into the fridge. In fact, the sourness peaks at the 3rd or 4th day and the loaf stays fresh much longer than commercial yeast bread. Depends on the weather (temperature and humidity etc), it can stay fresh for as long as a week. My bread is always consumed in 3 - 4 days so that's never a concern for us.

Sometimes, I feel like tweaking my recipes so I add different ingredients into it. I add ingredients such as whey, yogurt, cottage cheese, sesame seeds, fresh herbs, onion powder, roasted garlic etc for varieties. All of these based on the same flour + water + salt + sugar + oil recipe. I usually make sandwich loaves because my husband and little man like to make sandwiches for lunch. From time to time, I make a free form loaf for a get together or just a Sunday brunch for my folks.

Bread making is a lot of fun and very rewarding. My husband and son can never get enough of my bread. I sell my breads to a small circle of people (from work and school) because they love my breads so much that they are willing to pay for them.

I am not sure how to post a picture here. But I will once I figure out how.

If you're interested in making a sourdough starter, I will be more than happy to help you kick start the process.

Have fun experimenting.

[Althetrainer]

Figured it out, sort of... the crumb shot of a loaf of free form roasted garlic bread:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/09...cbreads002.jpg

Sandwich loaf and the free form loaf:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/09...cbreads001.jpg

[Feb2003]

Althetrainer, thank you SO MUCH for typing all that out for me!!! : It's such a clear explanation!

Once the boys and I get back into the "school swing" I'll have more time. I'm very interested in trying to capture some yeast and grow another culture in my kitchen! I laughed out loud at your explanation of what the snobs would say.

Your loaves are beautiful and sound delicious!!!

[Althetrainer]

You're very welcome. Making bread is my passion. Just let me know when you're ready.

[Feb2003]

Thanks, Althetrainer!

bluebell, you can put some in a smoothie if you drink them. Great for you!

[fruitfulmomma]

Soak shredded potatoes in it overnight and make hashbrowns for breakfast.

[Micealc]

Althetrainer--you said you use whey in your sourdough recipes. Do you ever use it to feed your starter? Wondering if the whey would give it a boost and be good for it. My starter is doing great, so I don't want to mess with a good thing, but I have lots of whey and was just wondering if this could be another way to use it.

I realize this post is really old, so hopefully you are still around!

[tifpaul]

Micealc,

I'm in complete agreement with you. Do you think we could go up to Canada and find her??

I make sourdough bread all the time, but it's a no-knead variety that I love. I'm inspired, though, by her posts to try some real loaves . . .

[Micealc]

Haha!

The sourdough recipe I use sounds very much like hers, but I'm always willing to branch out. Please, tell me more about your no-knead!

[Astrea]

I've been so thrilled with my sourdough that I just started making a couple of weeks ago, so I'm happy to find this post with more tips! I've been baking it artisan style but I'm going to try my loaves at a lower temp tomorrow since I want them for sandwiches.

I pretty much just use whey in my sourdough dough. I do the sourdough variation of Artisan Bread in 5 that is described in their blog (just search 'sourdough' on the ABi5 site), with decreased yeast (1 T max for a 1.5x batch of the master recipe). I add about 1/4-1/2 C whey to the recipe and decrease the water accordingly. Very very yummy!

I made up 2 batches of lactofermented carrots today using whey as well and am very interested to see how those turn out.

[tifpaul]

This is the one I have been using. The loaves turn out flat - not dense, but spread out. Other than that, I'm very happy with it.

Mary Jane Sourdough

There is no liquid added in the making of the dough, so I'm not sure when/if you could add whey.

Which recipe are you using for sourdough?