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Seeing wholegrain rye bread come to life in someone else’s kitchen thanks to the work I do fills my heart with such joy!
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Repost of @jenniferments
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Whole grain rye sourdough plus a bonus rye spice bread made with sourdough discard. I have been baking for a long while but shied away from making a whole grain rye sourdough. First, because I thought it was too difficult to get a good result. And second, because my kiddo and I have been basically gluten free for the past 4 years or so. Last year I discovered that we can tolerate Einkorn sourdough, and recently I’ve been reading that folx with gluten sensitivities might also be able to tolerate rye (and spelt – that’s next on the list to try!) I have been following Alison Kay @ancestral_kitchen for a while and I am so inspired by her food journey, plus the practical and down to earth manner in which she shares and teaches. So when I had the opportunity to take her class called Wholegrain Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics at @thefermentationschool I took the plunge! I watched every video and with her experience and knowledge I felt very confident that I would be able to make a great loaf of rye sourdough… and I did! Not only a loaf of WHOLE GRAIN rye sourdough, but I also used my discard to make a rye spice bread! I am so grateful that @ancestral_kitchen and @thefermentationschool have made learning so accessible and easy! The photos show 1) the finished whole grain rye sourdough that I baked in a Pullman loaf pan, 2) rye starter bubbly and ready, 3) rye berries before milling, 4) my old “Whisper Mill” which sounds like anything but a whisper 😂 I’ve had this thing for ~18 years and though it’s loud it still works great! 5) preferment all bubbly, 6) finished rye spice bread- it has golden raisins, pecans, molasses and honey, plus cinnamon, ginger, and freshly grated nutmeg. It smells heavenly! 7) a slice of the spice bread – it was absolutely delicious with butter! 8) bubbly main dough after fermenting and ready for the pan, 9) beautiful crust on the finished whole grain rye sourdough straight out of the Pullman pan, 10) dense yet airy crumb that had a rich, gorgeous flavor!

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When I first read Nourishing Traditions back in 2010 (I’m ever-grateful to you @jennierutzcom for passing the book my way), raw goat milk was one of the first things I brought into my transformed kitchen.
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I had always had congestion problems with supermarket (aka ‘normal’) milk and my hubby, Rob, had found his skin peeled whenever he ate too much dairy.
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These negative issues, which had caused both of us to stop eating dairy, disappeared when we consumed raw milk. We were amazed.
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And then, 12 weeks into our son’s life, when I had to face the fact that I could not produce enough breast milk to feed him, we turned again to raw milk – making the Weston A Price baby formula at home from @elliesdairy goat milk.
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Raw milk played a pivotal role in bringing us to ancestral foods and our son’s early days. It has brought us health (as well as amazing taste!).
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And yet, when I look outside my bubble, I see how raw milk generates so much unfounded fear. Listen into episode 53 of @ancestralkitchenpodcast to hear about *real* milk; how it’s always been, and why industrialisation meant the advent of pasteurisation and the transformation of this amazing food stuff (and the places that produce it) into a shadow of what they could be.

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Milk kefir is my nemesis!
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Fresh, home-made probiotics are *powerful* things. I should know, I’ve spent almost a decade measuring the amount of sauerkraut I have and ever-so-gradually increasing it. I started this because too many fermented foods stop me sleeping. For others, too much might cause tummy upset or skin reactions…
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What I’ve also learnt, along this journey, is that not all fermented foods are the same. Some are more vigourous, some gentler.
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For instance, I remember reading in the GAPS book (@ancestralkitchenpodcast episode on GAPS coming soon) that sauerkraut brine is gentler than the actual fermented cabbage.
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Milk kefir is the undisputed King of fermented foods as far as I’m concerned. Every time I try to have another go at bringing it into my life (and of course, I try a lot because it tastes so darn good!), I’m there wide awake at 2am!!
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And yet, in the tapestry of my own healing, I feel it’s important, so I’ll get organised (just like I did for sauerkraut) and my teaspoon out, starting *really* slowly.
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In the meantime, the beautifully fermented, but less vigourous ‘boza’ (pictured) will deliver its probiotic goodies to my tummy. We all have idiosyncracies, things we’re healing, things that don’t sit right with us and boza – being gluten, dairy and lectin free can offer a delicious (and historic) probiotic.
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Videos of my boza process in my story today and thank you @bigbank2riverbank for this picture of your boza fermenting. It was wonderful to talk boza and much more when we met last week.

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Are crackling bubbles the height of deliciousness on roast pork belly?!
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I had to share this bubble with my 8-year old (at least I managed to get it to the table without him victoriously stabbing it with something!).
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Check my story today to see how I cook pork belly.

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Early morning ale-making!
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The ale (bottom, in the glass container) which contains malted rye and oats, home-cultured yeast and water, is being strained through a colander before bottling for a short second ferment. The bowl on the left is of spent grain – this will be mixed with flour to make a bread.
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There are more pictures (including one of my hubby’s dressing gown – it really was morning!) in my story.
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And I finally got round to writing up my ancestral beer adventures so far. Read all about it via the ‘Medieval Ale in a Modern Kitchen’ link under the articles section of my profile.

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This is how my home-grown veg are going to be *really* good come autumn: Fermented food waste a.k.a bokashi.
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I’ve been fermenting kitchen scraps. After a few weeks sitting inside a simple fermenting container in my kitchen, it comes out here to my container garden.
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My obliging helpers (so good to do things together!) dig a big hole in my pot. We take the fermenting food (you can see from the picture that it’s still recognisable – that’s fine) and put it in the hole. Then we mix it well with the existing soil and cover.
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It’ll sit here for a few weeks now, then I’ll be able to plant into it. I°m planning beets, carrots, parsnips and…in a slightly crazy move some oats!
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I cannot tell you how good our veg are grown in bokashi. Nor how great it feels to be reusing our kitchen scraps whilst not buying new compost!
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Check my story today for video (saved to bokashi highlight afterwards) and know that if you want to give this a go, you can get a 10% discount on the container and fermenting medium via the links in my story.

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How do I use ancient grains in sourdough bread?
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How do I get my sourdough to rise more?
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How do I freeze and store dough or finished bread?
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What flour is best for sourdough starters?
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We asked for your sourdough questions and, boy, you sent them to us! We spent a *long* time sorting and prepping for this episode – if you’re a sourdough baker, particularly one who loves ancestral food, you are in for a treat: it’s almost 90 minutes of Q&A plus *do* check the show notes…there are so many resources there!
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Let @farmandhearth and I know what you think! And if the explorations you dive into following the episode bring up *even more* questions, send us those and we’ll plan a round two!!
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You can listen to @ancestralkitchenpodcast in your podcast app or stream/download from my site: the link is in my profile.
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Happy baking 🙂

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These are naked oats…and I’m embarking on a new kitchen adventure!
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‘Normal’ oats (avena sativa) don’t sprout. They have to be heat-treated to stop them going rancid because removing their hulls damages the grain.
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These aren’t ‘normal’ oats! They are hull-less, naked oats (avena nuda). They don’t have to be processed in the same way and therefore come to a kitchen raw and because of that I get to sprout them!
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Silvia, the lovely lady at @lebarbarighe (the other side of Bologna to me) patiently answered my questions and then sent me 5 kilos.
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Check my story today to see me show more, talk about them and hear what I’m doing with these golden gems!

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This is tempeh. But not just any tempeh. It’s made from black chickpeas in small batches by @mugellotempeh. I bought it at my local farmers market.
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It’s the second time I’ve tried tempeh. The first time I bought it, wrapped in plastic, from a nationwide health store. I did my best when cooking it, but it wasn’t that great.
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This time, with tempeh that’s come from a small creator, and armed with instructions I learnt in @kirstenkshockey’s 30 days of fermentation course, it is a totally different food!! Check my story today for a market-to-table walk through of the process!
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I am constantly amazed at how different food tastes when we pay attention and love to the process of creating it! Yes, it might cost us more to buy from a small producer but we’ll eat less because we’re satisfied *and* we’re actively building a world that is sane and healthy, not industrial.
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If you haven’t tried tempeh, go look for a local producer (or make some yourself – Kirsten has a book on it so you’re covered!)
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Listen to episode #48 of @ancestralkitchenpodcast to hear the interview with @kirstenkshockey where we talk about many things fermentation, including tempeh and her 30 day course.

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New cacao bean delivery! So excited to replenish my supplies and get making some bean-to-bar chocolate in my tiny kitchen.
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If you want to get some beans and follow along making chocolate (plus drink the tea!) click the link in my profile. Under the courses section, you’ll see my Zoom bean-to-bar chocolate. It’s less than $20.

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