Friselle with kefir whey, a dough made with semolina for a crunchy and flavorful result. I am very happy to present you with a recipe using kefir whey, an excellent leavening agent derived from Kefir, which allows me to replace yeast in preparations as I usually do with sourdough. It’s so much fun to see the dough rise without adding other yeasts but using only this whey rich in “good yeasts.”
To have kefir whey at home, you need to produce kefir manually and not buy it ready-made. To prepare it at home, kefir grains are combined with milk or water, and it results in a product rich in many properties. To obtain the grains, you usually turn to the so-called “dealers” who are actually generous people who freely donate part of their production to people living in their area. You might find grains to produce kefir in some specialized organic stores.
This recipe is therefore directed at artisanal Kefir producers who will daily find themselves with excess production whey that should never be wasted because it’s rich in properties, including leavening. I only use the whey because it’s the most acidic part of the production, but you can use all the kefir for leavening.
For lovers of naturally leavened doughs, I also remind
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 9 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 20 friselle
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 130.63 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 18.76 (g) of which sugars 1.13 (g)
- Proteins 3.83 (g)
- Fat 5.17 (g) of which saturated 0.79 (g)of which unsaturated 4.06 (g)
- Fibers 0.00 (g)
- Sodium 120.13 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 42 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
To prepare these friselle, you need to have kefir whey that is produced only manually
- 8.8 oz kefir (whey only)
- 4.5 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina flour
- 0.4 cups seed oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp honey
Tools
To separate whey from kefir, I suggest using a plastic strainer, and for kneading the friselle, you could do it by hand, but I recommend using a stand mixer for convenience
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Stand Mixer Howork
Preparation
The preparation of the dough is simple, but the rising, being natural, requires several hours which vary from house to house because it depends on many factors, including temperature and humidity present.
Put the ingredients into the stand mixer in the order described and knead at medium speed until a smooth ball forms that easily detaches from the sides.
The ingredients listed were perfect for me, but you might find the dough too soft, in which case add a bit of flour. If it’s too hard, you can add more whey or a bit of water.
Take the dough, create a ball, and let it rest in a closed bowl until it doubles, which took me about 8 hours with today’s temperature.
Take the dough and divide it into 9/10 pieces, stretch them with your hands and form rings that you will place on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Once all the rings are formed, cover them with a plastic or linen cloth for about an hour. Finally, bake in a preheated oven at 392°F until the surface is golden.
Take them out of the oven long enough to slightly cool so you can cut them in half horizontally and reposition them on the baking sheet to bake again at the same temperature for about 5 minutes, just long enough for the inside of the freshly cut ring to be golden as you can see in the photo above.
NOTES
The friselle can be consumed immediately after baking or stored in tin boxes with a lid and they will remain crunchy for days. You can use your friselle for excellent appetizers and snacks, you can consume them plain or stuffed, for example with tomatoes seasoned with red onion and fresh basil.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use kefir to knead?
Yes, this dough uses only kefir whey because I separate it from the more solid kefir as it is more acidic. But usually, people mix whey and the solid part of kefir and drink it all together. If you are a regular consumer of Kefir, I suggest finding grains in your area and preparing it manually at home; it’s delicious.
Where can I buy kefir whey?
You cannot buy whey, it is obtained from homemade kefir production, but you can obtain grains to prepare it. There are many generous people in Italy who freely donate it. If you encounter difficulties, you can also write to me, and I will gladly send them to you.
Can I use commercial kefir for leavening?
I assure you that artisanal kefir is excellent as a leavening agent because it is rich in good yeasts. I have never tried what is available commercially, so I can’t advise you, but I can certainly suggest that if you want to try buying it, choose the more liquid one as it will surely be richer in whey.
