The other day I found myself dreaming of my vegan cashew “cream cheese”. Then I glanced at my walnuts, soaking in a jar on the window sill; and another batch of fresh beetroot on the kitchen counter. And there it was! I have to warn you though, walnuts have a strong, unique flavour that might not be to everyone’s taste. You can substitute them with more cashews, or sunflower seeds, or blanched almonds, or….

Also, due to natural oxidation, the top layer of the cream cheese will turn slightly grey. This is normal and doesn’t affect the taste or quality.

Makes approx. 250g of cream cheese:

3/4 cup (100g) cashews (soak for 8 hours, then rinse and drain)
3/4 cup (80g) walnuts (soak for 8 hours, then rinse and drain)
1/3 teaspoon salt
20g raw beetroot (or more if you like)
probiotic powder from two capsules
1/4 cup + 1-2 tablespoon water

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a powerful blender until smooth.

2. Scoop into a sterile jar, place lid on only loose so that the probiotic little helpers can breathe.

3. Place the jar in a warm place for at least 10 hours. Depending on how warm it is and how active the probiotic bugs are, the vegan “cheese” will take between 10 and 20 hours. Once the ‘cheese’ has risen and you can see small bubbles, it is ready.

4. Place in fridge and consume within a week.

Enjoy! 

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

I’ve seen a few yeast-free recipes so far but they either don’t convince me or involve sooo many steps until you can actually bake the recipe. I’m too spontaneous to keep looking after a sour-dough that needs all sorts of steps

Ever since I made my own probiotic, cultured “cream cheese” I kept wondering if I could use those probiotic cultures to create some kind of natural, yeast-free “sour-dough”.

So I used my favourite flour mix for home-made bread and added some probiotic powder from my probiotic capsules. This is my way of a quick and easy, if not lazy, sour-dough. And it works! A few things are important though:

Dough raising time:

When working with probiotics it will take much longer for the dough to raise. I recommend to give it at least 14 hours and up to 20 hours. Make sure the temperature doesn’t drop under 30°C.

Temperature:

Use a very warm spot, around 35°C. I use a small chilly bin as my probiotic sauna, into which I put two plastic containers that have been filled with boiling water. Then I add a few clean kitchen towels before placing the loaf tin onto those. I also cover the top of the loaf tin with some clean baking paper to avoid any condensation water to drop onto the raising dough. You might want to change the water after 8 hours or so to make sure that is warm enough.
You can also use a dehydrator or an oven if it can be set to 35°C.

Hygiene:

Be extra careful with the bowls etc and make sure that they are as clean as possible because you don’t want to grow any other bacteria or fungi than your probiotics Should the dough grow funny looking, coloured spots (orange, green, grey etc.) you might want to reconsider if you want to go ahead using it, because it could be bad fungi that have grown on it.

Probiotics:

For my probiotic, cultured recipes I use these capsules. They are much cheaper than using dairy-free yoghurt, something that is also hard to get here in New Zealand.

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Home-made Bread (Vegan, Gluten-free, Yeast-free)

I’ve seen a few yeast-free recipes so far but they either don’t convince me or involve sooo many steps until you can actually bake the recipe. I’m too spontaneous to keep looking after a sour-dough that needs all sorts of steps.

Course Baking Savoury, Bread

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword Bread, Buckwheat, Fermented, Home-made, soy-free, yeast-free

Servings 1 bread (23 cm)

Equipment

• 23cm loaf tin

Ingredients

• 210 g rice flour
• 210 g buckwheat flour
• 1 tablespoon psyllium fiber husk alternatively ground flax seed
• 2 teaspoon coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt or less if you prefer less
• 3 capsules content of probiotic capsules
• 375 ml warm water

Instructions

• Sift all dry ingredients into a clean bowl. Mix well.
• Add warm water and stir to combine. It should become a fairly creamy dough.
• Line loaf tin with clean baking paper. Pour into loaf tin and spread evenly.
• Place loaf tin into warm spot that is at least 30°C warm. See comments above for tips.
• After about 18 hours the dough should have risen well.
• Place loaf tin into oven, cover it with a sheet of baking paper, aluminum foil (which can be reused several times) or an oven-proof lid) and switch it on to 200°C (top-/bottom heat). Bake for 60 to 80 minutes or until an inserted wooden skewer comes out dry.
• Take bread out of loaf tin, peel away the baking paper and let cool down on a cooling rack.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Because for quite some time, I had this bottle of probiotic capsules sitting in my pantry, meaning to use it to try some cultured cheese alternatives.

When I first made this vegan cream cheese, I couldn’t believe how much it reminds me of that popular brand. OK, it’s been many years since I last had it, but in my opinion it really does taste very similar. A great advantage: while eating it, you’ll get your probiotics as well!

You can use pretty much any seed or nut. My preferred blend at this stage is cashews and macadamias. You can also use it as salad dressing. So yummy!

This recipe will create one large jar of vegan ‘cream’ cheese. If you wish to have a smaller amount, you might need to make it in a powerful mini-blender (my large high-speed blender struggles with amounts that are smaller than what’s listed below).

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Super Easy Cultured Cream ‘Cheese’ (Vegan, Gluten-free, Raw)

When I first made this vegan cream cheese, I couldn’t believe how much it reminds me of that popular brand. A great advantage: while eating it, you’ll get your probiotics as well!

Course spread

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword Almond, Cashew, dairy-free, Fermented, raw, soy-free, Spread

Servings 1 large jar

Equipment

• powerful mini-blender

Ingredients

• 140 g cashews soak them in filtered water for at least 4 hours, then rinse and drain
• 1/2 cup macadamias soak them in filtered water for at least 8 hours, then rinse and drain
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup filtered water start with less and add more if needed
• 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
• 2 content of probiotic capsules

Instructions

• Blend all ingredients until tick, creamy and smooth.
• Transfer to a suitable container. I like to use small mason jars. Make sure you don’t fill it more than half full (it will grow once it ferments). Loosely place lid on top, don’t close it to allow it to breathe.
• Place in a warm spot for at least 8 hours. In my experience it needs to be at least 20°C, or even better 25°C. Because it is colder than that in my home, I use a chilly bin into which I place a hot water bottle and the jars with soon-to-be cream ‘cheese’. Add salt & pepper to taste. Store in fridge and use within about 4 days.

Notes

Give it a try! It’s amazing and admittedly quite addictive

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.