Suggested Botanical Blend: a muesli mix
Makes 3 large or 4 small pots
DDT Dough 23C
Starter Either
Probiotic – yogurt (see page x)
Diversity Score Ingredients x + Probiotic x + Diversity museli Blend xx = xx
The Gut Factor A diversity museli mix, this porridge provides multi prebiotic substrates to nourish a wide range of microbes, with probiotic support to the gut from live yogurt & from your starter, as well has high levels of polyphenols from the mixed berries
Equipment needed: Medium saucepan, wooden spoon
A gut friendly breakfast about eating something that is delicious, packed with a variety of live bacteria, fibre, polyphenols and flavonoids (prebiotic) that has been pre-digested, and has live bacteria (probiotic) to support digestion. So, here at the school we feed our students breakfast pots using the live bacteria from our sourdough starter to breakdown porridge. The overnight fermentation is essentially external digestion, and the acids that the bacteria create make it easier for your gut microbes to access the fibre and nutrients because much of the hard work has already been done for them from the microbes in the starter, making the porridge more nutritious and easier to digest.
- 100g Diverse museli with Barley and Oats
- 300g water
- 10g salted butter or coconut oil
- 30g of active sourdough starter
- 100g raspberry jam or fruit compote
- 100g live yogurt
- 12g dark chocolate
- 10g chopped pistachios
- small punnet of fresh raspberries
Put the porridge mix into a saucepan. Add the water and put the pan over a low heat. Stir, making sure that as the water is absorbed, and the porridge begins to thicken up it doesn’t catch on the bottom. As the porridge thickens, add the remaining water incrementally and keep stirring. Keep on stirring until the porridge has taken up all of the water, simmering over a low heat still. It’s important that you don’t add too much water, but equally important that the mix isn’t underhydrated. It is actually rather difficult to give you a precise measurement for how much water you will need to get this balance right because every grain, seed and fruit in the porridge muesli mix will hydrate slightly differently. So, the amount of water you need will vary depending on the combination and proportion of ingredients in the porridge. What you have to do is ensure the porridge is thoroughly cooked, which can take a good 8-10 minutes of standing over the pan and stirring. My top tip is that it is always good to end up with the mixture looking slightly more liquid than you think it should be, because it will continue to take up water and thicken when you take the pan off the heat and leave the porridge to cool. It is important to make the porridge well in advance of needing it. You can make it 3 or 4 hours beforehand, giving it plenty of time to cool and fully absorb the water.
Once the porridge is cooled stir in the starter.
Transfer to sterile jam jars and leave overnight to ferment. These will keep in the fridge for 24 hours. if you leave them longer, they start to fizz. I love this, but it is not to everyone’s taste.
Once cool to about 23C then stir in 30g of active sourdough starter. If you don’t have any sourdough starter, then use 40g of kefir or live yogurt.
Divide equally into three clean jam jars, cover with a clean, damp tea towel, and leave overnight to ferment on the side in the kitchen.
In the morning, the porridge is fermented and will have risen slightly in the jar. Add the yoghurt, fruit compote/jam and then top each jar with chopped chocolate, pistachios and fresh fruit. Eat at room temperature.
Safety notes: You must ensure that your starter is lovely and sour before you use it in this recipe. I appreciate that this means tasting a bit of it, but the sourness indicates acidity. The acidity ensures that only the positive microbes that we want to culture in your starter are present. The higher levels of acidify are a deterrent to pathogenic bacteria that cannot survive in acidic environments.
REMEMBER
Grab-and-go breakfast pots are perfect for a busy family because you can pop the lid on the jam jar but remember that live food is still fermenting, especially when it is warm, so there will be a build-up of CO2, which can crack sealed jars. So, if you don’t want to eat your pot straight away, then remember to pop your breakfast in the fridge.
Consume within 2 days.