Probiotic Labneh
This recipe is from The Sourdough School Sweet Baking book. We use variations of labneh to accompany all our bakes at the School as it goes with almost anything. It is particularly good as a topping for scones. It’s also a simple, inexpensive way to increase both your protein intake and your probiotics, and can be made with sheep or goat’s milk as well as cow’s.
Hands-on time: 15 mins. Total time: approx. 12 hours.
Makes: about 500-600g
Diversity score: 5
Ingredients:
Equipment:
- Big sieve
- Large bowl
- Muslin tea towel
- Small sieve
- Grater
- Spatula/wooden spoon
- Sterilised container for storage
Method:
Place the sieve over your mixing bowl. Wet the tea towel and line the sieve with it. Pour the yoghurt into the towel. Stir in the kefir and the sea salt. Leave the mixture on your countertop to drain overnight or for 12 hours. Your labneh is ready when the yoghurt has turned into a thick, creamy spread which releases easily from the cloth.
Pick up the towel containing the labneh and turn it over into a bowl. Gradually sieve the spraymalt into the mixture while stirring firmly. Be careful not to add in all the malt at once. It is hygroscopic and will form lumps if you act too fast. Stir until the malt is well incorporated and the mixture is smooth and glossy. If you’re making one of the sweet variations below, add the ingredients now and stir well one more time.
Store in a sealed, sterilised container in the fridge. It will keep for 4–5 days.
Sweet variations:
This labneh recipe is very versatile and you can create a range of diverse flavours:
- Orange Labneh – Add the zest of two oranges
- Malty chocolate labneh – Add 1 tablespoon of sieved raw cacao powder
- Christmas labneh – Add the zest of two clementines and add one level tablespoon of cinnamon
- Moroccan labneh – Top the plain labneh with 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint. Sprinkle generously with pomegranate syrup and scatter some chopped pistachios on top.
Tip: If the labneh has set too thickly to spread, add a drop of water and mix well.
Photo credit: Nassimer Rothacker from The Sourdough School Sweet Baking
