Quick Kefir Dough
Kefir does the work of yeast here: its acid reacts with the bicarbonate of soda and fills the dough with carbon dioxide within seconds. There is no point slaking the soda in vinegar first — the gas simply escapes into the spoon. And no point waiting either: twenty minutes for the flour to hydrate is the limit.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Rest
- 20 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Servings
- 12
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 190 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Any soured dairy works in place of kefir: buttermilk, ayran, whey, or yogurt let down with water to a pourable consistency.
Makes: dough for 12 hand pies, about 700 g
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Bring the kefir to room temperature
Take it out of the fridge half an hour ahead. Cold kefir reacts slowly with the soda and the dough comes out dense.
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Step 2: Stir soda into the kefir
Add the soda straight to the kefir and stir. Within 30 seconds it foams up and pales — that is the carbon dioxide which will lift the dough.
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Step 3: Add the rest of the wet
Mix in the egg, oil, salt and sugar. The oil is what keeps the dough soft the next day, when without it it would already be dry.
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Step 4: Work in the flour
Add the flour in two additions. Stop when the dough leaves the sides of the bowl but still tacks slightly to your hands; extra flour makes it rubbery.
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Step 5: Knead for 30 seconds
Knead literally half a minute, just to even it out. Long kneading develops gluten, and this dough wants none of it.
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Step 6: Twenty minutes covered
Cover and leave for 20 minutes: the flour takes up moisture and the dough rolls out without springing back. Then shape and cook straight away.
Tips & variations
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Swap
Any soured dairy works in place of kefir: buttermilk, ayran, whey, or yogurt let down with water to a pourable consistency.
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Tip
A soapy soda taste in the finished pies means either too much soda or kefir that was not acidic enough. The standard is 1 tsp per 250 ml.
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Variation
For a dairy-and-egg-free version, drop the egg and add another 30 ml of oil and 20 ml of water. The dough is a little more crumbly but just as easy to handle.
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Storage
The dough does not keep: within an hour the gas is gone and it will not rise. Shaped raw pies, on the other hand, freeze well for a month.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 12 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 190 kcal | 2,280 kcal |
| Protein | 5 g | 60 g |
| Fat | 7 g | 84 g |
| Carbohydrates | 27 g | 324 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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