KOMBUCHA MUSHROOM INSTRUCTIONS

Brew moderately strong black or black/green tea in a pot, ceramic container or glass jar. 1 tea bag of black tea can be used for 2 L of boiling water.

Add 3 Table spoons of sugar (any type) per 1 L of tea, dilute and cool. Sugar should be diluted when you place the mushroom in the tea, as it might cause burns/damage to the culture.

Add Kombucha Scobie to the brew. It will sink to the bottom or might be floating on the top, both being normal. Eventually, it should rise to the surface and stay there.

Cover lightly, co the culture can breath, otherwise the fermentation wont happen.

5.    Place in a dark well ventilated place in the kitchen away from direct sunlight and strong smells. Leave for a week, then check if the brew started to sour (ferment). In summer, at room temperature 24 C and higher, it takes 3-4 days to produce the fizzy drink. It may take longer in winter.

The mushroom will grow to the size of your glass jar/container and can be kept indefinitely. It will produce more layers and new baby mushrooms.

Dark yeast flakes in the liquid are normal. They can sediment at the bottom of container. 

Honey can be used to flavor the drink after it was brewed, but don’t replace sugar for it as the culture will die over time.

Herbal teas can be used, but not more than 50% of total tea volume (50% black tea/50% green or herbal tea).

Use a small amount of lemon juice to speed up fermentation, but better leave for a week and longer (it will get more fizzy) in a dark warm place.

SOURDOUGH STARTERS INSTRUCTIONS

When received, you should open the bags/jars straight away, and transfer the contents to a clean glass jar (at least 300 ml volume) or any other container (not plastic or metal) that you will use to keep your Starter in. You will feed the Starter in this container at least once a week (even if you do not bake at that time), so the container should be large enough to accommodate approximately 1/4-1/3 a cup¹ of Starter culture and enough space for 1-2 feeds (extra 1/4 a cup), plus some more space to allow the air in and to account for possible expansion. 

1^st Stage of Starter Activation (Feeding): 2-4 hours.

Add 1 Table spoon of flour² and clean (filtered or cooled boiled) water, enough to create a runny mixture, similar to pancake dough. Stir to encourage air circulation needed for fermentation³. Cover lightly with cotton towel. This is the .

Leave for 2-4 hours in a warm place (25 C+). Stir from time to time to allow air in, and if the mixture starts to thicken (if you use the flour with high fiber content), add more water. The mixture should be very runny liquid at this stage.

The first signs of life will appear, as the yeasts start waking up. Do not expect the bubbles and big expansion at this stage.

Brown liquid or thin white foam can be formed on top. Mix them in, do not throw them away. The smell should be pleasant and not off. The mixture might look and feel “lighter”, as the yeast has started to feed on it and change its structure.

2^nd Stage of Starter Activation (Increasing): 2-4 hours.

Add 1Tea spoon of flour if you only feed the Starter without the intention to bake now, or 3-4 Table spoons of flour if you are increasing it for baking. Add water to the runny consistency as in 1st Stage. You will have approximately 1 and 1/3 - 1 and 1/2 Cups of Starter. 

Leave for 2-4 hours, depending on room temperature. As the yeast gets more active and hungry, the mixture will get airy and bubbly, showing the porous structure when lifting with a spoon. The Starter is expected to expand at this stage⁴. 

It might take longer to reach this point initially, but in future with fully active and happy Starter, it normally takes on average 4 hours in total to re-activate (feed and increase) the Starter after taking it out of fridge. This process will be further referred to as Full Cycle of Fermentation (FCF). 

If you only feed the Starter, put it back to fridge, lightly covered. If baking, take 1 Cup of Starter to use for baking and put the rest to fridge until the next feed.

NOTE: If you’ve received the Starter dehydrated, add 1/4 Cup of water and let soak for 1 hour before following the 1st and 2nd Stages.

It is very important to transfer the Starter to a new container and feed it on the same day of receiving it, to give the yeast a better chance of surviving after transportation. If you are unable to do this for any reason, open the bag/jar and refrigerate the culture for up to 12 hours, attending to it as soon as you can.

To maintain the Starter, keep it refrigerated for a maximum a week (lightly covered), then it needs to be taken out and fed as per above 1st-2nd Stages. 

When going away and unable to feed the Starter at least once a week, thicken it up by adding enough flour to form the dough, place in plastic bag or any container lightly covered, refrigerate for up to a month.⁵

For baking, take the Starter out of fridge at least 24 hours before you plan to bake.

If you want to make properly soured well-fermented traditional bread full of flavor, or if the room temperature is lower than ideal for the yeast activity (+25 C), take the Starter out of fridge and start preparing it earlier (24-36 hours beforehand) to allow the time for proper activation and longer fermentation periods at each proofings.

  

¹1 cup is considered 250 ml in these instructions.

²Wholegrain or Wholemeal Non-GMO, unbleached and preferably Organic flours should only be fed to the Starters. Gluten Free Starter can be fed with variety of Gluten Free flours, varying them at each feeding. Baking can be done with any flour of your choice. Rye Starter can be used to bake all types of breads, Spelt Starter can’t be used for Rye bread baking, as it might not properly leaven it.

³Metal utensils can be used, although the wooden ones are preferable. Avoid plastic.

⁴The Starters have shown the approximate expansion rates of 1:2.5-3.

⁵ Spelt Starter is less tolerant to long periods between feeds, hence requiring more regular feedings to avoid the yeasts dying (every 4-5 days).

CIDER SCOBIE INSTRUCTIONS

If the Cider Vinegar is prepared correctly, Cider Scobie will appear at the bottom of the container. It has the look of a jellyfish and contains the yeasts, good probiotic bacterias and enzymes. 

The sweeter the sort of apples used for Cider, the more alcohol it will contain and the easier the creation of Cider Scobie.

The healing properties of Cider Scobie are 3 times higher than those of Apple Cider Vinegar itself.

Dont throw it away, keep it to enhance the healing qualities and accelerate your next batch of Apple Cider. Keep the Cider Scobie in Apple Cider. 

If you dont have the Cider (you've just bought the Cider Scobie), you need to prepare it, so the Scobie doesnt dye. In the mean time, while the brew is getting prepared, keep the Scobie in Apple Cider liquid you've received it in (transfer from plastic bag to glass jar and keep lightly cover so it can breath).

You can use any good recipe of Apple Cider. I am offering my family recipe here.

Old Slavic Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe 

Cut apples in small pieces including the skin and mash lightly. Place in enamel or glass container and add hot water (t about +70 C) to cover 3-4 cm above apples. 

Add 2 Table spoons of Raw Sugar if using sweet apples, or 4 Table Spoons if using bitter apples. Very sweet apples dont require sugar addition. Sugar can be replaced with raw honey (1-2 Table Spoons). Mix to dilute. 

Cover lightly, place in dark and warm place. The ideal temperature for Apple Cider fermentation is +26-35 C. Let sit for 2 weeks, stirring the mixture from time to time.

Drain the liquid. Transfer the Scobie to it, and leave for 2 more weeks.

The Vinegar will be ready to transfer to other containers. Dont shake the liquid. You can filter to clarify it if you wish. Keep some brew for the Scobie to live in!