I was so happy to be invited to a Stonyfield Farm Tour this past August! They took us through their organic farms in Vermont, and we got to see first hand what it’s like to run a fully organic dairy farm. It was truly amazing to see the dedication, love and passion the farmers have for their craft. I learned so much about what goes into organic milk production, and I will never take a quart of yogurt for granted again! From the maintenance of the land the cows graze from, to the milking, to the everyday up keep of the farm, it is truly amazing what the farmers for Stonyfield accomplish day in and day out. There’s no time off, no vacations. The cows are their whole life!
We also learned so much about how important organic farming is to our planet and on the impact it would have on slowing the process of global warming. Stonyfield as a company had to go through so many obstacles and challenges to be able to show that not only can organic dairy be produced at a high level, but that it can also be profitable, while still being accessible! For me, the main take away was, every small step to organic is worth it! Even if you buy just one organic product at the grocery store a week, it makes a huge difference on our planet! Stonyfield is also dedicated to keeping organic dairy farms alive and well for generations of farmers to come!
With all that being said, I wanted to showcase the versatility of Stonyfield yogurt in this recipe! The yogurt in this rustic loaf gives a lovely tanginess and softness to the bread. It also promotes a nice browning of the loaf! I also used the yogurt to make cultured cream, also known as crème fraîche, to then make a homemade whipped butter. This recipe is truly a testimony to the power of yogurt!
Using grams for this recipe will be the most precise, but I wrote this in cups as well to make it easy for everyone to make, even without a scale. The dough, once mixed, should be wet so don’t be alarmed! When I measure the flour for this using cups, it is more of a lightly “packed” cup rather than a fluffy cup of flour. The dough is quite forgiving 🙂 Make sure to flour your hand well when working with the dough!
Rustic No Knead Yogurt Bread with Whipped Maple Butter
Equipment
- Jar
- Large Bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment paper
- Cast iron dutch oven
- Wire rack
Ingredients
Maple Butter
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup whole milk plain yogurt
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Bread
- 3 cups bread flour 425g
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour 35g
- 2 ½ tsp kosher salt 10g
- 1 ¾ tsp instant yeast 7g
- 1 ½ cups room temperature water 320g
- ½ cup whole milk plain yogurt 115g
- Cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- For the butter, mix cream and yogurt together until incorporated. Place in a jar and lightly put the lid on, don’t tightly seal. Let sit at room temperature for 24-48 hours until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of thin sour cream. Chill completely.
- Whip the cultured cream until the cream breaks and the fat separates. Remove the butter from the buttermilk and rinse the butter in cold water until the liquid coming off the butter turns clear. Now you have cultured butter!
- Whip butter with the maple syrup and salt until light and fluffy. Set aside.
- For the bread, in a large bowl, whisk flours, salt, and yeast until combined.
- Add water and yogurt, and mix until everything is incorporated. (it will be sticky)
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Let rise on the counter for 5 hours.
- Heavily flour your hands and a clean surface. Transfer the dough to the heavily floured surface.
- Shape dough by folding the side of the dough closest to you up, and then each side of the dough in towards each other. Next, fold the farthest side of the dough in towards yourself. Then, using the side closest to you, flip the dough all the way over so that what was once the bottom of the dough is now the top. (see video)
- Using cupped hands, shape the dough into a tight uniform ball. (see video)
- Carefully transfer dough to a cornmeal dusted piece of parchment paper. It’s ok if it is a bit misshapen. This is a very forgiving bread! It’s rustic 🙂
- Cover dough with a large bowl, and let rest 30 minutes.
- While the loaf rests, preheat your oven to 450ºF with a cast iron dutch oven inside.
- Remove the cast iron from the oven. Transfer dough to the hot cast iron. Score loaf as desired. You can use a lame or even just a sharp knife. (see video)
- Cover with cast iron lid and place back into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove lid from cast iron and return bread to the oven to finish browning and cooking. This next baking step will take about 10-15 minutes depending on how brown you like it.
- Remove bread from oven and carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing into the loaf! Yum! Serve with the whipped butter.
