Honey, Raisen, Oatmeal Kefir Bread

I have been trying different things with my kefir grains since I got the water and milk grains from Ross Valley Ranch about three weeks ago. This is a bread I have made many times I just replaced the regular milk with the kefir milk I also added one teaspoon baking soda.

Ingredients

2 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Oil
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Oatmeal
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Packages or 5 Teaspoons Yeast
2 Cups of Kefir Milk
1 Cup Raisins

1. Warm one cup of the Kefir Milk (Luke warm) and add the yeast and stir and set aside, it should in about 4 minutes get all bubbly (that way you know its working).
2 Mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl, stir and set aside
3. In a separate bowl add your oil, honey and the other cup of Kefir milk and beat at low speed for a couple of minutes then add your cup of Kefir with the yeast.
4. Slowly add your dry mixture to the wet while continuing to beat, scrape the side of bowl when needed. When all the wet and dry are combined continue to beat at slow speed for 4 to 5 minutes the mixture will start to separate from sided of bowl. If this does not happen add just a little more white flour but be careful to much flour will make a dry bread
5. Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead, I knead for about 6 to 8 minutes, roll into a ball.
6. Oil the sides of a good sized bowl and add your ball, cover and let rise until doubled in size (1 to 1/1/2 hours)
7. Punch down, divide and put into three bread pans that have been lightly buttered or oiled, cover and set aside and let rise a second time. Bake in a preheated oven 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

This recipe does not make a real moist bread (hoping that's why I added raisins) but when I make half wheat and half white, its never is as moist as when its all white.

Baking with Milk Kefir

I picked up my starters of water kefir and milk kefir a week ago and so far all is going well. The kefir grains are multiplying as I was told they would, they are almost doubling on each batch yay! I decided to try cooking with the milk kefir this morning, for my first (and second) try I used my buttermilk biscuit recipe, just substituting the kefir milk in place of the buttermilk. This made a little flakier biscuit and a slightly calmer flavor and they rose just fine, I know I will try this again.

The strained Kefir milk is in the quart jar

The shapes are kinda wonky the batch before looked prettier
but I forgot to take a picture and hubby ate them before I
remembered :)

You cant really tell from the picture but they are more flaky with the kefir than with the store bought buttermilk. The texture is a little closer to when I make it with my homemade buttermilk, it may also make a difference because with the kefir and homemade buttermilk its made with my milk so it has not been pasteurized or homogenised....