Milk Kefir vs Yogurt: What's the Difference and Which Is Easier to Make at Home?

Milk Kefir vs Yogurt: What's the Difference?

If you've been thinking about making your own cultured dairy products, you've probably come across both milk kefir and yogurt.  At first glance they seem very similar.  Both are made by fermenting milk, both contain beneficial bacteria, and both have been enjoyed for centuries.

Although I've made milk kefir for many years, filmjölk for several months, kombucha for years, and regularly make traditional kefir farmer's cheese (tvorog), I've never made true yogurt.  Rather than pretending otherwise, I thought I'd compare them based on my experience with kefir and the characteristics of each fermentation.

For me, milk kefir has to be one of the easiest and most reliable fermented foods to make at home. 

Although this article focuses on milk kefir and yogurt, I'll occasionally mention filmjölk because it's another cultured milk that I've been making regularly.  

In this article

• What milk kefir and yogurt have in common

• The main differences between kefir and yogurt 

• Which is easier for beginners

• Which one I prefer

Disclosure: This article contains Amazon affiliate links.  If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  I only recommend products I genuinely use or believe would be useful.

My Milk Kefir Grains 

Equipment I Use

For Australian readers I recommend:

• Wide-mouth fermentation jars 

• Plastic mesh strainer 

• Adhesive thermometer strips (optional)

• Milk kefir starter culture

For US and international readers, don't use Amazon Australia as the postage is too high, instead you should consider the same items from International Amazon:

• Wide-mouth fermentation jars

• Plastic mesh strainer

• Adhesive thermometer strips (optional)

• Milk kefir grains

Short on time?  Here's a quick comparison before we look at each cultured milk in more detail.

Feature	Milk Kefir	Yogurt
Starter Culture	Living kefir grains	Yogurt starter culture
Fermentation Temperature	Room temperature	Warm incubation (typically 40–45°C)
Time	Usually about 24 hours	Usually 4–12 hours
Microorganisms	Bacteria and yeasts	Mainly beneficial bacteria
Equipment Needed	Jar and strainer	Often a yogurt maker or other way to keep milk warm
Reusable Culture	Yes, grains usually grow and multiply	Yes, can often be re-cultured for several batches
Texture	Drinkable to thick, depending on fermentation	Usually thick and spoonable
Ease of Making at Home	Easier for most beginners	Straightforward if you have a warm place to culture it

What is Milk Kefir?

Milk kefir is a fermented milk drink made using living kefir grains.  These aren't cereal grains, they are small clusters of bacteria and yeasts living together in a natural symbiotic culture.

The grains are added to fresh milk and left to ferment at room temperature, usually for around 24 hours.  Once the kefir has thickened, the grains are strained out and reused indefinitely.

Read my guide: Making Milk Kefir at Home

If you're new to kefir, you may also find these helpful:

• How to Grow Milk Kefir Grains at Home

• Farmer's Kefir Cheese (Tvorog)

What is Yogurt?

Traditional yogurt is made using specific bacteria, most commonly Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.  Unlike milk kefir, yogurt doesn't use reusable grains.

Instead, a small amount of yogurt containing live cultures is mixed into warm milk and held at a fairly constant warm temperature until it thickens.

This means yogurt generally requires more temperature control than milk kefir.  My house gets too cold to make yogurt without an incubator,  the added cost of buying and running an incubator or yogurt maker, as well as the bench space they take, are largely why I don't make yogurt at home.

Milk Kefir vs Yogurt

1. Starter Culture

The biggest difference is the starter culture.

Milk kefir uses living kefir grains that continue growing and multiplying over time.  I've had my kefir grains for years. 

Yogurt uses bacterial starter cultures.  Many people simply reserve a little yogurt from each batch to inoculate the next, although the culture may eventually need refreshing.

Because my kefir grains have been with me for years, I rarely think about buying starter cultures anymore.  

2. Fermentation Temperature

One reason I enjoy making milk kefir and filmjölk is the simplicity.

I simply leave it on the kitchen bench and let it ferment at room temperature.

Yogurt usually needs a consistently warm environment while it cultures.  Many people use a yogurt maker, insulated container or another method of maintaining temperature.

That extra step isn't difficult, but it is another thing to manage.  It also takes more space than a jar of kefir. 

3. The Microorganisms

Milk kefir contains both bacteria and yeasts.  While the exact species vary over time, kefir often has a far greater microbial diversity than yogurt. 

Yogurt contains a smaller number of species of beneficial bacteria but generally no yeasts.

This gives kefir a more complex fermentation and a slightly tangy flavour that changes as it ferments.

4. Taste

Yogurt is common in supermarkets, most people reading this would know what it tastes like.  Yogurt is generally milder and creamier than milk kefir.  

In my experience, fresh milk kefir has a pleasantly tangy flavour.  If it's left longer, it becomes more acidic and eventually separates into curds and whey. 

I sometimes leave a batch of milk kefir fermenting for a week or so, it gets very sour at times.  I also deliberately over ferment milk kefir and use it to make fresh farmer's cheese.

I've experimented with longer fermentation times in both milk kefir and filmjölk.  For example, I deliberately left one batch of filmjölk fermenting for four weeks just to see what would happen.  The result surprised me.

Read the experiment: What Happens if You Ferment Filmjölk for 4 Weeks?

5. Texture

Fresh milk kefir usually pours easily, although it thickens depending on temperature, milk, and fermentation time.  At certain times of year my kefir is slightly bubbly, this is from yeasts being very active.  

Yogurt generally has a thicker, spoonable consistency.

Filmjölk is a Scandinavian fermented milk that sits somewhere between the two.  Like yogurt, filmjölk is never effervescent. 

Related article: Kefir vs Filmjölk: Which Is Better for Beginners?

6. Looking After the Culture

One thing I enjoy about milk kefir is that the grains contain living organisms.

As long as they're fed regularly with fresh milk, they continue growing.  Over time you'll usually have extra grains to share or use in additional batches.  I've found them surprisingly resilient.

Straining milk kefir grains

Which Is Easier for Beginners?

For most beginners, I think milk kefir is easier to make consistently. 

Once you have healthy kefir grains:

• no special equipment is needed
• room temperature usually works well
• the grains can be reused indefinitely
• they often multiply over time

Yogurt certainly isn't difficult, but it generally requires maintaining the correct temperature during fermentation.

Equipment I Use

If you'd like to make milk kefir, I sometimes sell kefir grains when I have extra.  If you need kefir starter culture and I don't have any for sale, you can order kefir and other equipment from Amazon along with other items I genuinely find useful.

For Australian readers I recommend:

• Wide-mouth fermentation jars 

• Plastic mesh strainer 

• Adhesive thermometer strips (optional)

• Milk kefir starter culture

For US and international readers, you should consider:

• Wide-mouth fermentation jars

• Plastic mesh strainer

• Adhesive thermometer strips (optional)

• Milk kefir grains

I've found that wide-mouth jars are much easier to clean than narrow-neck bottles, particularly if the kefir thickens more than expected.  Thermometer strips are optional, but they are fun and surprisingly accurate, plus once you have them you find a heap of uses for them. 

For Australian readers who decide yogurt suits them better, you will need a good yogurt maker.  This 6 jar yogurt maker is meant to be ideal.

For US and international readers, this 6 jar yogurt maker is the one I would recommend.

Which Do I Prefer?

Although yogurt is extremely popular, I've never felt the need to start making it because milk kefir and filmjölk already suits my family so well.

Milk kefir is easy to make, forgiving if life gets busy, and the grains continue producing batch after batch with very little effort.

It has also become the basis for several other foods I regularly make, including fresh kefir cheese.

If you're deciding between the two, there's no wrong choice.  Both are traditional cultured dairy foods with long histories.  For my kitchen, though, milk kefir has become the clear favourite.

Milk kefir separating, good for tvorog

Frequently Asked Questions

Is milk kefir healthier than yogurt?

Both are nutritious fermented dairy foods containing beneficial microorganisms, but they use different cultures.  Milk kefir generally contains a wider variety of bacteria and yeasts, while yogurt is usually made using a smaller number of bacterial species.  Rather than asking which is healthier, I think it's more useful to choose the one you'll enjoy making and eating regularly.

Is milk kefir easier to make than yogurt?

In my experience, yes.  Milk kefir ferments happily at room temperature and the grains can be reused indefinitely.  Yogurt usually needs to be kept at a consistently warm temperature while it cultures, which often means using a yogurt maker or another method of incubation.

Can you make milk kefir without kefir grains?

Traditional milk kefir requires living kefir grains.  Powdered starter cultures are available, but they don't usually grow and multiply in the same way as genuine kefir grains.  That's one reason I prefer using live grains.

Does milk kefir taste like yogurt?

They taste similar but not identical.  Fresh milk kefir has a tangier flavour and is often slightly fizzy because it contains both bacteria and yeasts.  Yogurt is usually milder, creamier, and often has a more consistent flavour.

Can I use yogurt instead of milk kefir?

It depends on the recipe.  Both are fermented dairy products, but they behave differently because they contain different cultures and have different textures and flavours.  In recipes specifically developed for milk kefir, I usually recommend using kefir for the best results.

You might also enjoy

• Making Milk Kefir at Home - simple instructions

• How to Grow Milk Kefir Grains at Home (Beginner Guide)

• How to Make Farmer's Kefir Cheese/Tvorog using milk kefir

• Kefir vs Filmjölk

• How to Make Filmjölk at Home 

Books That Helped Me Learn Fermentation

If you enjoy making kefir, like to learn more about traditional fermentation, these are some of the books I've found useful over the years.  Fermentation is one of those hobbies where a good book is often more useful than buying lots of equipment, because understanding the process lets you improvise.

These are some of the books that can be purchased through Amazon that helped me when I started experimenting with kefir, cultured dairy, and other fermented foods.

Wild Fermentation - this is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in cultured foods, covering a range of traditional ferments including dairy, vegetables, and beverages.

The Art of Fermentation - this is a comprehensive resource for anyone interested in traditional fermented foods, including cultured dairy products such as kefir, yogurt, and other heirloom ferments.

Ferment For Good: Ancient Foods for the Modern Gut: The Slowest Kind of Fast Food - is a practical introduction to traditional fermentation, covering everything from sauerkraut and kefir to kombucha and sourdough, with a focus on improving gut health through homemade fermented foods

Nourishing Traditions - A traditional foods cookbook exploring old-fashioned food preparation methods, including cultured dairy, fermentation, soaking, and preserving techniques.

Perennial Vegetables, Rare Edible Plants, Seeds & Kefir for Sale – August 2026

For Sale: August 2026

August 2026 availability: live perennial vegetable plant and seed list (Australia).

I grow a collection of unusual perennial vegetable plants, rare edible plants, heirloom seeds, kefir grains, kombucha SCOBY, aquatic plants, and other unusual living cultures available from my home garden in Australia.  Everything is grown organically by me and in small seasonal batches.  

Most plants are available in small quantities only and some items may sell out during the month.  Availability changes through the year depending on growth cycles and dormancy.

If something is not listed below, it is not currently available this month.  For photographs, botanical names, growing notes and detailed descriptions of these plants, see my complete perennial vegetable catalogue.  

Recommended books: Many readers ask how I learned to grow perennial vegetables and save seed.  I've put together a short list of the gardening books that have influenced me most near the end of this page.

Jerusalem artichoke tubers

How to Order

To order, please email me with the items you would like:

damien_beaumont [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] au

(Replace [at] with @ and [dot] with .) 

I will reply with total cost and payment details.  Postage is sent on Mondays after payment clears.

Postage

• $12 standard plant and item postage
• $3.50 seeds only

Bare Rooted Perennial Plants ($5 each unless noted)

Perennial Onions & Alliums

• Babington leek
• Everlasting onion
• Tree onion/Egyptian walking onion bulbil

Other Perennial Vegetables (Dormant)

• Skirret (small offset)
• Asparagus (Purple)
• Asparagus (Precoce D’Argenteuil)
• Chinese Water Chestnut ($3 per small corm)
• Duck potato ($3 per small tuber)
• French Sorrel
• Jerusalem Artichoke ($3 per tuber) Available for limited time

Culinary Edible Herbs (Perennial)

• Brahmi/water hyssop  
• Jekka's thyme
• Lemongrass
• Peppermint
• Rosemary - blue flowering
• Sweet violet
• Vietnamese fish mint 
• Variegated water parsley (prettier than the all green form)
• Green water parsley (more vigorous stronger tasting version of the variegated form)  
• Watercress 
• Willow herb 

Berries & Fruit

• Pineberry strawberry
• Elderberry (smaller plants posted, larger plants can be picked up)
• Jostaberry (pick up only due to size)
• Pomegranate 

Aquatic Plants

• Azolla – $3 per scoop
• Duckweed – $3 per scoop

Heirloom and Open-Pollinated Seeds ($4 per packet)

A selection of heirloom, open-pollinated, and home-bred vegetable seeds suitable for seasonal growing in Australian conditions, including rare and unusual vegetable seeds.

• Immali corn (my own sweet corn breeding project producing purple/pink and white kernels)
• Purple hot mustard
• Purple asparagus
• Tomato Tommy Toe
• Tomato Reisetomate 
• Tomato Snow White
  
• Tomato Speckled Roman
• Huacatay
• Senposai
• Giant parsley mix
• Hon Tsai Tai / Choy Sum (purple stem) 
• Black raspberry seed (not plants) (note: requires minimum of 3 months cold wet stratification to germinate)
• Muscari grape hyacinth - packet of seeds (not bulbs) 

Living Ancient Cultures - Kefir & Ferments ($5 each)

• Milk kefir grains – approx 1/4 cup 
• Kombucha SCOBY - cultured on black/green tea mix for maximum microbe diversity

Ornamentals/Succulents/Houseplants/Cuttings

• Aloe vera - small plants $5 
• String of pearls succulent - plant $5, cuttings $2
• String of beans succulent (sourced from Coober Pedy) - plant $5, cuttings  $2
• Red jelly bean succulent  $5, cuttings $2
• Succulent - Plectranthus (unnamed variety) $5 
  
• African violet leaf cutting – 'New Hampshire' $3
• African violet leaf cutting – double light blue (unnamed variety) $3

Tree onion bulbils

For photographs, botanical names, growing notes and detailed descriptions of these plants, see my complete perennial vegetable catalogue.  

Please note my catalogue page lists a lot of things not currently in season/not currently for sale.  The only things I have for sale this month are listed in this blog post above. 

Recommended books and Equipment

These are the most useful reference books for many of the plants listed above.  They are also the books that got me started on the journey of growing rare edibles and perennial vegetables.

Some links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.  I only include books I actively use or strongly recommend for growing the plants in this catalogue.

Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth  
This is the most widely used seed-saving reference book and one I still rely on regularly.  It gives clear, plant-by-plant instructions for saving seed from vegetables and herbs, helping you maintain reliable strains and preserve genetic diversity in a home garden. 
Best for: anyone saving seed from the vegetables, especially leafy greens, legumes, and herbs.

Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, a Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious and Easy to Grow Edibles, Eric Toensmeier  
A foundational reference for anyone interested in perennial vegetables.  It covers over 100 perennial vegetables, including many species featured in this catalogue, from common artichokes to lesser known edible perennials.
Best for: building a perennial food garden and exploring unusual edible species.

Lost crops of the Incas 
I love this book!  This one got me started in rare and underutilised vegetables.  It explores traditional Andean crops and highlights many species that are still rarely grown outside their native regions.
Best for: rare crop inspiration and expanding beyond standard vegetable varieties.  

Lost crops of Africa 
A detailed overview of African traditional food crops, their nutrition, and their potential for wider cultivation.  Many of these plants are highly resilient and well suited to harsh or variable climates.
Best for: climate resilient and underused food plants.

The Complete Book of Plant Propagation, H. L. Hartmann
A comprehensive guide to propagation techniques including seeds, cuttings, grafting, and layering.  This is a technical reference, but extremely valuable if you are propagating plants from this catalogue.
Best for: cuttings, grafting, and scaling up rare plants.

Many of you ask what gear I use to manage my garden, take cuttings, and package seeds. Below are the specific, reliable tools I rely on every week.

Felco F-2 Classic Manual Pruning Shears
The absolute industry standard for a reason.  I use these for everything from harvesting asparagus to taking clean woody cuttings of mulberry and elderberry.  They can last a lifetime because every single part is replaceable.

• Best for: Clean, disease-free plant propagation and general pruning.

Check current price for Felco F-2 Shears on Amazon

Grip Seal Resealable Zip Poly Bags (100-Pack)
If you are saving seeds like my Immali corn or Tommy Toe tomatoes, these zip lock bags are essential.  They significantly reduce seed's exposure to oxygen, keeping your home-saved seeds viable for years.

• Best for: Organizing, storing, and labeling your seasonal seed harvest.

View Zip Lock Bags on Amazon

Stainless Steel Soil Moisture & pH Meter
Perennial vegetables like watercress, water chestnuts, and asparagus are highly sensitive to their soil and water conditions.  This simple tool helps me instantly check if my beds are holding the right moisture levels before planting out delicate bare-rooted stock.

• Best for: Keeping rare and unusual edibles in their optimal growing zones.

Check Soil Meter Deals on Amazon

Jonquil vs Daffodil: What's the Difference? (How to Tell Them Apart)

Daffodil or Jonquil? What's the Difference?

People often use the words daffodil and jonquil interchangeably, but botanically they are not exactly the same thing.  The confusion comes from the fact that all jonquils are daffodils, but only some daffodils are jonquils.

In Australia, the word jonquil is often used quite loosely.  Many older garden plants sold or passed between gardeners as "jonquils" are actually hybrids or other species of Narcissus.  For most home gardeners this does not matter, but it explains why two people may use a different name for the same flower.

To add to the confusion, common names vary depending on where you live.  In some English-speaking regions, people casually refer to all members of the genus Narcissus as daffodils.  In parts of the French-speaking world, however, the word jonquille is commonly used for all daffodils, even when they are not true Narcissus jonquilla. 

Short answer: Every jonquil is a daffodil, but not every daffodil is a jonquil.  True jonquils belong to the species Narcissus jonquilla, while "daffodil" refers to the entire Narcissus genus, which includes dozens of species and thousands of hybrids.

Hoop petticoat daffodil Narcissus bulbocodium

What are Jonquils?

True jonquils all belong to one species Narcissus jonquilla.  

They are usually recognised by their narrow, rush-like leaves, clusters of smaller flowers, and often (but not always) have a particularly strong, sweet fragrance.

Jonquils often produce several flowers on each stem, unlike many of the large trumpet daffodils that produce a single large flower per stem. 

The fragrance is one of the traits many gardeners associate with jonquils, although fragrance can vary between different plants and cultivars.

What is a Daffodil?

All daffodils belong to the genus Narcissus.  There are about 60 species in the genus Narcissus, along with countless interspecific hybrids.  This includes the large trumpet daffodils, miniature daffodils, multi-headed varieties, fragrant varieties, and jonquils.  

In other words:

Every jonquil is a daffodil, but not every daffodil is a jonquil.

At this point, the difference seems fairly simple, but there is more to this story.

Daffodil 'Marieke' - large yellow trumpets

It Gets More Confusing 

The daffodil versus jonquil distinction becomes much more complicated because many Narcissus species can interbreed. 

As many Narcissus species can cross with each other and create fertile offspring, breeders have created many thousands of hybrids.  This has resulted in the enormous diversity of daffodils grown today, with huge differences in flower size, colour, shape, fragrance, flowering time, and growth habit.

A flower may have the narrow leaves and strong fragrance associated with jonquils, while also carrying traits inherited from other Narcissus species.  Many modern garden varieties are complex hybrids rather than pure examples of a single wild species.  

Growing daffodils from seed is also a fascinating way to see how much variation exists within Narcissus.  Unlike bulbs, seed-grown plants are not identical copies of their parents, which can result in surprising differences in flower colour, shape, and flowering time.

Are jonquils more fragrant than daffodils?

Sometimes, but not always.  

True Narcissus jonquilla is well known for its sweet fragrance and has been an important parent in breeding many scented daffodil hybrids.  However, many modern daffodils are also strongly scented, while some jonquil hybrids may have little fragrance.  Fragrance alone is not enough to reliably identify a jonquil. 

How to Tell a Jonquil From a Daffodil

Feature	Jonquil (Narcissus jonquilla)	Other Daffodils (Narcissus other species and hybrids)
Leaves	Usually narrow, round, and rush-like leaves that feel almost hollow.	Often have wider, flatter leaves, although some species and hybrids can be intermediate.
Flowers per stem	Often produces several smaller flowers on each stem.	Many varieties produce a single larger flower per stem, although some types also produce multiple small flowers.
Flower size	Usually smaller, delicate flowers.	Can range from tiny miniature flowers to large trumpet blooms.
Fragrance	Often strongly scented with a sweet fragrance.	Fragrance varies. Some have no noticeable scent, others have a heavy fragrance.
Growth habit	Often forms clumps with multiple stems emerging from bulbs.	Growth varies greatly.
Identification difficulty	Not overly difficult for Narcissus jonquilla (although many garden plants sold as jonquils are interspecific hybrids).	Virtually impossible because thousands of hybrids that combine traits from different species.

Many modern Narcissus are hybrids between jonquil and daffodil that contain traits of both parents

This daffodil has jonquil in its ancestry

Why Does the Difference Matter?

If someone calls a flower a jonquil, they are most likely using the local common name rather than referring to the botanical species Narcissus jonquilla.  

For everyday gardening, the distinction usually is not overly important.  Whether you call it a daffodil or jonquil, it is still a beautiful spring-flowering Narcissus.

In my own garden, I refer to all Narcissus as 'daffodils'.  This is largely because I don't grow any pure jonquil, and many of the 'jonquils' available in Australia are hybrids with only a small amount of N jonquilla genetics.  Leaf shape, fragrance, flower number, and flowering habit can reveal clues about a plant's ancestry, even when the plant is a complex hybrid.

However, if you are interested in growing, breeding, or identifying different species of daffodils, understanding the difference helps explain why there is so much variation within this fascinating group of plants. 

Related Articles

Daffodils are a fascinating group of plants with a surprising amount of variation.  When grown from seed, even old heirloom varieties show a surprising amount of variation.  Here are some of my other articles exploring different daffodil varieties, comparisons, growing from seed, and observations from my own garden. 

• Growing daffodils from seed - first attempt
• Daffodils from seed - sibling comparison
• Daffodil comparison of varieties - which one should you grow
• Comparing Store Bought Daffodils vs Seed Grown Daffodils
• Spring flowering bulbs
• My plant catalogue - where I occasionally have bulbs, plants, and perennial vegetables available

Easy 2-Ingredient Buckwheat Sourdough Bread Without a Starter

 

My Simple Experiment Making Buckwheat Sourdough Bread with Two Ingredients and No Starter

You can make a simple buckwheat sourdough bread using only soaked buckwheat groats and home made active kombucha.  I tried it as an experiment and it fermented successfully without a traditional sourdough starter or commercial yeast.

Sometimes the best kitchen experiments start with a simple question.  I already had kombucha continuously brewing, a bag of buckwheat in the pantry, and I knew both kombucha and sourdough rely on live yeasts.  That got me wondering: could I make buckwheat sourdough bread using just those two ingredients?  There was only one way to find out.

In its simplest form, sourdough is a mix of yeasts that have partially digested some flour, and this mixture is baked to make bread.  

I then started thinking about the living cultures I keep that contain yeasts.  I make milk kefir, I have filmjölk, and I brew kombucha, two of which contain (among other things) many species of live yeasts.  While commercial baker's yeast is typically a single species, sourdough cultures often contain a diverse mix of wild yeasts and bacteria. 

At this point in time I am not loving wheat.  While I have had enough of wheat for now, I am particularly fond of buckwheat.  I eat buckwheat for breakfast every day.  I began to think if I have many species of living yeasts, and I have buckwheat, why not try to make sourdough buckwheat bread.

I figured I could get some buckwheat, mix with kombucha, make it into a dough, let it ferment for a while, and bake it into a sourdough bread.  Sounds simple enough, surely nothing much could go wrong.  Worst case scenario it would taste bad, and I would feed it to the chickens.

I gave making buckwheat sourdough bread a try, and it worked well.  I was almost surprised at how simple the process was and how good the bread turned out. 

Buckwheat sourdough bread

I Made Up My Own Recipe

After trying this I looked on the internet for sourdough buckwheat recipes.  In hind sight I should have looked for recipes first just in case this wasn't just common sense.  

It didn't matter too much in this case because it seems I was on the right track, there are a bunch of recipes on the internet that do pretty much what I tried.  

Sourdough certainly has its complexities, but for a simple loaf like this, common sense gets you surprisingly far.

Sourdough buckwheat bread - first attempt

My recipe did not make enough dough.  Given the size of my bread tin, it would have been better using 2 cups of buckwheat and 1 cup kombucha.  I also think had I left it to ferment longer it would have been fluffier.  Other than that, I could not be happier with this attempt.  

My super simple buckwheat sourdough recipe 

(next time I will double the ingredients).

Ingredients:

1 cup raw buckwheat groats 

1/2 cup kombucha liquid

Instructions:

1) Soak 1 cup raw buckwheat groats in water for 6 (or more) hours. 

2) Drain liquid, but do not rinse.

3) Put buckwheat through blender until it becomes liquidy.

4) Add 1/2 cup of kombucha liquid.  Blend until mixed together.

5) Put in something that is not metallic, cover to keep out insects but still lets in air.  Leave overnight to ferment.

6) Line a bread tin with baking paper.  Add the buckwheat / kombucha dough (this could be left to rise for fluffier bread).

7) Bake in oven around 180C for about an hour. 

Buckwheat kombucha slurry from step 5

This post contains affiliate links.  If you buy through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  I only recommend products that I use myself or would happily use.

If you'd like to try this recipe yourself, you'll need raw buckwheat groats.  I am based in Australia and usually buy raw buckwheat groats because they work well for breakfasts, sprouting, and experiments like this sourdough bread.  

For US and international readers, these are the raw buckwheat groats I would recommend.  

You will also need active kombucha.  I used homemade kombucha from my continuous brew system, but any active, unflavoured kombucha should work.  

If you're interested in brewing your own, I explain the process in my continuous brew kombucha guide.  Making kombucha costs me under 20 cents per liter to make at home, so it is far more cost effective than buying it.

To brew kombucha, you will need active Kombucha SCOBY, I offer them when I have extra, and I can post throughout Australia.  If I don't have any I highly recommend Oliver's Kombucha available through Amazon.  

I also use a large glass beverage dispenser with a tap, which makes continuous brewing simple.  

For US and international readers, I can't post to you so I recommend this kombucha SCOBY on Amazon, opt for the smaller size as they are more cost effective and grow very fast.  For a glass dispenser with tap, I would recommend a dispenser such as this one. 

Ready for baking - I could have let it rise first

It had some bubbles, but would have been fluffier had I left it longer

The End Result Was Good

The bread looked nice, smelled ok, and tasted good.  

The bread it made was a bit thin as I did not use enough ingredients for the size of the bread pan.  It may have been even nicer if it was fluffier.  

You can see some little holes, these are from the bubbles while it fermented.  Had I left it in the bread tin for a few hours it would ferment more and be more fluffy.

Buckwheat sourdough loaf

It was so thin that it ended up looking more like brownies than bread.  As it was so thin, and looked like a brownie, I sliced it into little pieces instead of traditional bread slices.  This seemed to work well.

I put some butter between each of these little pieces.  The loaf was warm when I added butter, and it melted the butter into the bread.  Most of the butter was soaked into the bread.  I imagine this type of bread would work well with honey comb. 

I put butter between these slices and let it melt in to the bread

I had a little bread left over that I ate the next morning.  It may be my imagination,  but it seemed fluffier.  I liked it more the second day. 

Other than wanting to double the recipe as the loaf produced was too small, the only down side I can see to this recipe is the price.  It's too expensive to make this more than once in a while, especially if I use 2 cups of buckwheat. 

Buckwheat sourdough bread

Related Fermentation Articles

If you enjoy experimenting with fermented foods, you might also find these guides helpful:

• How to Make Filmjölk at Home - A simple guide to culturing Swedish fermented milk with just two ingredients
• Filmjölk vs Kefir - My comparison after making and drinking both regularly
• Making Milk Kefir at Home - Everything beginners need to know to keep healthy kefir grains.
• Farmer's Kefir Cheese (Tvorog) Recipe - A simple recipe to make Tvorog traditional farmer's cheese using milk kefir
• What Happens If You Ferment Filmjölk for 4 Weeks - my experiment pushing the limits of filmjölk 
• Two Ingredient Buckwheat Sourdough with Kefir  coming in August - My experience making gluten free sourdough using milk kefir and buckwheat

Final Thoughts

I thought it was good fun to make buckwheat sourdough bread.  Next time I will use milk kefir instead of kombucha, and see what that is like.  

I plan on making this again.  With a slightly larger batch and a longer second rise, I think it has the potential to become a really enjoyable homemade loaf.  Even if it never replaces everyday bread, it was a fun experiment and another reminder that fermentation often rewards curiosity.

Growing Saffron in Canberra Region

I first planted saffron (Crocus sativus) around 2018, and after growing saffron continuously for several years in the Canberra region, I have learned a few things about what works (and what didn't).  In late April this year my saffron started flowering.  It normally flowers around Easter for me, the last two years my saffron has been a little later than normal. 

I find saffron easy to grow organically.  Saffron seems especially well suited to the conditions of the Canberra region.  

I have received a few questions about saffron, plus it flowered recently, and I thought I would write another blog post on it. 

Saffron crocus flower pulled apart to show my kids

Why I'm hesitant to write this post 

Last time I wrote a blog post on saffron my blog received several unpleasant comments such as the one below.  Other messages were calling me names and other messages telling me to kill myself.  

At the time, I didn't know who was sending them, or why.

One comment left on my blog

Without going into detail, I later came across information that caused me to believe some of the comments may have been connected to people I had known through a baptist church I attended several years earlier.

Following the influx of hostile comments, I changed my blog settings so only users with Google accounts could leave comments.  After making that change, the hostile comments have stopped.  

I was disappointed with how my concerns over this and other serious allegations of misconduct were not investigated by the Baptist Standards Unit.  My personal experience left me feeling that concerns about controlling behaviour and unhealthy leadership dynamics are not taken seriously at an institutional level.  

While I doubt people will continue to leave comments like the one above with their names attached, and I doubt the comments were in any way related to saffron, I still feel hesitant to write a blog post about saffron.  Even thinking about my saffron flowering fills me with anxiety.  It's interesting how the mind works.  

Saffron threads - the darker coloured area is strongest

Why the Canberra region is ideal for growing saffron 

The Canberra region is known for having hot dry summers, and cold winters.  Saffron performs best when given hot dry summers when the corms are dormant, and cold winters when the plants are actively growing.  Sounds like a good match. 

The corms need to be dry when dormant, or they rot.  Heat when they are dormant also helps them flower better, I will explain that more below.  I have no idea how the cold winters while they are actively growing helps them, but I have cold winters and they perform well for me here.  

Saffron plants grow from corms.  A corm is similar to a bulb in many ways, and many people would use the terms interchangeably.  

Saffron is a sterile triploid, meaning it can not produce viable seed.  As saffron can't produce seed, it must be grown from corms.  Luckily, saffron corms are simple to grow, and they divide reasonably quickly. 

Saffron threads stored in a little glass jar

Saffron corms are dormant over summer, they sprout in autumn and grow during the cooler seasons.  Sometimes saffron sends up a flower before the foliage, other times they send up leaves first and then flowers.  Both are fine.  

If the corms are too small they may not flower that year.  Look after these small corms, and they will be big enough to flower the following year. 

When saffron flowers, it tends to send up several flowers, and it does this across a few different days.  You have to keep an eye on your saffron patch during the season otherwise you may miss the flowers.  

Fresh saffron threads before drying

What saffron plants look like 

The leaves of saffron plants look a bit like grass.  When not in flower, saffron is uninteresting to look at, but it doesn't look bad.  It just kind of blends in.

I don't have enough space to devote to saffron.  I grow some saffron in the garden among berries and things, and some saffron in pots of soil.  Both perform well for me. 

When planting saffron, if it is planted too shallow it tends not to flower.  Shallow planted corms (10cm) usually divide into many small corms.  Deep planted saffron (15-20cm) tend to flower better, and divide into fewer, but larger corms.  

I grow a bit of both, the deeper planted ones give me more flowers that year and the following year, the shallow planted ones increase the numbers. 

Saffron plants sprouting 

This year, mostly due to over crowding, I did not get a lot of saffron flowers.  As you can see, this pot has far too many corms.  I have a few pots of saffron, most are crowded.  I ran out of space and decided it was better to crowd them for a year or two rather than not planting at all.

The saffron planted in my garden are flowering, and some of the larger ones in the pots are flowering, but most of the container grown saffron did not flower this year.  

I top dressed these pots with compost.  This will feed the corms and hopefully they will grow fat and be large enough to flower next year.  

Saffron top dressed with compost 

Saffron plants look like grass

Saffron corm flowering size 

Saffron corms flower when they are large enough.  The way I tell if a corm is flowering size is by measuring their circumference.  I don't measure the diameter, it is too unreliable, I measure the circumference. 

Saffron corms are not very round, they have flat edges and things, so measuring the diameter doesn't work.  Instead, I wrap a piece of string or something around them and then measure the string, that gives me the corm's circumference.  

Saffron corms with a circumference of 7cm or more will flower, anything smaller may not flower that year.  

Saffron corms are dormant over summer

Saffron needs heat when dormant 

Many perennial vegetables suffer from virus load.  Things such as potatoes have diminished yields, and can eventually fail completely, unless they are cleared of viruses.    

One study identified 17 viruses that affect saffron, and other studies suggest saffron yields may be decreased by several more viruses.  As saffron can't be grown from seed, virus load could potentially be an issue. 

Luckily, the traditional way to grow saffron effectively eliminates viruses.  One study states that saffron viruses can be eliminated by thermotherapy, this is where the corms spend 30 to 40 days at 35 °C.  You could place corms in an incubator for 40 days to eliminate virus load, but this can be avoided.

Saffron needs a hot dry summer to flower well, this is likely because it is destroying the virus load.  

When growing saffron, some years I leave the corms in the soil, others I dig and lift them.  I store the lifted saffron corms in a mesh bag in my garage.  Over summer it is hot in my garage, it reaches over 35C, and while the temperature drops at night it rises the following day.  Most summers the corms in my garage get more than 40 days of these high temperatures, which naturally eliminates virus load without the need for an incubator.  In the Canberra region, these higher temperatures are reached naturally over summer.  

My saffron usually flowers well each year, I guess this is because it has had the virus load largely eliminated through storing the corms hot and dry.  

Saffron flowers are pretty, and they smell nice

Increasing saffron yield

Interestingly, I've read a few studies such as https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6604984/ which indicate natural soil bacteria can help saffron yields increase.  

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria are natural soil bacteria.  Some species, such as Curtobacterium herbarum, are demonstrated in several studies to increase the number of saffron flowers and significantly enhance the length of the saffron filaments. 

I grow everything organically, and have a large range of plants growing.  While I am not sure if C herbarum is present in my soil, there is a good chance it may be.  It is present in the Canberra region, and given the wide range of plants I grow there is a good chance it has inoculated at least one of them, and should be able to spread from there to my saffron.  

If this species is present, research suggests it should increase the number of flowers, and the length of the threads.  This may be another of the possible reasons why my saffron usually flowers well each year. 

Saffron from 1 small corm - 3 flowers

Growing saffron at home is cheaper 

Growing your own saffron at home organically is nice, and it is cheaper than buying this spice from the shops.  Given where the majority of saffron in the world is grown, presumably saffron will become even more expensive as time goes on. 

To give an idea of the benefit:cost ratio of growing your own saffron, one company in Victoria currently sells small packets of saffron threads for $3.  These packets contain 6-9 threads, which is meant to be enough saffron for an average dish for 4 people.  

To give an idea of how much this is, the pictures of the little glass jar on this blog post contain 9 threads.  Small saffron corms tend to produce 3 or 4 flowers each, which produce 9-12 threads in their first year.  This means in their first year, each small saffron corm using current retail prices, produces about $3 worth of saffron threads. 

Each year after that the saffron corms tend to grow larger, and produce more flowers.  Individual corms also multiply.  All of this means your initial small investment keeps paying for itself more and more as time goes on.

Organically grown saffron threads

Where to buy saffron corms 

If you are interested in growing your own organic saffron at home, I sell saffron corms over summer when they are dormant.  I can post to most of Australia, but not overseas at this stage.  

I've never tried to post the spice itself, only the live corms for people to grow their own.  I guess I could post saffron spice in little glass jars or something like that.  I may give that a try in the future. 

The Canberra region is pretty perfect for growing saffron, it has hot dry summers and cold winters.  I am sure saffron can also grow well in many other places, but have only tried growing it in the Canberra region.  

Relates saffron posts

If you're interested in growing saffron, I've written several other articles covering different aspects of cultivating this remarkable autumn-flowering crocus.  These include growing saffron in the Canberra region, how I grow and propagate my plants, updates from my own patch over the years, and information on obtaining saffron corms when they are available.

• How I grow saffron - it's surprisingly simple
• An update on my saffron plants - from 2025
• Perennial vegetable catalogue - links to my monthly for sale page where I sell saffron corms in season