I got some whole grains this weekend and thought I'd sprout them for bread flour. My ultimate goal is to make our own super nutritious Ezekiel bread, so sprouting plain red wheat was my "trial run."
I put four cups of red hard wheat into a big gallon glass jar. I have no idea on the wheat to flour ratios. I can't find anywhere on the internet that says how much wheat you have to grind to get a cup of flour! So I thought four cups of soaked grains would give me a good start on figuring that out.
I put four cups of red hard wheat into a big gallon glass jar. I have no idea on the wheat to flour ratios. I can't find anywhere on the internet that says how much wheat you have to grind to get a cup of flour! So I thought four cups of soaked grains would give me a good start on figuring that out.
You can soak your grains anywhere from 12-24 hours. Here mine are at 18 hours:
Rinse the grains:
...and cover the jar with cloth to allow the air to flow (and keep bugs out!). Rinse the grains 2-3 times a day to keep them damp, but not wet.
When the grains sprout to about 1/4 inch I'll put them on a parchment lined pan and dry them in the oven at 150 degrees for about eight hours. When dried, they'll get ground into flour.
I know this seems like a lot of work for a loaf of bread but I think it's totally worth it! I really love the whole process. Soaking your grains changes the chemical composition of the grain making your body recognize it and digest it more like a vegetable rather than passing most of it through your digestive tract. Even people who are gluten sensitive can enjoy baked breads by sprouting them first! (Note, I said "gluten sensitive" NOT gluten allergic!)
For more information on why spouted grain breads are good for you, click here.
You can also soak your whole grain flours!
When making your homemade bread, soak your flour in the liquid used in the recipe. Put 2 TBS. of an acid (buttermilk, cultured yogurt, kefir, vinegar, whey or lemon juice) per every one cup of liquid. There is a really nice article HERE about soaking flours along with a great recipe for whole wheat bread.
I know, there's no denying it now...
I've officially gone off the deep end!
I know this seems like a lot of work for a loaf of bread but I think it's totally worth it! I really love the whole process. Soaking your grains changes the chemical composition of the grain making your body recognize it and digest it more like a vegetable rather than passing most of it through your digestive tract. Even people who are gluten sensitive can enjoy baked breads by sprouting them first! (Note, I said "gluten sensitive" NOT gluten allergic!)
For more information on why spouted grain breads are good for you, click here.
You can also soak your whole grain flours!
When making your homemade bread, soak your flour in the liquid used in the recipe. Put 2 TBS. of an acid (buttermilk, cultured yogurt, kefir, vinegar, whey or lemon juice) per every one cup of liquid. There is a really nice article HERE about soaking flours along with a great recipe for whole wheat bread.
I know, there's no denying it now...
I've officially gone off the deep end!
9 comments:
Can't wait to hear how it comes out!! Great find!
My wheat molded quickly, before it sprouted... so watch it!
I heard that that can happen so I kind of "forced" the wheat to sprout early. I soaked and rinsed in warm water and made sure to rotate the jar pretty often. My wheat sprouted sufficiently at 36 hours and are now in the dryer. I just now put on my Ezekiel mix to soak.
Hi JoAnn - yet another reason I wish we lived closer - I have a wheat grinder !! 1 cup of wheat berries makes about 1 and a half cups wheat flour - we grind ours twice to make it finer - I bought a used hand crank Family Grain Mill - we all fight over who gets to crank the wheel :-) I do have to add the vital wheat gluten or I make bricks not bread... can't wait to hear out it turns out - I sprouted some of our ten year old wheat - just to see it if it was slill alive and it sprouted ! - I was amazed ! Let us know how it turned out !! LA
Hi JoAnn - yet another reason I wish we lived closer ! I found a used Family Grain Mill - hand crank along with several cans of ten year old wheat, I didn't know if the wheat was still good so I tried to sprout it and it sprouted ! pretty amazing ! We found 1 cup wheat berries = 1 1/2 cup wheat flour - and we grind ours twice just to get it finer, if I don't add the vital wheat gluten I make bricks not bread ! I can't wait to hear how it turns out, I didn't use our sprouts in bread, we just ate them :-) Miss ya ! LA
That's so cool! I can just see the kids gathering around the crank for a turn! Yes, vital gluten IS vital! Wow, with four cups of berries I should have enough flour for a loaf of bread and a little more than a dozen tortillas. I'm so super excited about all of this! My ezekiel mix just got done soaking (20 hrs) and now is on to sprout...THAT'S the one I'm most excited about! Where do you get your berries? How do you store them?
I have some of my wheat in the deep freezer and some in a big container with a good seal. I was told though that freezing is not necessary. I just don't have any other place to store it, so it's in gallon freezer bags at the bottom of all else.
Sorry about the double post, am too new to this blogging stuff :-)
I bought the grain mill (and lots of cans of LDS packaged wheat) from Yvonne R. before she moved. The wheat I have was canned before the Y2K scare...I couldn't believe it sprouted ! I want to get some fresh stuff and try it - hoping to see a real taste difference..
So glad to hear your bread worked - I am going to try to sprout enought to make a loaf too - how did the drying go? Can I send a link to the Holy Family Group to your blog ??? LA
Everything I've read says you can dry it in the oven at 150 for 8 hours, but my oven doesn't go that low so I got out the dehydrator. I used all six trays and it took about 12 hours to get them good and dry!
Sure, you can post to Holy Family, but I don't think any of them will be interested in ME...
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