Sprouted Wheat Bread
Sprouted Wheat Bread
Shelanne Lighthouse
4 ½ lbs dry hard white or red wheat berries
½ lb whole millet & whole buckwheat grain combined (¼ lb each)
Sprout all the grains together. Please note it is also perfectly acceptable to make this bread with only wheat or to use other grains besides millet and buckwheat. It is very important to sprout only until you barely see the sprout coming out of the kernel and the grain is soft. If you sprout too long the enzymes get going and your dough will be very gooey, difficult to work with, and not rise or bake well. I start with tepid water and let my grain soak about 24 hours; sometimes less. If I’m not ready to use it after 24 hours, I change the water (you need to change the water at least every 24 hours or even twice a day) and put the wheat in the fridge for up to another day.
When you are ready to grind the wheat and make bread, drain the grain in a colander. In a separate bowl, combine the following:
½ C warm water
1 C applesauce (I use this in place of oil or more sweetener)
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp dry yeast
½ C ground flax seed
When the yeast is thoroughly wet and mixed with the other ingredients, combine this wet mixture with the drained, sprouted grains in a big bowl. Grind all of this together. (I find it is much easier to grind a wetter mixture and have it mixed together from the beginning rather than grinding the grain and then trying to mix in the yeast mixture after). The only good way I have found to grind wet grains is to use a meat grinder. I bought an attachment for my Bosch mixer specifically for this purpose. I have read that some people have used a food processor, but I did not have success with that method.
After the grain is ground, it must be kneaded (unless you successfully use a food processor which will knead while grinding). During the kneading (for which I use my Bosch), I add the following:
2 Tbsp salt
½ C quinoa flakes
Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. You may need to add a little flour if it seems too wet (or perhaps if your grain drained really well and was almost dry you may need to add a bit of water), but it should be just about right. Generally, a wetter dough is better. Let it rise in bulk until doubled and then form into loaves (this amount should make about 3-4 loaves depending on their size; smaller loaves usually work better with 100% whole grain breads).
Cover the loaves and let rise in a warm place until risen nicely (about doubled; this will not rise super high as it is pretty hefty bread). Bake at 350º F for 1 hour.