Sunday, January 13, 2008

sprouted grain bread.


Today we made bread using the sprouted grains we started on Friday. I tweaked the recipe a little to get a lighter loaf than I have gotten in the past using sprouts--and this came out just right. Since my boys help with bread making I use a bread machine.


ingredients::
1 cup sprouted grains (I used a mix which included organic wheat, rye, barley, triticale, oats, spelt, kamut, quinoa, sesame, millet and amaranth)
about 1 c milk (see note in directions*)
1/2 c + 3 Tbsp water (tweaked)
3 c whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp organic brown sugar (can also use honey, agave, etc.)
2 Tbsp softened butter
1 Tbsp softened coconut oil (you could also just use more butter)
2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp yeast
>>optional...2Tbsp vital wheat gluten


directions::
Blend sprouted grains in a food processor until they are a course meal. Measure 1 cup of the ground grains into a large cup measure. Leaving the grains in the cup, pour fresh room temp milk over the grains to the 1 cup mark* (This compensates for liquid present in fresh sprouted grains). Place this mix into the bread machine pan. Measure the 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp room temp water and add that into the bread machine also. Add the rest of the ingredients into the machine pan in the order your bread machine recommends. Select the wheat cycle and light crust.

Check your pan during the knead cycle--with the sprouts I find I need to run a rubber spatula in a few times to get everything together.

The bread has a great rich nutty flavor and not much crumb. Very good! The boys love it warm, with fresh butter and honey.

31 comments:

sarcomere said...

I just returned to machine bread making after five or six years, and am getting my technique back with a new machine.

Thanks much for this great recipe. I am looking forward to getting some wheat berries tomorrow and starting them sprouting. Next time I go to the "big city", I will get a sampling of various grains to sprout if this first try comes out well.

Best,

RVG in Arkansas

Beth Curry said...

Thanks for the recipe, Denise. This was posted several months ago. Have you tried it since? I wonder if it would work well with a sourdough starter. Could yogourt or soy milk substitute for milk?

C. from Montreal, Canada

Raspberry Leaf said...

Have you ever tried this without a bread machine? Do you have the original recipe? I am trying to figure out the proper oven temperature and rising etc for this. I really want to figure out how to make my own ezekiel bread because it is so expensive!
Would you mind emailing me back with answers? Thank you.

jlane said...

This looks like a great recipe. I was curious to know if you tried it with other flours besides wheat? I'm also interested in knowing if you've tried it with almond milk or rice milk.

I've just started down the path of organics and blood type eating. Thanks for all the useful info on your blog!

Jamie
A new friend from Northern WI!

denise said...

Hi!

I have only used wheat for the flour for this one, as we grind our own...but you could add any sprouted grains. I also know there are sprouted grain recipes which only use kamut or spelt - they just don't rise the same and have a chewier texture.

I would substitute water for the milk, not an alternate 'milk' product - they tend to have different heat points, so I don't often bake with them. :)

Carolyn said...

what temperature would you bake this in an oven instead of in a bread machine?

Toni said...

I want to make this bread! As some of the others who have written in I'd like to make it in the oven - perhaps on a bread stone, (I don't have a bread machine.) What would the process be?

Thanks for the information -
Antone in MA

Natasha said...

This bread sounds delicious and I am going to try to make it. Two questions 1. How much grain do you sprout to wind up with 1 cup of ground sprouts in the end?
2. How many servings does this make? I am thinking reasonable slices similar to what you would get from a grocery store.

thanks!

denise said...

Natasha - I'm sorry I'm slow to respond. Just catching back up after the holiday weekend.

How much to use and how big it sprouts depends on the type of grains you are sprouting - they can vary greatly.

I have a sprouting mix, which includes grains from big to tiny, and use about about 2-3 Tbsp. to sprout well over a cup to use. My mix has Wheat, Rye, Hulless Barley, Triticale, Oats, Spelt, Kamut, Quinoa, Sesame, Millet and Amaranth.

Servings...this makes a 1.5 pound loaf, which is pretty similar in size to a tall loaf from the store. Just better. ;)

Natasha said...

I am making the bread right now! So excited.

How do you grind your own flour, by that I mean what kind of equipment do you need? That will be my next project.

denise said...

Natasha - Me too! :) It is rising right now.

We use a hand grinder (http://cookeatthink.blogspot.com/2007/09/first-loaf.html) - if you plan to grind a lot of your own wheat it might be good to get an electric version. But for us, it is fun to have the boys help and they love love love to crank crank crank! With the hand crank type it just takes 2 passes to get it fine for baking bread. We have also ground dried sprouted grains (sprouted first, dried in a low temp oven, then ground into flour), groats, spelt and more!

Natasha said...

One more quick question, trouble shooting if you don't mind.

The first time I made this bread it came out perfectly and it was delicious. I have since made it twice more and both times the same thing happened, it is half the size of the first loaf and much harder. I cannot figure out what the problem is, if I ground the sprouts too much or didn't put in the right amount of milk, do you have any clue what could cause this? THANKS SO MUCH!

denise said...

Natasha - Hmmmm. Hard to say without seeing how you are making it...but a few thoughts:

-Are you using room temp milk/water? If you are using cold milk instead of room temp, then it might affect your yeast activation.

-Have you changed yeast? If the yeast is bad/old, the dough won't rise well.

Are you using a different flour? Also - are you using vital wheat gluten or no?

I make this recipe often and haven't had much of a variance in end result - usually a good, reliable bread. You can email me - scorch_dc@yahoo.com. :)

Emerald Green said...

hi denise! this bread looks great and i am looking forward to trying it...just wondering if you sprout all of your different grains in one jar at the same time, or if you have 7 different jars going...

thanks! megan

Toni said...

Hi Denise - I really would like to make this bread, I've been sprouting a lot this winter and have nice mix of grains. What steps do I take baking in the oven? I don't have a bread machine.

Thanks for the recipe - Antone

denise said...

Megan - I buy a pre-mixed grain sprouts mix, and it does say "Though when sprouted individually some of the seeds in this mix require less Soak time, they will do fine in the context of this mix when soaked 6-12 hours." I have found that to be true! :)

Antone - I have been tweaking the recipe for the oven and will post the recipe soon!

Anonymous said...

Hi! Great blog! I was wondering if you use the Sprout People Amber Waves of Grain mix for this bread? I have this mix and am soaking seeds right now to make this recipe!

Question: could I use homemade raw milk kefir instead of milk?

denise said...

Hi!

Yes, that is the sprouts mix I use! I love it.

I have used kefir just fine for bread recipes in place of raw milk before - baked great!

Natasha said...

Just thought I would mention that I made the bread with the wheat gluten and it was by far the best. It is so much lighter and fluffier, everyone went nuts over it, thanks for the additional suggestion.

Matt in Tacoma said...

This was the first sprouted grain recipe I found with my google search. Looking forward to trying it this weekend. I'll blog the results. Great site...Cheers!

dom405 said...

i just found your site because i am planning on buying a bread machine in the interest of baking homemade sprouted bread. I've tried to make it without a bread machine only to end up with a rubbery dough pattie of sorts. I was thrilled to find your recipe and I'm wondering if you could recommend a certain brand ofbread machine to me

Unknown said...

I was wondering if I could use dried sprouted wheat berries that were milled for the wheat flour portion of this recipe? Thanks,
Deb in Oklahoma

dz said...

I made this bread without a breadmaker (used stand mixer to knead, then let rise as usual and baked in over). It turned out great, though it didn't rise as well as I had hoped. Going to experiment and see if I can get even better results. So tasty.

Kristine said...

This recipe looks amazing! Once I have a chance I will definitely try making it.

I was wondering how long you think a loaf of bread would last in the freezer? I like to cook a lot when I'm home on the weekends (I'm in university) but my mom like things that are easy and fast to defrost and cook even if she loves fresh foods (especially breads).

Thanks!

Kristine from Mississauga, Canada

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to try this!!! I started sprouting wheat berries a few days ago and my poor husband is afraid I'm going to make him eat something hippy. Thanks for sharing your recipe :-)

Nancy

Anonymous said...

Which model cuisinart did you use to blend the sprouted wheat?

leah said...

Very cool! I've been looking for a sprouted grain recipe, and might have to give this one a shot! Thanks!

Stone Cottage Adventures said...

Thank you for the recipe! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

Kathy in CNY said...

Denise- di you ever post the recipe for this bread using a convential oven instead of a Bread Machine?

Kathy in CNY said...

Denise- di you ever post the recipe for this bread using a convential oven instead of a Bread Machine?

denise said...

Kathy in CNY - Sorry, no, I didn't. Not long after this is when my older son started getting very ill and can no longer tolerate anything with wheat. I bake all GF now, and haven't tried it yet with anything sprouted (although that would be interesting to try!).