Sprouted Grains

Tony started reading about different flours (because he is reducing gluten) and learned about sprouted grains digesting like vegetables versus starchy carbohydrates. The combination of having slightly less starch and increased amylases that help break down starches, makes sprouted grains easier to digest. England Acres had a display with sprouted grain flour and a cookbook so he bought them and tried the bread recipe. It came out perfectly on the first try (unlike my bread-baking marathon in the spring).

Prior to the invention of the carbine harvester in the late 1800s, all grain sprouted naturally in the fields before going to the mill because farmers stored their grain right in the field. With the combine, all of the grain is harvested and stored without sprouting, but many of the naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are lost. Now some facilities are returning to the traditional practice of sprouting grains, then drying them at a very low temperature. Sprouted wheat is healthier than refined wheat because it contains more nutrients (fiber, folate, vitamins), and has fewer substances that inhibit the absorption of nutrients, and is easier to digest:

• Phytic Acid is a substance found in grains that can bind minerals like Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium and Iron and prevent them from being absorbed.
• Enzyme inhibitors are present in seeds, which protect them from spontaneously germinating but may also make the nutrients in them harder to access. Sprouting inactivates some of them.^[1]

Sprouting a grain reduces the amount of gluten, but if the grain sprouted contains gluten originally, like wheat, it still contains some gluten when it’s sprouted. The gluten-free sprouted grains are the grains that are naturally gluten-free, like brown rice, blue corn, oats, etc.

Another benefit I found of the sprouted grain bread is that it’s sturdier and you can cut the slices much thinner without it crumbling. Check out how easy this recipe is and it tastes great too. I’ll do some other sprouted grain baking next week so we can taste test more than bread. As Janie says in Sprouted Baking, “Food must be prepared, not processed, and properly digested to provide the nutrients to fuel our bodies and sustain our spirit.”^[2]

You can also add whatever herbs you like to the mix.

Sandwich Bread
4 T room-temperature butter
4 T maple syrup
1 1/2 C room-temperature water
4 C sprouted whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 t yeast
Place the wet ingredients in a bread maker and add the dry ingredients on top, ending with the yeast. Set the program for the basic cycle and start.