Why did I start making sprouted bread? Well this story revolves around my daughter Maci. Many years ago, at the age of 18, Maci starting having severe stomach problems. She was also having chronic sinus infections. It got to the point were everything that she ate hurt her stomach. She was the most miserable I have ever seen her. She woke up morning after morning drag herself to school and told me every day that she never felt good anymore. Her stomach pain got so bad that I took her to the doctor a couple of times. They couldn’t find anything wrong, but they said it would be a good idea to take out her gallbladder. We both left the doctor’s office that day saying that there was no way we were letting them do surgery on her hoping that, maybe, kind of sort of this might help the problem. What!!! I was so upset and she was too. It was about that time I had started on my cultured food revolution. I was talking with a woman familiar with cultured foods, who has a medical background. She talked to me for a long time and what she said made sense. She told me to give Maci a cultured food at every meal. She was having so much trouble digesting her food and this could solve the problem, cultured foods are loaded with enzymes and probiotics. They are great at digesting proteins. They work so much better than pro-biotic pills because the food gives them a transport system. You know the bacteria’s are alive and living because of the bubbles. Many of the pro-biotic pills are not alive when you take them.
So this is what we did. Kefir for breakfast, usually a smoothie. Cultured vegetables and kombucha with lunch and dinner and sometimes kefir for dessert. The other thing that we did was she started eating sprouted bread and only sprouted bread. Regular bread killed her stomach, but sprouted seemed to actually help her. We were buying the sprouted bread and she said that she wished she could have muffins and waffles. So that started me on my journey to make my own sprouted flour.
Within three weeks her stomach completely quit hurting. Her yearly sinus infection cleared up. Six months later she was Maci again. Thriving and feeling happy. One year later she could eat anything, although she never goes without her cultures. Then I noticed something happened to me. I did fantastic on sprouted grains I had more energy and less food cravings. I felt so good I knew that it was the bread.
Sprouting changes everything in the bread. It puts vitamin C, B, B2, B5 and B6, and carotene, which is converted to vitamin A, increases dramatically , sometimes eight-fold. It deactivates phytic acid, which is a known mineral blocker that inhibits the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc. These inhibitors can neutralize our own digestive enzymes, resulting in the digestive disorders experienced by many people that eat un- sprouted grains.
One of the other wonderful benefits is that sprouted grains are considered low glycemic. The pancreas needs huge amounts of B vitamins to digest grains. Once a grain has been sprouted most bodies recognize it as a vegetable rather than a starch which requires vegetable enzymes not pancreatic enzymes. Therefore eating sprouted grains does not stress the pancreas. This is great for diabetics.
You can buy sprouted bread at any health food store. I love sprouting and making my own flour. It takes a little equipment but I sprout 13 lbs at a time and the flour will last 6 months stored at room temperature, or longer in the refrigerator. I love taking grains and turning them into bread. You can use the flour just like you would in any recipe. I make some seriously good bread. When I gave my bread as gifts for Christmas, people asked me if they could buy it from me. So now I am doing this too. It is addictive when you have really good bread.
This Is How You Sprout Grains.
Place wheat berries in a bowl. Cover them with filtered water for 36 hours. They will get tiny little tails and be a little bubbly. Then rinse them in warm water and drain. Place them in dehydrator at 100 degrees for 8 hours. Then grind in grain mill for flour. You can store your flour on the counter at room temp for 6 months or in freezer or refrigerator for up to a year. Use just like you would any flour.
If you would like to buy sprouted flour, Cultures for health.com has a lot of great choices.
Have you ever sprouted other grains besides the wheat berries to make the sprouted flour? If so, how did your bread or baked goods come out with the other grains? Thanks
I have done spelt,kalmut and rye and they did great.
Thank you!
Hello Donna,
I wish to sprout my grains, cook them, then dehydrate them in my Nesco. Kind of like buying “par-boiled” brown rice but sprouted! I wish to do this for storage and also for “quick meals.”
What do you think of this and have you tried it?
I have never tried this but I think it would work and also would deactivate the inhibitors and increase the nutrients. Let me know how it works. Very interested.
I’m interested in potentially making some sprouted flour. I mastered sourdough thinking it was much better bread for the family, and am currently reading wheat belly by dr. Davis and am becoming disheartened at ever eating grains again with a good conscience. Do you know if thie sprouting changes all the negative components of spelt and Kamut to where it might be actually healthy and beneficial? If you are not familiar with the book, you probably won’t be able to answer but am surely curious about sprouted grains and what is changed vs. traditional grains and cultured sourdough. Such a lot of navigating it seems to find a path to health!
It really completely changes the bread and makes it entirely different food. It removes the enzyme inhibitors and pylates making it digest with vegetable enzymes and not pancreatic enzymes.
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Hi, I am enjoying looking at your web page…learning a lot! One question: after sprouting, dehydrating wheat berries and grinding into flour….you say the flour can be stored on the counter or refrig/freezer…my question is that i have always been told to grind wheat fresh for baking in order to get the nutrients…does sprouting make the flour less susceptible to going rancid and loss of nutrients? thanks!
You always get the most with freshly ground flour but it does really help preserve a lot more nutrients when you sprout your flour. It does preserve it much better than regular wheat flour. The process of soaking creates and entirely different food that enhances the nutrients and preserves it.
Thanks for your reply…I have my first batch of sprouted wheat currently in the dehydrator…so excited. One more question: i sprouted more than I can use at one time, is it better to store the dried sprouted wheat and grind into flour later, or to grind it all now and store the flour?
I have done both and usually grind mine all at once. Once ground it last 6 months at room temperature but longer in the fridge.
I have some wheat berries and was planning to sprout them then mush together into small cakes and bake in a low oven to keep the raw qualities. Now, I’m planning to also dehydrate and grind for flour. A bout with c difficile toxin left me lactose intolerent and possibly other intolerances. Severe mold allergies also developed, so I’m hoping that sprouting doesn’t cause any mold. The recipe I have for the Essene bread only called for sprouting 24 hours.
24 hours is fine. I do that sometimes too when it looks like my berries have sprouted.
I just tried my first loaf of bread with sprouted berries. I left them in a sprouting jar for at least 3 days and rinsed them off. They never seemed to get the tails I was looking for . I got the wheat berries from Whole Foods . Are there different kinds of berries? Also, what do you use to grind them. I only had a NInja blender and it is somehat of a coarse grind.
The tails are teeny, tiny, just barely sprouting out the end of the berry. You don’t want long tails just tiny ones. They should be covered in water also. They are many different kinds of berries. Spelt, white wheat, rye and many others. I use white wheat berries. You must dehydrate them before you grind them or it will ruin your machine. I use the Kitchen mill to grind my grains. http://astore.amazon.com/culturedfoodlife-20/detail/B002AY4R9E
I bet they were sprouted you just didn’t realize it. It is easy to look for long tails and miss the sort ones. The bread does much better with short sprouts and not the long tails. This can make the bread taste bitter, and also the nutrients drop with longer sprouts.
I find the older the wheat the less likely it will sprout. I just purchased some assorted grains to sprout for the chickens (floor sweepings) and they soaked for 4 hours and over nite they had 1/4″ tails. Fresh is the key. Find a supplier and buy direct. Store it correctly before you sprout and I find adding a pinch of himalayan sea salt in the soaking water it will sprout faster and have added minerals as a bonus.
Yes, I’ve used sprouted flour with yeast and had no problems. I’m using soft wheat berries for the biscuits and things. That could possibly make a difference though I don’t know why. Maybe I’ll just get some new baking powder.
Thanks for your input.
Have you tried sprouted flour for non-yeast baked goods? I recently baked biscuits and pancakes with it. The both rose then went flat before they were done. The baking powder doesn’t expire for a few years and they did have an original rise. I’m wondering if it has anything to do with the sprouted flour.
I use sprouted flour without yeast all the time. Scones muffins biscuits and cookies etc. Have you used the sprouted flour in yeast breads, and did it rise well then?
Will eating sourdough bread have the same effect or does it have to be sprouted bread? My son is also having stomach issues. I would like to see if this can help him.
If the sourdough bread is made where it ferments for seven hours it is the same as sprouted. The recipe for this is on my site too and sourdough.
Do you buy your wheatberries in bulk? Where? Thank you so much for this invaluable information!
I do buy in bulk. I get my berries from our co-op. I buy Wheat Montana Prairie Gold wheat berries. http://www.wheatmontana.com
Would you be willing to give your bread recipe. I’ve wanted to make sprouted flour bread, but would like a recipe that works for someone else instead of doing the trial and error method.
The recipe is on my site. Here is; http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/donna%E2%80%99s-sprouted-whole-wheat-bread/
I love the stories you are posting about Maci’s healing journey, they are very inspiring and give me hope that I will feel better someday, too! After 3 years of feeling less-than-healthy, I’m finally starting to feel better and I know that cultured foods are helping me. I cut gluten out of my diet in an attempt to try and feel better, but maybe I will try sprouted bread and see how I tolerate it. Thank you!
Do you find the texture of the finished product any different using sprouted wheat than using whole wheat flour?
Thanks,
Deb
No It seems the same. The flavor is more enhanced and tastes better when it is sprouted. The texture seems the same.
I find this blog very interesting! I’ve eaten sprouted Ezeikel & Genesis (Food for Life brand) bread for several years now, but not exclusively.
The story about Maci waking up every morning in pain, sounds exactly like what my step-sister was just telling me about the way she feels every morning. I’m going to do my best to persuade her to try this and see what happens.
After one year you say that Maci can eat anything… I was wondering if she eats regular (refined flour) bread out in the world now occasionally.
AND do you sell your bread here locally? Please say Yes! ;D
She does eat regular bread with no problems. She mostly sticks to sprouted or sourdough though. I don’t sell my bread locally but have the recipe on my site under the sprouted recipes section and also in my book.