The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Low Carb Sprouted Grain Bread

osx-addict's picture
osx-addict

Low Carb Sprouted Grain Bread

Hi all.. 

I started a low-carb diet last week and have omitted (till now) any sorts of bread and have lately been having some cravings for buttered toast!  To that end, I did a quick google search and found a bread that I was able to purchase locally at the local WholeFoods but the price is almost $8.50 for a single loaf that is a bit on the small size for the cost.  However, the taste is amazing!  Considering it's made with mostly sprouted grains, it tastes awesome to me and is only 1 net carb per slice.  What more could I ask for!  Ok.. A recipe would be nice.. :)

Here's the product page for reference (hope that's OK) :

http://julianbakery.com/low-carb-bread/smart-carb-no-1/

 

Anyway, in doing some searching of the forums here, (and elsewhere), I have made the following summary of issues/comments regarding the use of sprouted grains in bread :

1) Sprouted grains are ready for baking when they're ready -- some grains may sprout sooner than others

2) Some people dry the sprouts before grinding others do not

3) Frequently breads collapse due to heat used to cook/proof loaves -- more research on this is needed

4) Most people are only using sprouted wheat flour from what I've seen

 

With that said, the above commercial bread uses fresh ground wheat but adds in the following sprouted (and ground) grains : Kamut, Spelt, Rye, Lentils, Sesame Seeds, Millet, Quinoa, Amaranth, Flax Seed.. YIKES!!! Thems a lot of sprouts!  Perhaps that's why the price is up there!

Is it even possible to reproduce this sort of bread at home with all of those seeds growing at their own rates, etc??

 

Should I just start with this recipe instead and tailor it over time?

http://home.adelphi.edu/sbloch/low-carb-bread.shtml

It claims to have 2 net carbs per slice which is really close -- perhaps with some tailoring I could get it to 1 net carb per slice.. It seems to have a bit of sweet in it care of the honey -- perhaps something sugarfree might suffice.. although I'm not sure it would rise since the yeast need it.. Perhaps using sourdough might be beneficial here instead of yeast..

 

Of course there's also this thread from the forums here -- perhaps if I can run this to see what the nutrition is it might also be a good template for a bread with sprouted grains : http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22689/sprouting-ezekiel-bread

So... Anyone have any other suggestions or is interested in finding a decent low-carb high protein bread that is <$8 per loaf?  :)

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

high gluten flour.  Why screw up the low carb diet with an overdose of gluten?  Look for a recipe with less gluten.  

http://www.paleonu.com/panu-weblog/2011/3/30/paleo-20-a-diet-manifesto.html

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

kidneys!

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

The above book, by Peter Reinhart, has 2 recipes that use sprouted grains.  One uses no flour just the grains you sprout and the other does use flour.

I have only baked the one that has flour in it and have had great results.  I grind my own flour and one of the bags of grain I get has a mixture of 7 grains in it.  I have baked this loaf using the 7 grain mix despite the fact that all of the grains do not sprout at the same time.  I have also made it with only sprouted spelt.

I think that as long as you keep the proportions right you can add any type of grain or bean you want to the dough.  I personally do not want to have several jars of sprouting grains laying around on my counter so if I want more variety I just go with my 7 grain mix.

The recipe you posted looks a lot more complex than Reinhart's ingredient wise and I can't really comment on how it might turn out.....sorry...(I posted pretty much the same thing on the link you posted above but thought I would add it here again because his recipe really makes a superb loaf and is pretty easy to do.)

Good Luck and have fun with whatever you end up doing  :-)

osx-addict's picture
osx-addict

Thanks all!  I'll look into this some more and start with some light reading!  :)