The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Sprouted Wheat Bread

home_mill's picture
home_mill

Sprouted Wheat Bread

Sprouted Wheat BreadSprouted Wheat Bread

 

Made with a mix of white and red whole wheat. Followed the recipe in PRs Whole Grain Breads. The first time I made it it was too heavy, wet and collapsed some in the oven. This time I reduced the sprouted wheat berries from 285 gm to 195 gm and increased the flour to compensate and it came out great. I also used WW sourdough starter and yeast. Possibly the best tasting loaf so far. I ate the entire loaf in 4 days before it went stale.

 

Joel

 

spsq's picture
spsq

That's lovely!  I've only ever eaten one sprouted grain loaf from a local farmer's market.  The ingredients were "sprouted wheat.  water.  salt."  I guess if you let it sprout and sprout, then blend it, it captures wild yeast and rises.  Still, I'd be thrilled with yours - I tried a loaf once, and apparently didn't let the wheat soak long enough 'cause the little wheaties were sure hard!

bshuval's picture
bshuval

Also based on PR's recipe. I did this one a while ago.  I used molasses to sweeten it. I also added some vital wheat gluten. It's a delicious bread, although next time I will use slightly more salt. 

syllymom's picture
syllymom

I've sprouted, dried and ground wheat.  While the taste was great the loaf had little rise.  Same with just fresh ground flour.  I still want to figure out how to make a good sprouted fresh ground flour loaf of bread. 

I've been reading about flour conditioners, vital wheat gluten.... I just don't know what really will work.  Hope to follow this thread and learn something. 

 Good looking loaves.  Mine would rip apart... poor gluten development I think.

home_mill's picture
home_mill

I mill my own flour and don't use any conditioners. One thing that I find that helps is to use a sourdough starter or biga and then soak the remaining flour overnight. This loaf is only 25% sprouted wheat. 100% sprouted wheat would be very difficult to get any rise without a lot of aded gluten. You might want to invest in a copy of Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, it explains this in detail.

 

Joel

 

syllymom's picture
syllymom

Hmm... that's what I have been trying 100% sprouted flour.  But I think it's a fresh ground flour thing but I have the same problem with fresh ground flour when not sprouted as well. 

Sylvia

syllymom's picture
syllymom

Joel,  So do you mill ALL your own flour?  Do you do anything special?  Do you use vital wheat gluten?  I hear so many rave about fresh ground flour and I just can't seem to get it to work.  Or is it a case that you can't get it to rise as commercial flour and I'm expecting too much.  (even muffins with fresh ground flour are not the same.)

 Sylvia

home_mill's picture
home_mill

Sylvia,

 

Yes I do mill all my flour using a Nutrimill . I use half Prarie Gold white wheat and half red wheat I buy in the bulk bin. Next I order from Wheat Montana I am going to get 25 lbs each of white and red wheat. Proir to milling my own flour I used King Arthur WW flour. I have not really noticed much difference, if anything the home milled flour performs better. I used to use vital wheat gluten with the KA flour, but now I don't use it.  What kind of mill and wheat berries are you using?

 

Joel

 

syllymom's picture
syllymom

Joel,  I've bought hard wheat, soft wheat and splet from a local organic store near by.  It seems pretty good but I dont' have anything to compare too

I have been wondering if my grain mill it the problem.  It's the Kitchen Aid grain mill.  I got the pro KA (6qt bowl) and bought attachments for it right away, the grain mill being one of them.  KA overall has a good reputation so I thought I'd fine, but now I have found out that the grain mill is not so great.  I can't justify spending over $200 on a Wondermill (which I read it one of the best) at this time, especially without knowing if it's the mill that's the problem or not.

So I've been wondering is it just the properties of fresh ground flour or is it my grain mill.  From you said above, I'm thinking it more my mill.  I wish there was a way to find out before spending more money. 

When you grind your flour do you use it right away or do you let it sit for days/weeks/months?

 Sylvia

home_mill's picture
home_mill

I use the flour right away. I have read that freshly milled flour should be used within a few days or the oils from the germ will go rancid.

 

syllymom's picture
syllymom

Ok, I read a review on the Nutrimill.  It was a very convincing review to say that the Nutrimill is the best mill out there.  Now to find a good deal and save some money.  Here's the review if you are interested.

http://www.breadmachinedigest.com/reviews/reviews/nutrimill/nutrimill.html

So you really mill all your flour and don't need to do any extra... I'm so jealous right now.   

 

home_mill's picture
home_mill

Sylvia,

 I did a lot of research before buying the Nutrilmill. I am really happy with it. The only thing I can say negative about it is that it pretty loud, like a loud vacuum cleaner. I usually take it to the garage or the hallway to use it or my pet rabbits don't like it. I bought the one speed model instead of the multi speed to save some money and I don't really need the slower speeds for milling flour. I think it was right at $200. You need something that will mill the flour to a fine texture. I am not familiar with the KA mill so I don't know if it possible to adjust it to a fine setting. Soft wheat and Spelt do not have much gluten so your bread is not going to rise much. The best wheat as far as gluten goes is hard red spring wheat. Another thing that might help is to use buttermilk in place of some of the water, or use a sourdough starter. I think either of helps with whole wheat flour. Hope this helps. I think there as a forum on home milling here, you might post there regarding your KA mill.

 Joel

Ramona's picture
Ramona

I also have the KA grain mill and the 6 qt model.   I have no problems with mine.  I put my grains through the first time on a setting that is 4 settings back from the fine setting.  Then I put this through again on the fine setting.  I've been told that this gives flour that is comparable to the King Arthur flour.  I always use buttermilk in my recipes and I don't use any conditioners or softeners, except something like potatoes.  I always soak or ferment my doughs overnight or over a period of a couple of days in the refrigerator.  This really enhances the flavor and the nutritional value of the breads.  I use dry yeast so far.  No starter yet.   I don't grind my rolled oats, I just soak them first and then add them to my doughs.  I use organic hard, red spring wheat, organic rye and organic spelt.   I had looked into other mills when I first got started and the Nutrimill was the one that I was going to get, if I did buy another one.  The reason I didn't buy it though was because I had already got the KA and wanted to maximize all that it offers with the attachments and the attachments are cheaper this way, instead of buying other machines.  But I did come across the pluses and the minues of different mills and the one minus of the Nutrimill is that if your grain has a stone in it, this can ruin the mill.  Whereas, with the KA, it just gets ground up.  I grind what I want for no longer than 3 days in advance, but I do try to use it right after grinding.  I have not tried a sprouted bread yet, but I do want to soon.  

syllymom's picture
syllymom

Ramona,  Thanks for the info about the KA grain mill.  The instruction manual for the KA said to not run flour through twice.  So I take it that you haven't had a problem with that?  I'll have to give this a try... along with using buttermilk. 

Thanks again.

syllymom's picture
syllymom

It Worked!

To recap I've been having a hard time baking with fresh ground flour so I tried a few different things and it worked!  I used my usual whole wheat sourdough recipe with this differences:

- used my KA to knead the bread (and not the bread machine) and let it knead a longer time.  I finally saw gluten development happen

- used buttermilk

- I did the double grind as Ramona said

So I don't know if there is one thing that made the difference or if it is the combination but I'm so happy to have made a nice good loaf of fresh home ground whole wheat sourdough bread and it tastes amazing. 

Thanks everyone, Sylvia

 

shericyng's picture
shericyng
  • sheri      I am searching for a great sprouted wheat berry bread not using a sourdough start because my wheat berries are ready and my sourdough start isn't....anybody have one they love and want to share
tessa's picture
tessa

Hi, I am a complete novice to bread making outside a ABM.  Now that I have discovered that I can soak-sprout-dry-grind my own flour I am making my very first attempt at baking a loaf of 100% whole yeast wheat bread using my own sprouted grain flour.  I found a recipe that was listed in metric units and I have a good scale.  I have a soaker dough in the refridgerator since 24 hours, and a biga in the fridg that I started at 10am.  Tomorrow morning I plan on making my final dough with the soaker and biga.   For the soaker I used sprouted/dried/ground spring wheat berries (prairie gold) and for the biga I have used sprouted/dried/ground spelt.  The recipe calls for a double rise which should help with the gluten develpoment? But maybe I should use some VWG - Since I live at high altitude (8895) in Colorado I am thinking I would add some VWG at the rate of 1 teaspoon for every 1 cup of flour tomorrow when I create my final dough.  Other than that I was not going to alter anything else so at least I have a starting point for future experimentation.  I am hoping for edible bread since I hate throwing away so much hard work and food! Any suggestions advice or ideas are greatly appreciated.  I have been watching bread kneading videos on Utube for days!  I will let you know how it turns out - wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.   

tessa's picture
tessa

Here it is - FIRST BREAD EVER (without a bread machine)!  Using Peter Rienharts WW bread recipe ...100% whole wheat which I sprouted, dried and ground with my Family Grain Mill using 1/2 spring wheat berries (prairie gold), and 1/2 spelt.  I added 2 tablespoons of VWG to the final dough process.  I used a scale to measure my ingredients and a thermometer to test for doneness.  I proofed the dough during the first and second rise in the oven.  For the first rise I placed a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven for moisture and heat, placed the dough in oiled wooden salad bowl and covered it loosely with plastic.  I left the dough there for 1.5 hours.  For the second rise I also put it in oven but this time covered with a towel, no hot water, and left the light on.  The second rise happened faster - 1 hour.  I think my hard work and attention to detail paid off!  Not only does it look wonderful  but it tastes great too.  Did I mention I live at 8955' in Colorado? 

FIRST BREAD - 100% Whole Wheat

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Your loaf looks real nice, Tessa. I make sprouted wheat frequently but with the unground sprouts.

--Pamela

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

Tessa, that's a nice looking loaf there.  Pam, I would like to make bread with unground sprouts but my husband wouldn't eat it.  I think the unground sprouts look so pretty in a loaf. 

xaipete's picture
xaipete

You really don't see the sprouts.

--Pamela

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

I have made one loaf with some sprouted wheat and I could see them.  My husband had one look and said "eww" and he wouldn't even touch it.  Maybe I should learn how to make one without the sprouts showing... may fool my husband!  LOL

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I sprout the wheat and then grind it with a meat grinder. For sure there are no sprouts showing after going through the grinder.

http://whatwearecookingnow.blogspot.com/2008/11/100-sprouted-wheat-bread.html

--Pamela

tessa's picture
tessa

Thanks! I had such low expectation, being my first loaf of oven bread that I am beside myself. 

I spouted the wheat for 24 hours, just enough to barely see the sprout.  I made about 1/2 gallon and dried them in the oven for 24 hours, then ground what I needed for the bread.  That's why you don't see the sprouts. 

Valerie

tessa's picture
tessa

I wanted to post a picture of the bread once I cut into it.  Here is how it looks

This blog has been so helpful. Thanks for all the info I found on this site!

droidman's picture
droidman

I've made this bread twice and it has rapidly moved to the top of my favorites. I was just wondering about making this with other berries. I see that BRM has rye, kamut, spelt, triticale, and a variety of wheat. Anybody have experience with any of the non-wheat?

tessa's picture
tessa

Hi, I have made it with 1/2 spelt berries and it came out the same.  I have not had any issues with sprouting my own berrries either, as some of the other posters have reported.  Perhaps it is the PR technique?  Anyway, buying sprouted flour is WAY out of my budget!  But wheat berreis etc are pretty affordable.  I got my Wheatmontana Praried Gold and spelt via Rainbow Natural Foods and it was very afforable (maybe .93/pd)? 

I can't seem to make a bad loaf with PR method.  I am meticulous about weighing my ingredients and not grinding my flour too hot  (I double grind to make sure, I like it really fine).   I must admit that I am cheating a bit.  I use 1 tablespoon of VWG per loaf.  I add that to the soaker.  I am not getting that bitter VWG taste that some people complain of.  Perhaps the flavor enhancement of the PR method helps minimize that.  I have made the loaf without the VWG and I could not taste the difference, but the loaf did not get such a wonderful rise as when I use it.  Do you use VWG? 

 

 

droidman's picture
droidman

I have followed Reinhart's recipe to the letter. Haven't experimented at all... yet. I haven't noticed any bitterness from the VWG, but then I like things like dark chocolate, strong coffee, and bitter beer, so perhaps I wouldn't notice any mild bitterness in the bread.