Questions about baking with sprouted flour

Submitted by Kroha on October 8, 2009 - 8:45pm

Questions about baking with sprouted flour

Hello everyone,

If you bake with sprouted flour and have some tricks to share, I would greatly appreciate it. I made my first bread with sprouted flour today, Multigrain Struan from Reinhardt's Whole Grain Baking. It is a recipe that uses biga and a soaker, and proceeds to combine the two with other ingredients (flour, yeast, honey, oil, salt) during the final dough mixing. then bulk fermentation, dividing the dough and final rising. The loaves start out in 425F oven with normal steam, but once the loaves are placed there, the temperature is lowered to 350F. Loaves bake about 40 min and are rotated half-way through the bake. I followed the recipe and baked on quarry tiles. I made two loaves (one batard in La Cloche and one loaf in a loaf pan) with organic stone-ground whole wheat and two with organic sprouted (also one batard in La Cloche and one loaf in a loaf pan) for comparison.

Sprouted flour loaves of either shape did not rise much in the oven, and the scored area sort of sank in. Stone-ground flour loaves of both shapes had great oven spring and the scoring worked out fine as well. Now, the taste... Sprouted loaves were chewy and a bit "wet" to the taste, a bit sweeter than the stone-ground ones, with a more pronounced nutty flavor. Yummy and delicous is the only word to describe them! Now if I could only make them more visually attractive. So, if you have secrets to share, I am eager to learn! Thank you so much in advance.

Kroha

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Submitted by shakleford on October 9, 2009 - 8:57am.

Sprouting Reduces Gluten

I believe that Peter Reinhart says in Whole Grain Breads that the sprouting process reduces the amount of gluten available, as some of it is converted into other things during the sprouting process. That's why he lists such a large amount of vital wheat gluten as an optional addition to his sprouted wheat loaf. I think that adding gluten to your multigrain struan dough would probably be the best way to increase rise.

Submitted by Bread Buddy on October 10, 2009 - 5:41am.

Sprouted Flour

What is sprouted flour? This is somethiing I a have never heard of before and never seen at the bulk foods establishments I purchase flour from.

Why would one use sprouted flour? What are its properties?

Thanks.

Submitted by flourgirl51 on October 12, 2009 - 8:30am.

There is a lot of information

There is a lot of information about sprouted flour on my website www.organicwheatproducts.com

I have used sprouted flour in my standard wheat bread recipe with great results. It actually rose higher than regular whole wheat flour. Maybe it is the technique that is causing the problem. As sprouted flour is already soaked when it is made then maybe you wouldn't have to soak it again. Just a thought.

Submitted by katecollins on October 10, 2009 - 8:18am.

The way sprouted flour is produced matters

Kroha,

It really depends on what sprouted flour you are using. I made my own sprouted flour for years and had the results you mention...chewy, dense. But the folks at Essential Eating have figured it out and opened the first certified organic commercial sprouted flour mill. Their organic, controlled process makes the most amazing sprouted flours that produce beautiful baked goods. They told me that they are able to capture the sprout at it's peak and gently dry and mill it into sprouted flour that performs like all-purpose. They also told me that they clean the superior grain they use, test for vomitoxin (a fungus found in grain) use the falling number test to assure sprout action and sift our foreign matter (present in all grain). All the things that I couldn't do in my home operation. I feel their flours are safe, stable, sanitary and have great baking characteristics. Not to mention that great taste that comes through when baked.

They have sprouted spelt and sprouted wheat and it is the best sprouted flour I have ever baked with...and it deigests like a vegetable and is a nutrient dense food. Check out their site for more about sprouted flour properties at essentialeating.com.

Submitted by laceyloo on October 10, 2009 - 2:45pm.

RE: Baking with Sprouted Flour

Hi Kroha, I too am on this site in search of sprouted grain tips. The person above me, katecollins, mentions Essential Eating..I have the book and I have the flour they recommend from Shiloh Farms. It doesn't really make a difference. I've not seen anything in their book that gives any tips regarding baking with it, with the exception to follow it verbatim as with all baking.

I just made no knead olive bread with the sprouted flour. This is the second time I've tried bread and I find the same things you have. No knead bread is supposed to have a thick crust and a bubbly crumb inside. The crust on my bread is average and the crumb is moist and thicker than other pics I've seen where people use regular bread flour or all purpose. I'm going to make another plain loaf of no knead bread tonight and see if I can get any difference.

My loaf turned out gorgeous, but definitely not as "fluffy" as I would like it to be. I might fool around with the amount of sucranat, salt and yeast in the recipe and see if that makes a difference.

Good luck! Lacey