Are my Wheat Berries Sprouted or DROWNED??

Submitted by tessa on October 17, 2009 - 7:53am

Are my Wheat Berries Sprouted or DROWNED??

I have a bread baking blog where I posted some information about sprouting wheat berries at home, then dehyrdating them and grinding them to bake bread. I posted a topic called WHY SPROUTED WHEAT?

http://valeriejaquith.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-sprouted-flour.html#comments

Someone posted a comment to my topic saying that there was a good chance that my berries where in fact DROWNED and not sprouted! Here is an excerpt from that posted comment: "...and of utmost importance, they conduct the falling number test to determine that the grain has been sprouted and not drown...all steps that cannot be done in a home operation. Based on convention wisdom about how to sprout grains, most of the grain is being drown and not sprouted"

I conducted a test to see how many of my sprouts had actually sprouted and to see if any of the berries did not sprout, indicating that they are drowned I suppose. I could only find a few berries that may not have sprouted after 24 hours of sprouting following a 10 hour soak. Here is the photo of the sprouts:

I plan on waiting another 24 hours to see if the berries that are questionable did develop a full blown sprout.

Can anyone provide me with some more information on this topic?

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Submitted by Yerffej on October 17, 2009 - 10:05am.

People have been sprouting

People have been sprouting grains at home with great success much longer than your comment maker has been alive.

Your sprouted grains look perfect to me,

Jeff

Submitted by tessa on October 17, 2009 - 11:39am.

Thank you Jeff for the

Thank you Jeff for the reply.. That is what I thought. I appreciate the feedback.

Submitted by Ryeblossom on October 17, 2009 - 6:52pm.

Jeff is right

From the little experience I have and from what I read about sprouting, I can tell you it can be done safely at home, surely with wheat berries. Make sure the berries are not moldy, get them from a good source, make sure to sprout in a clean environment and clean utensils, and you should be fine.

It's not so good to put them in the refrigerator, unless you intend on using them within 2-3 days, as mold like the refrigerator better than the freezer...

It's said the sprout is ready when it's the length of the seed/berry/legume, but I like it a bit longer.

Here's a good link: http://chetday.com/sprouts.html

Submitted by tessa on October 18, 2009 - 8:01am.

In this photo I am just

In this photo I am just sprouting the grains to see how many where able to grow into plants. When I sprout for bread flour I just sprout for about 10 hours until just a tiny bud appears on the grains. Then I dehyrdate them and store them in a bag in the fridg.

I have concerns about storing the dehyrdating grains the freezer though, I used to store them in the freezer in a ziplock bag. When I pulled the bag out of the freezer condensation instantly formed on and inside the bag. I was concerned that this condensation would form ice crystals on each grains and the inside of the bag upon returning the bag to the freezer.

So I switched to the refridgerator for my dehydrated sprouts. ??

Submitted by flourgirl51 on October 18, 2009 - 7:20am.

Your grains are sprouted.

Your grains are sprouted. Your sprout tails could be even shorte and still be considered sprouted.

Submitted by tessa on October 18, 2009 - 7:57am.

these sprouts where for my test

When I sprout to make sprouted bread flour I only sprout them until I can just barely see the sprout. It takes on average 10 hours. Then I dehydrate them.

I sprouted these longer in the photo so I could tell if they were "drowned" and not sprouting. The commenter on my blog told me that the little sprout I was seeing on the grains I am sprouting for dehyrdating was actually the endosperm bulging out and not a sprout. Obviously he was wrong.

Thanks for the reply.

Submitted by jannrn on October 18, 2009 - 3:59pm.

Sprouting

I LOVE the idea of sprouting your own grains and dehydrating them, then grinding them into flour. Is there a good sourse to find out just how to go about all this?? Is there a certain length the sprouts should be?? Is it hard to do this and how do you dehydrate them?? WHAT A GREAT RESULT!! Seems to me that your "commenter" has proven, as we say in the south, "Opinions are like behinds....ours are the only ones we are entitled to and they all stink." It would appear that you have proven your commenter very wrong!!

Submitted by inlovewbread on October 18, 2009 - 8:57pm.

Sprouting wheat berries

Hi Tessa,

I just wanted to let you know that you've inspired me to start this sprouting thing! I actually have my hard red and hard white wheat berries sprouted as we speak and tomorrow I will be dehydrating them.

Thanks for the write up you did (from the link you provided above). I found a lot of really helpful information there regarding this topic.

I can't wait to try the Reinhart's sprouted wheat bread!

Thanks again- results to follow....

Submitted by tessa on October 19, 2009 - 6:52am.

Good luck making sprouted flour!

Good luck with the endeavor - please post your results at some point and send me a note! It feels good to inspire! Also, I think that sprouted flours are goings to be coming on stronger and stronger as people realize how nutritionally beneficial it is to go the extra mile!

With the cost of sprouted flour WAY out of our budget I am happy to devote the effort and time to producting such a nutrious food! Besides, I have a motto these days about processing my own food from raw ingedients, I call it

NO BAR CODES! :) best regards!

Submitted by flourgirl51 on October 19, 2009 - 8:26am.

I just sent you a message

I just sent you a message regarding this.

Submitted by katecollins on October 19, 2009 - 7:45am.

Somethings Gotta Give

The answer to your question is - you can't tell. A lot of your grain has sprouted but a few kernels look like the endosprem has protruded - the result of drowning. You can't tell unless you let every last grain sprout a tail. Protruded endosperm doesn't sprout.

Yes, people have been soaking and sprouting grain for thousands of years and it is not likely that anyone is going to get sick from a bit of drown grain. But you don't get the nutritional benefits if the grain is not sprouted.

I used to sprout, dry and mill my own grain until my life became to busy in other areas. I did a lot of checking and found that the Essential Eating sprouted flour is the best way to go. They test to assure the grain has been sprouted. I like that they seem to care about the process. It's what I use until I once again have the time.