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100% Sprouted Wheat Flour - Bread - Pizza

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

100% Sprouted Wheat Flour - Bread - Pizza

I have been very interested in baking with an organic sprouted wheat flour.  

I've read so many good things about it's health benefits and it's exceptionally delicious flavor.  

I ordered a few small bags of Arrohead Mills Organic Sprouted Wheat Flour.  The price is a bit dear for these little bags of flour.  I'm so happy with the flour.  I can't wait to make a carrot cake.  Free shipping from Amazon.com and the flour had excellent reveiws.  

I won't feel to guilty at all baking and eating a whole grain sprouted flour that digest as a vegetable.  I have a new book that has some lovely recipes.  'Essential Eating - Sprouted Baking' - with whole grain flours that digest as vegetables, by Janie Quinn.    

This bake was an experiment using the formula by Peter Reinhart discribed as his Master Formula on 'Real Baking' with Rose L. Beranbaum's, baking site.  You might like to read what Rose has to say about this flour.  The pizza SW dough by PR has a link on Rose's blog..just scroll down.

I made some changes adding powdered milk and brown rice syrup for a little more added sweetness.  This flour has plenty of it's own natural nutty delicious sweetness.  Oh, I know it would make wonderful nutty, cinnamon-sticky buns or rolls : )

 

Baking my first loaf was a very interesting experience.  I had no idea what to expect and changes I would like to make.  Most important though...it's taste great ,and I'm not disappointed I ordered the flour.

 

 

 

 

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2012/sprouted_wheat_flour-thebest.html  

Pizza is wonderful with this flour to say the least.

I'll have to call this my 'spent dough'  It sat in the frig for 3 days before I baked the pizza.  It browned up crispy, tender and very delicious.  

I made a very, very thin crust.  The dough handled beautifully and stretched easily.  Olive oiled hands help a lot in handling this wet 90% hydrated dough.  I had no problem stretching it into a pizza.  Just use wet or oiled hands.

 

I baked the pizza in the oven with just some chopped tomato and then after it was done in apx. 10 minutes.  I topped it with sauted challots, shrimp.  Sprinkled on some parmesan, fresh basil, pepper and drizzled with pesto.  It was delicious and that's what I had on hand.

 

 

Link to P.R. Sprouted Whole Wheat Pizza Dough  http://www.fornobravo.com/pizzaquest/instructionals/59-written-recipes-/223-sprouted-dough-html

 

The crust was almost paper thin with a wonderful crunch and a tender crown.  It held up very nicely to the heavy topping.  Delicious! I like to think I'm eating all veggies with a little shrimp..kinda guilt free pizza and healthy too! 

 

Now that's thin crust..with a nice crumbed crown : ) next time it'll be a little thicker but with just as nice a bite and crunch.

And that was cool...I clicked something here and the picture shrank a little.

 

Nicely browned bottom

 

Since we were snacking on pizza's.  I threw in a mexican pizza.  It had a Bread flour crust, I had frozen and thawed out..for a couple of days.

What the heck.  I'm also testing out my new little oven.  I wanted to see how it worked for baking pizza's.

To my surprise I was delighted.  

Apx. 10 minutes in the oven and out comes a browned lovely pizza.

I take the pizza out a couple of minutes before it's done and add the cheese, put it back in the oven till the cheese melts nicely.  I think this keeps the cheese from over cooking or browning.

 

 

Wonderfully browned pizza crust with a nice little crunch.

 

These pizza's were baked in my Breville Toaster Oven..not to be an add ... but it's everything and more than I expected...just look how nicely it baked these pizza's!  I had ordered the extra pan with holes..worked wonderfully.

All in less than 15 minutes and that includes the pre-heat.  

 

Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

what comes out of my mini oven and I an sure that as you bake mores stuff in yours you will continue to be amazed,  It bakes everything as well as the Big Old Betsy ans some things better - like bread - just is a smaller size :-)

Your pizzas look fantastic - just the way we like them thin, thin, thin yet can still handle the toppings.  The pan performed very well.  We par bake the crust for 3 minutes first - an extra step but then you get to spread Mojo de Ajp on them too - for that extra garlic flavor!  Plus the cheese is less likely to get too dark since it is only in there for about 5 minutes.  2 ways to get the crust done without burning the cheese :-)

The only sprouted flour I have used is some white malt we made after a 4 day sprout,  I need to get my apprentice to Whole Foods to pick up some sprouted whole wheat flour.   Your loaf looks like a fine sandwich bread.  I'm guessing it tastes as good as it looks. 

I've got a multigrain with sprouts and seeds to bakein  the mini oven today using 2 of your steaming cups:-)

Nice mini oven baking  Sylvia.

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Thank you, DA : )

I'm looking forward to making some carrot cake muffins with this flour.   

I think they would fit in the oven nicely.

Too bad these ovens aren't taller.  I had a counter convection type oven, that was much taller and long gone now, that used to bake full sized sandwich loaves, and anything else beautifully.  They were not considered 'toaster' ovens though...that's in the vintage past ovens.  I gave it to a girlfriend for her small kitchen and my stepmom had one for over 20yrs.  I think they are probably both still working.  I've seen them on e-bay.  

Enjoy your new  sprouted flour : ) 

Sylvia

 

varda's picture
varda

Nice baking Sylvia.   To my eyes at least, the crumb on your loaves looks similar to what I got with wet sprouted wheat, which I guess is not that surprising.    Love to see you put that flour to good use.   You are reminding me to try, try again.   -Varda

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

I enjoyed baking with the SWWF and especially the lovely flavor.  This was the first go and I hope to improve on the next try, now I know more what to expect.  I cut my formula way down in size; not to waste this precious flour.

Sylvia

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

You might want to try all the sprouted products from To Your Health Sprouted Flour company. They are right up the road from us in AL. Amazing products and very well thought of. They have a listing of where you can buy their products on their website. As far away as British Columbia ! Have you shared your pizza crust formula ? I feel like I have asked for it before :) How did you mix it up with the sprouted flour ? I have wanted to try this for some time and now that I have seen what you did I am going to give it a try. Thanks for posting. c

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Have you checked out Peter Reinhart's Pizzaquest blog?  The SWpizza dough recipe I used is posted there in his instructionals in detail..then one way you can tweak it..by also using other sprouted grain flours.  It's a great place to start, with lots of info about what he's been up too.  I do find the site rather hard to navigate to get a recipe in his instructions.  If you just type in your search Sprouted Wheat Flour Pizza Dough..or as I've said in my post above it's also on RLB site..just scroll down and you will see the link to PR recipe and instructions for mixing.

I think you will be very pleased with the SWpizza.   

AL. wish I was closer to your flour source.  I don't think I will have a problem though getting the flour.. local stores and free shipping available for me.

Sylvia

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Nice Post!

Thanks for sharing.

Everything looks delicious.

Ian

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Thank you for the nice comments!

Sylvia

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I did see the formula when I looked back. I have talked to the folks near us and am planing an excursion to their place to see what they are doing. if you read her story it is amazing what they have managed to do as far as sprouted products. I am so pleased that they are near. Good luck. I am always looking for new ideas. Who can keep up ??? caroline 

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Your excursion sounds like fun!

Sylvia

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Great! healthy, delicious, and versatile, what more could one ask?

Sylvia, those are wonderful bakes, especially the pizzas. The loaf looks delicious too.

How far do they sprout the wheat before it becomes full of enzymes? Can it be done at home? i'll stay tuned for PR's book.

Thanks for sharing this with us, Sylvia!

-Khalid

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Thank you for the nice comments, khalid!

I did not sprout my own flour.  I purchased the flour already to go.  Sprouted wheat flour is available here from several sources.  

I love the flour and have no complaints about it.

I have read on web searches that you shouldn't allow the sprouts to grow to long if doing your own sprouting.  Just let it go until you can just see the speck of a sprout appear.

If you allow the sprout to grow, you run the risk of malting the grains.  Malt, in small amounts, adds a great depth of flavor to baked goods; when used in large amounts it will produce an overly sweet, gooey bread that never cooks through.  So if making your own flour, start dehydrating it shortly after the root appears.  Dehydrated at a low temperature is best so the flour performs correctly.  I think this way it is suggested that using a dehydrator is best, rather than your oven for drying.

I love using my dehydrator.  But, for now I'm very happy letting the pro's make the flour for me and I don't have a mill.

The pizza was just amazingly delicious and so easy to make as was the bread.  Enjoyed by us and the dogs.  

I have to say my 2 little dogs, Bella and Joey were up to no good.  Bella, is a total sneak

 so smart and has a nose for sweet smelling goodness.  The aroma from this bread was fantastic.  

I had put a chair up to my kitchen counter to reach for some high up cupboards.  Forgot to put the chair back.  Well, Bella could smell this delicous sent coming from what was left of the bagged sprouted wheat loaf.  Watched to see I had turned my back.  She jumped up on the chair plus another 2+ feet more and, to the counter where the loaf sat...'she's also an accrobat', they did manage to get some through the bag..the rest of the loaf was history...I'll definately be making more varieties of sprouted wheat breads : )  I'm doing sweet breads now...with not as much guilt.

Sylvia

Mebake's picture
Mebake

That i'll have to try myself, with oven of course (I have no dehydrator).

Dogs are really sneaky ones! they know healthy aromatic bread, and can tell the difference.

Thanks for the info, Sylvia!

-Khalid

varda's picture
varda

You don't need to dehydrate,   You can sprout the wheat just until the little tails show as Sylvia says.   This means one soaking in around double water - 8-12 hours, a rinse, and then sit lightly covered for another 8-12 hours - no soak the second time.   Then grind in a food processor.   Then add water, leavening, salt, and possibly more flour and proceed as usual.   I just did this today.   Very happy with results.  

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Yes, that is a possibility, but i want to try and duplicate the dry sprouted flour used by Sylvia.

-Khalid

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

I believe the best oven temperature for dehydrating your sprouts would be apx. 150F.  I'm not sure about the milling..maybe there's a set temperature or process in doing the milling.  I'm not experienced in the milling of sprouts.

I hope all turns out good and you can tell us about your or even show us your sprouted flour.  

Sylvia

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Sylvia,

Lovely baking.   Hope to be playing with Sprouted Grain flour myself very shortly.   I will hopefully post on that soon.

I'm thinking you will need to dry the sprouts a bit cooler than that to avoid destroying any of the enzymes, especially the amylase alpha and beta.   66*C [150F, I believe] is the maximum temperature used by the brewing fraternity to mash grain; above that and amylase content is compromised.

Take good care

Andy

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

It's always great to hear and set the books straight from a pro.   

I commented after being out very late last night having a great time with Mike  (making an excuse for myself :)

Finally retiring to bed and thinking over the days chores, salt soaked dehyrated nuts, bread baking, fig jam making and how I could come up with another of several tactic's to try and scare the birds off of my ripe figs.  It dawned on me;  where did I come up with the 150F?

I remembered this morning after reading your post.  It was the temperature suggested to use in my 'Sprouted Baking' book by Janie Quinn.  I'm trying something new with nuts as written by JQ.  I wanted some nuts in the sprouted sweet bread I'm making.  

She says the Aztecs soaked seeds in a brine and Nuts are a great source of proteins oils and nutrients, but they can be very difficult to digest unless they are soaked or sprouted.  Like unsprouted grains, nuts contain enzyme inhibitors that make them hard to digest.  Unsprouted nuts and seeds need large amounts of hydrochloriec aci and bile (from the liver and gallbladder that breaks down fats) to break down.  Soaking the nuts and sprouting seeds makes their nutrients more accessible to the body, and these are wonderful additions to baked goods.

So I had prepared some walnuts the way she had instructed by soaking my nuts in saltwater and then drying them slowly.  Starting with fresh, whole, organic raw nuts.  I used nuts with the skins or skinless nuts may be soaked.  

Then she gave the proportion and timings for soaking and drying.  Using the oven or dehydrator.  Instructions where to pre-heat the oven to 150F or use a dehydrator.  I used my dehydrator.

Long story:) but that's where it came into my head to set the oven at 150F.

Thank you, Andy!  For reminding this morning where I came up with this temperature!  Long story about the nuts and something you probably already knew.

I know so little about milling and I'm looking forward to your adventures in Sprouted Grain.  

I would especially like to know about the differences and advantages of sprouted flours over the actual sprouted grain baking of breads.

Still haven't finished my morning tea, before crawling around my fig tree, with close pins and newpapers!

Sylvia

   

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Since I have my dehydrator set up for drying nuts.  I took a temperture reading and it heats to 140F..which I believe is pretty standard for a home dehydrator.  Andy's advice best to give you the temperature for drying your sprouted grains.

Also, I'm wondering if that wonderful little Brod and Taylor proofer might have a high enough temperature for drying..but that's for the pro's to answer.  I use mine for drying my prooofing baskets and linen cloth.

Keep me posted on your findings.

 

Thanks : ) 

 Sylvia

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thanks, Sylvia!

I will keep you updated once i sprout and mill.

-Khalid

evonlim's picture
evonlim

Been looking out for a good recipe for 100% sprouted wheat sandwich loaf. Yours look great. And the great idea of pizza base!! Wonderful. Thank u for sharing. Made my day!
Evon

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Lovely flour and so delicious tasting when baked into favorite breads or pastries. 

Sylvia

 

FlourChild's picture
FlourChild

Lovely bread and pizza!  Thanks so much for posting, finding any and all results with sprouted wheat flour to be very interesting, must get this further up my to-bake list.  Also happy to see your results with the little oven, I have been contemplating getting something similar.  

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

It's great to try something new, along with my regular bakes.  I'm also looking forward to seeing what other's are baking with the SWF.

Glad you liked the oven.  I do prefer my breads in the big oven's..since I like big loaves..but it sure bakes up cookies and such to perfection, plus all the other little handiness of having a toaster oven.

Sylvia