Wonderful Soaked Flour Bread! Ever Tried Sprouted Grain Flour?

by Jeanine
(South Carolina)

I love this soaked flour homemade bread recipe and just wanted to thank you for sharing it. I feel good knowing my family is getting good nutritious bread. I am wondering if you've ever tried using sprouted wheat flour for the additional flour, the unsoaked portion. I saw this in another recipe and the idea intrigued me.

I am not sure I can even grind spouted wheat in my mill yet but nutritionally it should be a very high enzyme content like the soaked flour yet it can be added after the initial soaking period to absorb excess moisture. I would think it would make a heavier bread but you could always use white hard wheat berries which make the bread much lighter than the red. Anyways, let me know what you think!

Thanks! :)



Eryn's reply: Great question about substituting sprouted wheat flour for the additional unsoaked flour that is added in to make the consistency of the dough just right. Well let's see... If you have some sprouted flour that you freshly ground at home, you could absolutely substitute that. In fact, if you have done the extra steps involved in sprouting your own grains, dehydrating or drying them, and then grinding them at home into flour, you could make your homemade bread with that flour alone.

You know, you could use that sprouted flour entirely as your one and only flour to make your homemade bread or baked good of your choice. You would not have to soak the sprouted flour, because through the sprouting of your grains, you have also broken down the phytic acid and converted that grain into a more nutritious and more digestible grain. So you are accomplishing what the soaking of the flour in an acid medium accomplishes.

Here you can learn the differences between sprouted grain bread and soaked flour bread.

Now let's say you do not want to do the extra steps, of sprouting, dehydrating and then grinding the sprouted grains. Maybe you don't have the right mill to grind the sprouted and dehydrated grain, and you just want to buy the sprouted flour at the store.

Well, in that case, the store bought sprouted flour would have the above mentioned benefits (breaking down of phytic acid, enhanced digestion and nutrition - remembering the fresher that flour, the higher its nutrition). Again, since the store bought sprouted flour is not as fresh, there is nutrition being lost. The flour would not be as fresh as if it were freshly ground at home.

So then the question is, which is a healthier flour add in choice for the soaked flour bread recipe - non-soaked fresh ground flour or store bought sprouted flour that is not as fresh? Hmmm...

Well, the homemade freshly ground flour is fresher, higher nutritional value, but the phytic acid is not broken down - more enzyme inhibitors in the flour from the "untreated" seed still holding the precious enzymes hostage in a sense. That's right, enzyme inhibitors in the "untreated" seed do not go away when they are ground into flour. Now the enzyme inhibitors are in the flour. Kind of wild, right? We would ideally like those enzymes "freed" so we can receive their benefits. Learn more about the benefits of these grain enzymes here.

With the store bought sprouted flour, the phytic acid is broken down and extra nutrition is enhanced, but since it is not as fresh, there is that loss of nutrition, right?

Hmmm, which one is better? Which flour to choose? I think my digestive function, and what flours I had easy access to could determine that choice. Also, if I found the soaked flour bread recipe is not agreeing with my digestion as much as I would like, and I had added in that non-soaked flour to make the dough consistency just right, then I may try the store bought sprouted flour in lieu of that next time I make the homemade bread. I could compare the differences in how I felt. I could determine if I felt any difference at all, right?


Once again, if I enjoy sprouting my grains, dehydrating them, and then grinding them into flour, then just use that flour and skip the soaked flour step and soaking medium as it is not necessary with the sprouted flour. That's correct, the other benefit of using the store bought sprouted flour (or even homemade sprouted flour) would be that you do not have to use the acidic soaking medium ingredient.

So what will I do? I'll continue to make my soaked flour bread recipe the same way, since I will probably never get around to sprouting and then grinding those sprouts into flour. This soaking flour method is just easier for me, and still produces great results.

I know some people feel comfortable using their Nutrimill to grind their sprouted grains into flour, but I do not. I think those sprouts, even if dried out, could be a bit too gummy or still slightly moist and could clog it, and I know moist grains should not be placed in the Nutrimill, but that is just me.

Here is a post by one of my readers sharing her sprouted flour homemade bread rolls recipe. She also shares how she uses her Nutrimill to grind her sprouted grains, though I cannot recommend that - though she says she is finding success using her Nutrimill in this way.

Here is my Nutrimill page where I have a link to the Nutrimill Owner's Manual that states grains cannot be moist or they can clog up the grain grinding machine.

Another reader posted how she uses the Komo Fidibus Medium Mill to grind her sprouted grains into flour. Some people even just blend or mix their sprouted grains to make a dough, and then make their bread. Wow, this is an endless subject isn't it?

To continue, if I were sensitive to gluten, and knowing that many can tolerate homemade bread in which the grains were properly "treated" (either sprouted or soaked) to make them easier to digest, I would probably want to try adding in the store bought sprouted flour as my add in flour. That way, 100% of my grains have gotten the royal predigestion "treatment" first.

Again for me, I'll just mostly stick to the soaked flour homemade bread recipe as is, being grateful for the very positive steps taken.

Though the phytic acid has not been broken down in the additional added in flour, at least I can rest assured knowing I have homemade freshly ground flour, rich with all its fabulous nutrients, there is no question of there being any additional additives, and much of the phytic acid has already been broken down in a great portion of my flour through the soaking process.

But because of you Jeanine, I just may try it with the store bought sprouted flour as my flour add in, to see if there is any kind of either positive or negative detectable difference.

Wow, Jeanine, not such a simple question you asked me. Quite interesting really. Let me know which path your homemade bread making takes. Please come back and share your either soaked flour, sprouted flour, or a combination of the two, bread making experiences.

Continued success with your bread making skills,

Eryn


Go to Delicious Homemade Bread Recipe Made With Soaked Grains

Go to Learn About the Health Benefits From Soaking Your Whole Wheat Flour

Go to my Nutrimill Grain Mill Video Demonstration

Go to Whole Wheat Flour Nutrition Chart

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