Sprouted Grain Bread or Our Version of Essene Bread

We have been experimenting with sprouted grain bread.  There are quite a few variables to assess but slowly we are getting a clearer picture. Making a solid loaf seems beyond our skills at the moment and therefore we are sticking to making a flat bread to use with cheeses, dips and smoked Salmon.

First attempt in the oven

First up only three grains are involved Wheat, Rye and Buckwheat. The Wheat and Rye are dead easy to sprout but not so the Buckwheat. Maybe it isn't of sprouting quality. We tried a different source alongside the original and found the original worked fine. It just seems it needs more than one decent wash each day.

At first we limited the sprouting to just the tiniest of white shoots but further reading suggested that getting some green sprouts to appear may be better. The sprouting goes for about 4 days now.

Wheat Sprouts

We use a Champion Juicer to mill the sprouted grain into a coarse slop then pat it out onto a flat tray.

Champion Juicer

Quinoa doesn't really mash up

Usually we make two variations. One is the 100% sprouted slop and the second is the slop with a sourdough starter added 24 hours earlier which gives a acidity flavour. But in the quest for perfection we now stuck with nothing else but the ground sprouts.

Broadening the horizons we added Spelt grain to the mix with disastrous results. It had too many broken grains. The Quinoa worked fine but the Millet and Sesame seeds failed. Both Mung beans and Lentils had no trouble. At the moment the trial was about which seeds were easiest to sprout. Later we will try to assess overall flavour with various mixes. Although when you think about it the more variation the merrier.

Mung Sprouts

Lentil Sprouts

Along the way someone said it was best not to heat the mix above 120 F (48.8C). Although the 150 C baking provided a luscious caramelly  crisp biscuit we persevered with the low temperature in the Nara dryer while baking some in the 150 C oven for comparative testing.

Baking Tray

The Nara dryer was adjusted to stay below the 48.8 C. The first batch was spread too thin and we ended with the biscuit breaking up when it was removed from the tray.

Drying Tray

The crumbed version made a good topping for soups and stews and even salads

In the next test a much thicker layer was applied, about 10-12 mm thick and only used the dryer. This worked really well and it didn't matter whether it was directly on the tray or on Baking paper. The direct to tray dried in under 24 hours and the Baking paper solution took just a few extra hours. We also added about 10% by weight of Olive Oil. This resulted in the final biscuit not sticking to the cooking surface.

Using Baking Paper on a drying tray - 10-12 mm thick

Final result

The final bread/biscuit is dry and keeps well. We didn't use any sourdough starter either.  It doesn't have that nutty caramel flavour of the oven baked version but it at least retains all its goodness. Using the dryer is cheaper than running the oven for six or more hours and burning is not risked. The flavour is hard to describe but probably dried sprouts is most applicable. It goes well with cheeses and other toppings.

If you want to avoid traditional breads this is a pretty good alternative, relatively easy to make and versatile. And they say sprouted grains are extremely nutrient rich.

Making Bread - 100% Wholemeal Flour, 100% Sourdough Starter

What in the past have been rock solid bricks requiring only the most passionate devotee to begrudgingly consume are now gone forever.

Seed Loaf

Parmesan and Pepper

Thank you Josie Baker and your book Josie baker Bread for solving our problems of technique.

But also thanks to Richard Bertinet and his book Crust with its DVD on handling dough.

Josie's book is structured to lead you through a series of breads starting with simple loaves using bakers flour and yeast. Each new recipe adds a degree of complexity as you move to wholemeal and other flours and then making and using Sourdough Starter in place of commercial yeast. This gradual process builds confidence as success follows success.

Sourdough Starter

 Richard Bertinet publishes his videos online here. We were lucky to have our local library stock two of his books.

BUT there are a few things to remember from our experience:

• Start with a sloppy wet dough which is what you get when you follow Josie's recipes. Use the weight measurements in the recipes which are deadly accurate as opposed to the volume measurements where cup sizes vary.

One of our well used bread tins

Oiled and floured ready to take the final rise dough

• Being lazy we use the bread machine to do all the mixing but it is pretty easy by hand or in an electric mixer.

Final Proving rise

• After the bulk rise, shape the loaf and put it in the refrigerator overnight before its final proving rise the next day. Miracles occur with the dough. Don't forget to wrap it in plastic wrap to stop the top drying out. And always use plastic wrap during the rising phases. Although it is only an option to refrigerate and come back to making the bread is in every recipe (before the bulk rise or after shaping) we found it a key element of the success to perform either one of the refrigeration's. Yes, that means it takes two days to make bread. In fact three days if you include prepping the starter.

Protected from drying out - reusable many times

• Always use the tinfoil tent cover for the first part of the baking. This one of the keys to success. Other than protecting you from aliens this is best use of tinfoil hats.

Tin Foil covering - reusable many times

• Use a pizza stone or a granite tile as the heat sink in the oven. This requires heating the oven well in advance. We use an overly thick granite tile which takes a lot longer to heat through but it really pays off.

Granite tile on top of a pizza stone

• The bread will keep for weeks in a freezer bag in the refrigerator.

Our favourites are the Parmesan and Pepper Loaf followed by the Seed Loaf.

The seed mix soaking - about 6 or seven different seeds

Coarse ground Pepper