Sprouting and Drying Seeds for Bread
It is not enough just to sprout seeds to make bread. They must be thoroughly dried and ground up fine enough so the bread can rise.
Sprouting directions
x
Wheat berries
1. Put 3 cups of seeds into two 1 quart mason jars.
2. Cover jars with cheesecloth and rubber band.
3. Fill with water and empty a few times.
4. Fill with water and let sit 8 hours.
5. Drain and rinse.
6. Tilt jars so water drains out. I use a dishwashing rack.
7. Store on side in cool, dark place for 1 day. Rinse and drain every 8 hours.
8. By now you should see a small nub on most of the seeds. If not, wait another 8 hours.
Drying Sprouts
1. Spread sprouted seeds in a single layer on two cookie sheets.
2. Place in oven at 170 deg for 1 hour. After 1/2 hour, take out sheets and move seeds around.
3. Some sites say the enzymes will be destroyed if the temperature gets over 120 degrees. True, but since the seeds will be in baked bread, this will happen anyway.
4. I tried several different drying methods and this one, by far, worked the best.
- air dry - takes too long
- dry in oven using oven light (90 deg) - takes too long. It never seemed to dry them thoroughly.
- dehydrator - I have not tried this. Temp range is adjustable; usually from 90 to 155 deg. Others have had success with it but it is another piece of equipment around the kitchen.
5. I test to see if a sprout is dried by biting it. It should be crunchy, not soft.
Grinding Dried Sprouts
Once the sprouts are very dry, it is time to grind them into sprouted flour. Note the flour retains the value of whole grain and sprouting.
1. I use a Kitchenaid grain mill to grind the seeds into flour. It takes about 10 minutes and makes 4 cups of flour from 3 cups of seeds.
I tried coffee grinders, meat grinders, food processors, and blenders but nothing came close to the grain mill.
Epilogue
Over the past year, nothing has worked in making good bread. It would not rise and be very gooey in the middle. I tried different temperatures, rising times, vital wheat gluten. Only when I used the grain mill did the bread rise properly.
