Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sprouted Wheat Berry Bread....

and how to sprout wheat berries!
Because, if you are going to make Sprouted
Wheat Berry Bread you will have to have
some sprouts! ;~}
*
Sprouts take 3-4 days, so plan your bread baking
accordingly.
*
Here is what you will need for sprouting ~
1 quart sized canning jar with ring/band.
cheese cloth
(or any fabric that will let water pass thru easily, or
even small mesh plastic screening)
Wheat Berries
(these can be found in the bulk food isle of your grocery store
or health food stores)
~*~

Place 1/4 cup wheat berries in the jar
and fill with barely warm water.
Put the cheese cloth over the jar and secure with ring.
Drain the water through the cheese cloth and
fill again.
Let stand for 2 hours.
Drain.
Rinse again and drain.

Place the jar on it's side.
Some people say they should be in the dark,
others say they need bright light.
I set mine on my kitchen counter under an East facing window
which only receives low light.
They grow just fine!
Rinse and drain the berries twice a day for 3-4 days
or until you have about 2 cups of sprouts.
Above ~ after 24 hours.


Above~ day 2

Evening Day 2

You will see what they looked like on the morning of day 4
below when we make bread.



When your sprouts are ready, gather your ingredients.
You will need;
1/2 C. warm water (105*-110*)
2 T. yeast
pinch of sugar or honey
2 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. nonfat dry milk powder
1 T. salt
1 1/2 C. warm water (105*-110*)
1/4 C. honey
4 T room temperature butter
2 C. sprouted wheat berries
4 1/2 - 5 cups bread flour

~*~


1. Into the 1/2 C. warm water, add your pinch of sugar or honey and
sprinkle the yeast over the water. Stir and let stand till foamy.

2. In a large bowl, add your 2 C. whole wheat flour, dry milk powder, and salt.
Combine with a whisk.



3. Add the 1 1/2 C. of warm water, honey and butter.
Mix with a wooden spoon and beat for about 1 minute.

4. Add the yeast mixture and beat for 1 more minute.



5. Add the sprouted wheat berries
(I pull them apart to more evenly distribute them.)
and add the bread flour 1 C. at a time.



You may need to dump out the dough and kneed
in the last cup or two of flour.
(It may not take all of the flour, add the last cup or two by small
amounts until the dough says that's enough!)
6. I kneed for about 10 minutes!




Just look at those tasty wheat berries and little green sprouts!
They smell like sliced cucumbers!

7. Place in a greased bowl and turn once to coat top.
Cover and let rise at warm room temp.
I let my bread rise in an oven preheated to the
lowest temperature and turned off.

8. Let rise until double ~ 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

(Sorry ~ I forgot to get a picture of the risen dough in the bowl!)

9. Turn dough out onto work surface and divide in half.
Working out the air bubbles (I use a rolling pin) shape
each half into a rectangle and roll into a loaf.



10. Placing seam side down into greased loaf pans,
let dough rise till double again, about 1 hour.



11. Bake for 35-40 minutes in a preheated 350* oven
or until bottoms of loaf sound hollow when tapped.


12. Turn loaves out on racks to cool and brush with butter.


Some say you shouldn't cut your loaf until it has completely
cooled or it will ruin the 'crumb' of the bread.
But who can resist the temptation of that heavenly scent
of fresh baked bread?
Not I!
Enjoy!


11 comments:

Nadine said...

Yummy!

I have sprouted wheat berries just once before...I added them into tuna patties - very good also.

Thank you for this recipe...I am printing it out right now and will be giving it a try!

Blessings!
~Nadine

PS ~ I too, enjoy bread hot from the oven - smothered in butter! :)

The Watts Family said...

Wow that looks awesome I have never even heard of wheat berries. that looks like alot of fun actually to grow those and wow they sprout really fast. The bread looks wonderful. Well you learn something new every day and today I learned about wheat berries :) Enjoy that yummy looking bread Blessings Love Heather

Anonymous said...

Oh Lady Farmer...I am waiting for the wheat berries to arrive in my dry goods store. I ordered them last week, and this is exactly what I am making :)

Thank you for sharing such delicious photos. I can almost smell the aroma and the taste - oh my!!!

Maria

Mrs. E said...

How lovely is that?!
Beautiful pictures... :)
Thank you for sharing dear
Lady Farmer.

Love~ Jen
Psalm 16:11

donna said...

Amazing! I grind wheat berries all the time to make our bread, but have never heard of sprouting them. Sounds very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to show us how to do it. I think my girls and I will have to try it. Enjoy your day and God bless.

The B's said...

Save me a slice; I'll be right over! =)

xoxoxo

Marqueta (Mar-kee-ta) G. said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

Mmm, sprouted wheat is SO good for you! The recipe looks delicious; we'll have to give it a try, for sure.

Love,

Marqueta

Greyhaven Pines said...

This breads sounds wonderful. I will have to try it. I love sprouts.

:)

Elizabeth

Unknown said...

Your bread is gorgeous!! We love sprouted wheat bread and there is no resisting cutting into the fresh baked loaf :)

Blessings!
Gail

Vicki Boster said...

What a great post! (I just gained 10 pounds from reading this!!) The bread looks fabulous. Please invite me to your house for supper - and serve that bread!

Vicki

Annesphamily said...

The bread looks so delicious! Thank you for sharing. Anne