Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sprouted wheat bread...it's a cinch


Yes, I made bread with nothing but sprouted wheat...and it worked, sort of. I studied up on it on "CHEF TESS BAKERESSE" blog. See my profile and you can get to her blog through "blogs I follow" I adapted her recipe, which she credits to someone else. Chef Tess has alot of experience and wisdom that she shares...so if "success" is important to you, I suggest you study her blog!
Anyways, it's very easy. For one loaf you need:
3 cups sprouted wheat
2 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 heaping tablespoon of yeast
1 teaspoon of salt.

Sprout the wheat just until the germ breaks...don't grow rootlets! It takes about 36 hours, so plan ahead! You will need to sprout about 2 1/2 cups of wheat to be sure to get 3 cups of sprouts. SELECTION OF WHEAT IS CRITICAL! USE ONLY CANADIAN WESTERN HARD RED SPRING WHEAT #1. To be sure your wheat is up to snuff...use Grandma Lou's whole kernel hard red spring wheat available from McDougall Acres.


To set up the food processor...just use the two blades that sit at the bottom . Remember, they are sharp. They don't look very sharp, but trust me, they are!

Put the three cups of sprouts into the food processor. Also add the 1 teaspoon of salt at this time. Turn it on turbo for about 30 seconds. Take the top off (it should've been on) scrape the wheat down, mix the sugar, water, and yeast together and pour the resulting syrup into the food processor.

Put the lid back on...turn the processor on turbo for a couple more minutes. You will be amazed at what happens. In no time it forms a ball that rolls around inside. Leave it until it cleans the sides of the bowl. You will have a perfect ball, that is surprisinlgly white-ish and smooth-ish.
Put a towel over it and put it somewhere warm to rise for an hour or two. Let it rise until it at least doubles in size, and you can stick a wet finger into it and the finger comes out clean and the hole stays formed.(thanks Tess...thats a great test).
Punch it down, form it into a log, and put it into a greased bread pan. Let it rise again for a half hour or an hour until it pretty much fills the pan. Have the oven pre-heated to 350. Bake it for about 40 minutes. Use an oven thermometer to be sure it is done (175 degrees...thanks again Tess for that bit of wisdom I'll definately use again).
That's all there is to it...you should now have a perfect loaf of sprouted wheat bread!! If not, keep trying, practice makes perfect! And remember...always use Canadian Western Hard Red Spring Wheat for all your breads!
If you have any questions...don't ask me.

3 comments:

  1. Ha ha Don't ask you eh! Love it!
    You make it sound so easy.
    I want you to make it with real yeast and your lentil soup. Yummnnn!

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  2. its delicious dad... im gonna have to take a few loaves when i go to work at camp... as much as i love camps food, your bread would be an awesome snack :)

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  3. Since I made this post I've done alot more experimenting with it. I've had the best luck when I use 3 cups sprouts and a cup of flour. I do it pretty much the same in the food processor...I process the sprouts first...longer than 30 seconds, then I add the flour and process further. I usually take the top off and scrape it down once or twice to get it mixed well, then I add the liquids...it takes a quarter to a third a cup of additional liquid when you use a cup of flour. Once you add the liguid the dough forms a ball that rolls around the bowl of the food processor.

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