Sprouted wheat flour

In addition to sprouting small seeds for salads and sandwiches, I like to do sprouted wheat for flour and for wheat grass. I use the basic sprouting methods found here. But I use a much bigger container and a lot more seed.

Large bowl with sprouted wheat.

I fill my biggest bowl about 3/4 full of wheat, red or white, hard or soft. I put it in the sink and fill it with water. The chafe from the wheat will rise to the top as will any wheat that is broken or not sprout able. As I run the water over it, I stir it up with my hands to bring the wheat to the top and let it all get cleaned up. I take the stuff that rises to the top and throw it away. I let it rinse until the water runs clear. I drain off all of this water and then fill the bowl with filtered water and put the lid loosely on. Let it soak for 8-10 hours or overnight.  One it has soaked, strain off all the water. (I usually dump it into a large strainer and then rinse well with clean water) Put it back in the bowl and place the lid loosely on and rinse again in about 12 hours and then again 12 hours later. The wheat should have started to sprout and look like this.

Close up of sprouted wheat.

On the dehydrator

Now the wheat is ready to do: 1. dehydrate to make sprouted flour. or 2. prepare for wheat grass. 3. I also save a little of the sprouted wheat to make sprouted yeast bread. I'll post that recipe later. To dehydrate just scoop onto your dehydrating trays with teflex trays on them to keep the wheat from falling through. spread out evenly and stack trays until you have as many as you need. Turn the dehydrator on to 105 degrees. Dehydrate for about 24 hours or more depending on how moist your air is.

Once it is dry, grind into flour and store in the freezer.

Sprouting basics

The Why of Sprouting

The fundamental reason for sprouting is to increase the bio-availability of nutrients. Grains, nuts, beans, and seeds have protective compounds – phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors (or anti-enzymes) etc., in their hulls and coatings that 1) keep them from germinating, 2) help them store nutrients, and 3) protect them from insects and pathogens. A major function of phytic acid is to trap iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium. This is good for the seed, but not so good when your body needs to absorb those minerals. The enzymes that are inhibited by the anti-enzymes are the ones needed to break down nutrients into usable forms by the body (hence making them bio-available).
With the protection and support of these compounds, seeds can remain dormant yet viable for extended amounts of time, as long as they are stored properly and not exposed to water. Once seeds come in contact with water, at the optimum temperature, the phytic acid begins to break down, and the enzyme inhibitors are neutralized. This unlocks all of the needed enzymes and nutrition for the seed to germinate, develop, and mature into a healthy plant. When they are not soaked or sprouted, only a fraction of the nutrients are available.
We all know that whole foods are much more nutritious than processed foods. But, as we can see by this little bit of understanding, what is present is not necessarily available. The great news is that soaking/sprouting not only breaks down and neutralizes the compounds that are not digestible by the human GI tract, making vital minerals available, it also substantially increases the levels of vitamin complexes A, B, C and E. Necessary soaking times vary, but longer is generally better for most; ten minutes is not enough. The chart at the end of this article is a handy guide for soaking and sprouting times.

The How To
To sprout, you need to control a few basic things: Water, air circulation, temperature and light. There are some wonderful sprouting aids that can help you manage those details, and we will talk about them next. However, let’s start with the simplest method using a canning jar (or any kind of container really), a screen, (I use counted cross stitch plastic cut to the size of the ring.) a ring to hold the screen in place, and seed.

  

1. Pour the desired amount of seed or grain into a canning jar, attach screen and ring, and wash with fresh water. Pour out water.
2. Add water to the jar– roughly 3 times the amount of seed, and let sit. See chart for how long.
3. After the seeds have soaked, pour out the water (rinse again if you want). Prop up the jar at roughly a 45 degree angle so the water can continue to drain out and air can circulate in. (angle towards sink or put a bowl or plate underneath)
4. Twice a day, cover the seeds with water, swirl around, drain out water, and prop the jar back on its side.
5. Voilà! In a few days, your sprouts will be ready to eat!
Helpful Tips
• Use only untreated seeds, suitable for human consumption, and of course NON-GMO!
• Handle the seeds as little as possible.
• Sterilize all the equipment you use for sprouting.
• Use filtered water with no chlorine.
• After the initial soak, do not let the seeds sit in the water or they will begin to decay.
• Keep sprouts out of direct sunlight.
• Keep temperature at an ambient level, roughly 70-80oF.
• Store sprouts (not wet!) in refrigerator once they have reached the desired height.
• Grains and legumes benefit from soaking in acidulated water- add a small amount of whey, kefir, yogurt, lemon juice, etc. to the soaking water. Flours need a good soak like this too, unless they are already sprouted of course!

Places to get seeds and nuts to sprout:

www.azurestandard.com           

www.providentliving.org  wheat and beans

www.lifesprouts.com

www.greensmoothiegirl.com  You can get almonds through a group buy in October but they come in January. I facilitate this group buy for the Houston area.  If you are interested in being contacted concerning the order, please leave a message on the blog.