SPROUTED WHEAT BREAD
In 1976 I purchased my first grain mill and Bosch mixer, and an adventure began with bread baking that years later would develop into a very fulfilling business. I never could have dreamt what was going to take place. A cookbook, The Magic of Wheat Cookery, was included with that purchase. It is a hardcover 146-page book and every recipe is formulated for Bosch Mixers. It was a valuable tool as I was learning about whole grain baking and cooking. It is a collectors item these days and still is available. I have found copies of it at Amazon.
About 6 months ago I picked that cookbook up and started thumbing through it. I was browsing through it looking for recipes of bread I could add to my inventory. It just so happened that a Sprouted Wheat Bread recipe caught my eyes. I thought it looked interesting. I've used sprouted wheat flour (which is considered diastatic malt, used in small amounts to improve the texture of whole grain breads.) This recipe used fresh wheat sprouts, not the flour. I researched the nutritional benefits of sprouted wheat bread and decided to give it a try.
Sprouting involves putting 1/3 cup of Hard Red Wheat berries in a quart jar, cover with a coffee filter, poke holes in it with a toothpick, fasten with a rubber band. It took about 3 days of rinsing and draining twice a day, until the grain produced a tail almost 1/2 inch long, the sprout. That is the life of the grain and it has come alive with very valuable nutrients and benefits. Sprouting the wheat grain increases the protein content, increases fiber and vitamins, it is easier to digest, breaks down the starch in the grain, and increases antioxidants.
My first attempt with making Sprouted Wheat Bread was beyond all my expectations. All of my breads have exceptional flavor due to the whole
-grain milled flour and all the natural ingredients, but this was amazing. The first bite, fresh out of the oven, was a "oh my goodness" experience. I'm a type-2 diabetic and I found my blood glucose response to this bread was very favorable. I had only a very slight rise . I told my Dr about it and she was impressed and told me to keep eating it, in moderation of course. It is the only bread I eat in my whole inventory. The wheat sprout itself is sweet and there is very little honey used in the recipe. There is 1/4 cup of honey in 7 loaves of the Sprouted Wheat Bread. There is almost 1 cup of fresh sprouts in a loaf. I use the freshly milled in-my-kitchen, chemical-free wheat flour plus the fresh sprouts in each loaf of that bread. I like the idea of using fresh sprouts vs the sprouted flour, which has been dehydrated and milled into flour. The fresh sprouts have been processed less.
So, the " just so happened" experience of finding the recipe for Sprouted Wheat Bread was a "meant-to-be" deal. I believe it was God's plan. I can't seem to make enough of that bread. I make double and triple batches of it and it is the first to sell out. I am glad to have it available to customers, diabetic or not.