Wednesday, October 7, 2009

WHY SPROUTED FLOUR

Sprouting your grain transforms it so that your body recognizes it as an easily digestible vegetable rather than a starch! It changes the composition of starch molecules, converting them into vegetable sugars. Through the sprouting process, phytates are broken down allowing your body to digest calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc, and enzymes are created that aid digestion. Complex sugars are dissolved which can help eliminate painful gas, and vitamin and mineral levels are increased – vitamin B6, folate, and niacinand to be precise.

Jenny at the Nourished Kitchen shares, “When examining the nutrient density of sprouted wheat to unsprouted wheat on a calorie-per-calorie basis, you’ll find that sprouted wheat contains four times the amount of niacinand nearly twice the amount of vitamin B6 and folate as unsprouted wheat. Moreover, sprouted grain contains more protein and fewer starches than unsprouted grain and is lower on the glycemic index than its unsprouted counterpart.” For a most detailed explaination of sprouted grains check out the Nourishing Gourmet.

According to Sally Fallon "all grains, nuts, and seeds contain phytic acid, an organic acid that blocks the absorption of minerals. Grains also contain enzyme inhibitors and irritating compounds that can inhibit digestion. Traditionally, grains were properly prepared by soaking and sprouting. Not only does this practice neutralize the negative effects of phytic acid, but it also increases the nutritional value of the grain." Proper preparation is essential. For more information on how to properly prepare your grains, see the recipes in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

At the Weston Price website there is great tutorial on the dangers of WHITE FLOUR. A must read!

So sprouted flour is more digestible and nutritious! Having a quantity of sprouted flour in your freezer readily available is the most convenient option to provide your family with easy digestion. There are two choices when it comes to using sprouted flour. Sprouted flour is expensive and wheat berries very affordable but sprouting takes time and diligence. If you make your own you can dry them with a dehydrator or in your oven). Here is a picture of my homemade dehydrator.

In my opinion there is a danger to storing the sprouted berries or the sprouted flour in the freezer as opposed to the fridg. When you pull out the berries from the freezer condensation instantly forms on all of the grains and the inside of jar. I am no expert but this seems like a problem so I store in the fridg as I don't see the same level of condensation forming on the jar so I am guessing less moisture is being introduced.

10 comments:

  1. Valerie,
    Check out the updated sprouted flour news at essentialeating.com. This company has recently opened the first certified organic sprouted flour Mill in the US and thier flour stands apart from any other operation because they use superior grain, test for vomitoxin (deadly virus found in grain), organically rinse and gently dry the grain and also sift for foreigh matter (found in all grain) and of utmost importance, they conduct the falling number test to determine that the grain has been sprouted and not drown...all steps that cannot be done in a home operation. Based on convention wisdom about how to sprout grains, most of the grain is being drown and not sprouted. Now that I know, I use Essential Eating sprouted flours exclusively for all the reasons you mention plus it is the most safe, sanitary and consistent sprouted flour with amazing baking characteristics available.

    And here's what I found amazing about storing sprouted flours. When grains are sprouted, dried and milled into flour, the flour is much more stable then unsprouted flour because in the sprouting process the germ cell (that goes rancid in unsprouted flour) is eaten by the endosperma and is no longer there to go rancid. Sprouted flour has a long shelf life (6+ months) and doens't need to be refigerated or frozen. It only needs to be kept dry. Thanks for the great news.

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  2. Carl, thanks so much for posting this information! I am curious about the drowned wheat. I would estimate that 90% of my grains have sprouted in about 10 hours, after soaking them about 12 hours. Would they sprout if they were drowned? I have decided to sprout the grains myself instead of buying sprouted flour because of cost quite frankly. The grains are quite affordable.

    I suppose, given what you say about storage, that keeping my sprouted grains in a airtight container in the cupboard will suffice? That is great news!

    Thanks again for the info, I will certainly check out your reference. Valerie

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  3. I priced out the grains versue the sprouted flour. Prarie Gold Spring Wheat at WheatMontana costs $.48 per pound when you buy 25 pounds. Spelt berries $.52 if you buy 50 pounds.
    I can get both through my local buyers club (Rainbow Natural Foods).

    http://www.shilohfarms.com/productDetails.php?navid=318&itemNumber=194152

    At Shilo Farms, the sprouted flour is $2.75 per pound if you buy 50 pounds. Sprouted spelt is $3.12. I have to check to see if I could get their flour through my coop or if I would have to have it shipped. I can find out. But just looking at the price per pound comparison, buying berries is more cost affective.

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  4. The folks at Essential Eating said that there are many factors in determining if a grain has actually sprouted. You can grow the sprout past its peak for milling, but the only sure way is to use the Falling Number Test. Sometimes grain appears sprouted - the endosperm pops out, not the sprout.

    No question, buying whole grain berries is less expenive than buying the finsished product, but you have to factor in the time it takes to sprout, dry and grind! I love the time savings..but the real reason I stopped doing it myself is all the reasons Essential Eating can produce a superior sprouted flour. I could not do those things in my home operation. And my sprouted flour always produced dense baked goods and there's does not.

    Anyway, glad people now have an option. Keep the news coming.

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  5. Thanks Carl,

    I am going to do a test myself, I am going to sprout 1 cup of my berries and grow them in my sprouter to see how many actually grow and how many don't. If they actually grow then they are not drowned but alive.

    Also, I have been using my sprouted grains to make flour for bread since this spring. I have baked off probably 20 loaves in the period and just about everyone was perfect, despite the fact that I am total novice baker. Never dense or brick like, the taste is exceptional and the shelf life unbelieveable.

    Check out my other posts on my blog to see my sandwhich loaves (that is all I bake right now to get the hang of it). As I get better at understanding dough feel and proofing nuances I am getting better loaves. So no problems with my grains.

    I understand that you are promoting sprouted flour by Shiloh farms and that's great. But I like taking the time to sprout and do my grains myself. Dedicating time and effort to the prepartion of foods as means to save money if fine by me. We need to save anyway possible these days.

    Thanks for the comments!

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  6. Carl, I conducted a sprouting test on my wheat berries. I posted photos of my test results in my recent post here

    http://valeriejaquith.blogspot.com/2009/10/are-my-wheat-berries-sprouting-or-are.html

    As far as I can tell after 24 hours of sprouting is that almost all, if not all of the berries, sprouted just fine. I am going to wait another 24 hours and check them again. Based on my preliminary findings I am confident that my berries are not drowned.

    Also, I closely examined my berries before soaking and compared them to the photos I found on the Canadian Wheat Commission website showing damaged wheat. I could not find any damage in my comparision.

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  7. I posted my question about the possiblity of my sprouts being drown at the Fresh Loaf.

    http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14037/are-my-wheat-berries-sprouted-or-drowned#comment-86635

    You can check out the comments there.

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  8. Every load of wheat taken to any millfrom the farm is tested for vomitoxin. Mills reject wheat that tests positive for it so this is not exclusive to Essential Eating.It is done on all grains. The falling numbers test is also done to loads of wheat destined to be ground into flour, again, on every load of wheat. They also do a germ test to determine the viability of the grain.

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  9. follow up: I posted my question about drowned vrs. sprouted wheat berries on The Fresh Loaf website: Are My Sprouts DROWNED or sprouted? Here is an exerpt from the first response to my post: "People have been sprouting grains at home with great success much longer than your comment maker has been alive. Your sprouted grains look perfect to me".

    I think this put the issue to rest.

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  10. Hii, I am Anish Mathew from India and am interested in knowing more about sprouted wheat flour. Its detailed nutritional values and comparision with its normal unsprouted cousin, kindly also suggest some books and/or websites which does a detailed nutritional study of it.
    Kindly mail me at catchanish@gmail.com

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