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Jul. 3rd, 2007 11:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tylikThis possibly shouldn't be a food project post, because it isn't quick, but I'm way behind on food posts, and most of my cooking recently has been pretty utilitarian (or standbys that I've posted before). And it's good.
I've played with using sprouted grains in bread before, but it's been a while, and I didn't push it as far as I'd like. I might end up pushing it futher still, but the first experiment is itself worth reporting. This took me a bit over two days, though that time could be shortened (or lengthened) I suspect.
Saturday afternoon:
Soak 3-4 cups of hard red wheat in filtered water for 6-8 hours. Drain, cover bowl with cloth, and leave to sit overnight. (Keep in mind that the grain will swell considerably when soaked.)
Sunday:
Upon waking, and then every 4-6 hours rinse grain (I cover it with water, swish it around and then drain it) and again cover bowl. By midday the grain was obviously starting to sprout. By evening, each grain had 2-3 wee little rootlets, 2-3 mm long apiece.
Put grain in food processor, grind until it is a nice sticky dough. This takes a while. Be patient. (But when it balled up above the food processor blades I added a little extra water.) I did it in two batches. The smell is amazing.
Return dough to bowl. Add ~2 tbsp starter. (In my case the levain I normally work with.*) Cover and let sit overnight.
Monday:
Even though I added much less levain than usual, by morning the dough had risen. I added ~1 tbsp salt, and worked in enough standard bread flour to make the dough mostly not sticky. Then I kneaded it for about fifteen minutes, after which I returned it to the bowl to rise again.
When I got home, the dough had again risen. I punched it down, kneaded it a bit, and then formed it into loaves. (Divided it in half, form balls, and placed these balls, loosely wrapped in dishtowels in bowls where there would be room for it to double in size.)
After an hour or so, it was ready to bake. I preheated the oven (and the oven stone) to 450, turned out the loaves onto the oven stone, misted them with water and reduced the heat to 415 (I suspect, though, that the oven runs a bit cool, and normally would have reduced the heat to 400 for similar effect). Baked for roughly 45 minutes, spraying the loaves with water about ten minutes before the end (which gives them a softly shiny crust).
* This is yeast I domesticated myself. A biga would probably do, as well, though I'd be hesitant to use commercial yeast. I'm not sure if the faster rising was because of the more available sugars (carbohydrates are broken down early in the sprouting process) or if yeast had already taken up residence on the sprouting grain. I might hold off adding starter next time to check this.
The bread is moist, with a surprisingly light texture. A strong nutty flavor, with hints of both sour and acid. It tastes like more complete food than just bread.
sprouted wheat bread
I've played with using sprouted grains in bread before, but it's been a while, and I didn't push it as far as I'd like. I might end up pushing it futher still, but the first experiment is itself worth reporting. This took me a bit over two days, though that time could be shortened (or lengthened) I suspect.
Saturday afternoon:
Soak 3-4 cups of hard red wheat in filtered water for 6-8 hours. Drain, cover bowl with cloth, and leave to sit overnight. (Keep in mind that the grain will swell considerably when soaked.)
Sunday:
Upon waking, and then every 4-6 hours rinse grain (I cover it with water, swish it around and then drain it) and again cover bowl. By midday the grain was obviously starting to sprout. By evening, each grain had 2-3 wee little rootlets, 2-3 mm long apiece.
Put grain in food processor, grind until it is a nice sticky dough. This takes a while. Be patient. (But when it balled up above the food processor blades I added a little extra water.) I did it in two batches. The smell is amazing.
Return dough to bowl. Add ~2 tbsp starter. (In my case the levain I normally work with.*) Cover and let sit overnight.
Monday:
Even though I added much less levain than usual, by morning the dough had risen. I added ~1 tbsp salt, and worked in enough standard bread flour to make the dough mostly not sticky. Then I kneaded it for about fifteen minutes, after which I returned it to the bowl to rise again.
When I got home, the dough had again risen. I punched it down, kneaded it a bit, and then formed it into loaves. (Divided it in half, form balls, and placed these balls, loosely wrapped in dishtowels in bowls where there would be room for it to double in size.)
After an hour or so, it was ready to bake. I preheated the oven (and the oven stone) to 450, turned out the loaves onto the oven stone, misted them with water and reduced the heat to 415 (I suspect, though, that the oven runs a bit cool, and normally would have reduced the heat to 400 for similar effect). Baked for roughly 45 minutes, spraying the loaves with water about ten minutes before the end (which gives them a softly shiny crust).
* This is yeast I domesticated myself. A biga would probably do, as well, though I'd be hesitant to use commercial yeast. I'm not sure if the faster rising was because of the more available sugars (carbohydrates are broken down early in the sprouting process) or if yeast had already taken up residence on the sprouting grain. I might hold off adding starter next time to check this.
The bread is moist, with a surprisingly light texture. A strong nutty flavor, with hints of both sour and acid. It tastes like more complete food than just bread.
