How to make sprouted flour yourself at home by sprouting the grain of your choice for more nutritious, filling, and digestible baked goods. It saves a bundle too!
Sprouted flour made from freshly ground, germinated grain is one of the 3 ways traditional societies used to prepare their grains before eating.
These careful methods are necessary in order to eliminate anti-nutrients such as phytic acid and lectins. They also help neutralize toxins and break down difficult to digest proteins such as gluten. In addition, the process optimizes digestibility to allow maximum absorption of nutrients.
Unfortunately, sprouting as a traditionally inspired practice has been lost in favor of modern cooking techniques. Today, home chefs value speed and convenience over nutrient density and digestibility!
Many consumers are returning to these wise and ancestral preparation methods, especially as allergies and intolerances to grains continue to explode across the industrialized world.
It is amazing to me how many folks label themselves as โgluten intolerantโ. If they only realized how simple cooking techniques will easily break down the gluten and possibly allow them to enjoy wheat again!
Benefits of Sprouted Flour
Sprouted flour is substantially more nutritious than unsprouted. For example, vitamin C is produced by germinating grain, but it is absent in the unsprouted form. Vitamin B content is increased dramatically by sprouting as are carotenes, precursors to Vitamin A.
Sprouting inactivates the irritating substances in the hull of the grain as well. These inhibitors (phytic acid) have the potential to neutralize enzymes in the digestive tract. These substances also block the uptake of important minerals like zinc.
Hence, the germination process exponentially increases the ease of digestion and metabolism of nutrients! It reduces the chances of indigestion, acid reflux, and bloating too.
From a practical point of view, you feel full more quickly and stay satisfied longer when sprouted foods are consumed. The increased nutrition in each bite is what makes this possible.
Germination Inactivates Aflatoxins
Much media attention has brought attention to the problem of aflatoxins in grains. These substances are potent carcinogens and are present in high quantities in highly processed foods such as crackers, cookies, chips, and cereals.
Sprouting inactivates aflatoxins, which is just another reason to follow the wisdom of traditional peoples in grain preparation!
Less Expensive
While there are many places nowadays to buy sprouted flour, it can be expensive, typically running $5-10/pound depending on the type of grain you seek.
Another option is to buy grain kernels already sprouted and grind into fresh flour yourself. This costs about the same as buying sprouted flour.
On the other hand, buying the grain of your choice in bulk, sprouting the kernels yourself, and then grinding into flour costs roughly half this amount!
More Nutritious
Not only is it cheaper, but homemade sprouted flour is more nutritious too.
Once grain is sprouted and/or ground into flour, the protective substances in the hull are deactivated. This results in a rapid loss of nutritional valueโฆeven faster than unsprouted flour. There is also an increased risk of rancidity once the delicate polyunsaturated fats in the grain are exposed to air and light post grinding.
Thus, making germinated flour yourself will result in a fresher product with most of the nutrition preserved. It is time well spent.
Equipment for Sprouting Grain Kernels to Make Flour
The first item you need to sprout grain is a glass container with a screen lid and a stand for easy drainage/airflow (like this one).
Alternatively, many health food stores sell sprouting jars, but they are sometimes pricey.
If the budget is tight, you can make a DIY sprouting jar yourself using a large, wide-mouth mason jar and a clean pair of pantyhose cut to fit about an inch or two wider than the lid. Fasten with a rubber band and youโre all set!
Note that buying organic grain is best as nonorganic sources are sometimes irradiated and will fail to sprout.
While it doesnโt take much effort, germinating grain does take a bit of time to allow Mother Nature to do her work. Thus, it is wise to plan for large batches at a time so that you only have to sprout your grains once or twice a season!
Recipes Using Sprouted Flour
Once youโve successfully made your first batch of sprouted flour, try one or more of these recipes to enjoy the delicious fruits of your labor!
- Sprouted Brownies
- Belgian Sprouted Waffles
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Traditional Sprouted Stuffing
- Sprouted Flour Pizza Crust
- Sprouted Crackers
Homemade Sprouted Flour
How to make sprouted flour at home by sprouting the grain of your choice for baked goods that are more digestible, filling, and nutritious.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole grain kernels preferably organic
- filtered water
- sprouting jar
Instructions
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Fill sprouting jar no more than half full of grain. Rinse the kernels several times with filtered water until they are completely wet.
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Fill the jar until almost full with water and let the berries soak overnight. The next morning, tip the jar and drain out the water using the screen lid to prevent the berries from spilling out. Rinse the wheat one more time and then invert the jar and let it sit at an angle to facilitate draining and allowing the circulation of air. I use my grain grinder as a support for the jar so that the draining occurs right over the kitchen sink.
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Every few hours, rinse the kernels again and reset the jar in the draining position. Anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days (depending on the time of year and warmth/humidity in your home), small white buds will appear on the ends of each grain kernel. Immediately proceed to the next step, as letting the sprouts grow too large reduces the amount of flour you will produce after grinding.
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Pour the sprouted kernels into baking pans and place in a dehydrator or a warm oven (150 F/ 65 C) for about 24 hours until fully dried. Keep a shallow depth for the kernels in the pans to ensure quick drying. Take care not to go over 150 F/ 65 C, else you will toast the flour.
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After the sprouted grains are dry, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or grind immediately and then freeze the sprouted flour.
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Use sprouted flour just like you would use regular flour in your favorite baking recipes, substituting 1:1.
Recipe Video
How do I store sprouted dehydrated wheat grains?
My oven has a proofing setting at 90-110 I think. It also has a dehydrate setting that goes as low as 140. With all these options- which is the best temp for dehydration?
I am interested in sprouting my grains to eliminate anti-nutrients. Then I would like to use the flour in my bread recipes. I see using 100% sprouted flour = dense loaves due to gluten damage during the sprouting process. Your solution, mentioned in a response here, was to adapt recipes slowly with possibly a 50/50 regular/sprouted flour mix. Vital wheat gluten (VWG) was also mentioned.
I would like to use 100% sprouted flour. I have never used VWG. Do you have a rule of thumb for adding it to sprouted flour? Does VWG contain anti nutrients?
I appreciate your advice and expertise!
You mentioned on your video that you would provide coop info to purchase grains but I didnโt hear it or see it.
Yes, here you go: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/go/azure-standard/
Hi,
you mention a couple of very interesting benefits using the sprouting technique (โSprouting inactivates aflatoxinsโ etc) โฆis there any scientific evidence? If yes, I would definitively be interested in using the technique. But there is so much out there in the web that is being written by bloggers that itโs basically impossible to sort out truth or wishful thinking without coming down to the facts.
Christian
Yes, there is scientific evidence about this. Hereโs one example study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885555/
The nutritional content of sprouted wheat is undeniable. How much of the extra nutrition is lost when baked at 400deg or higher? Is the effort to sprout/dehydrate/grind worth the added nutrition (Iโm assuming it is, but would to know how much nutritional value is ultimately making it into the body) Thanks!
Hi. I have been grinding wheat berries and making whole wheat bread for many years. I recently decided to experiment with sprouting my wheat before grinding it. I found your step by step โhow toโ blog very helpful. However I have just mixed up my first batch of whole wheat bread using sprouted flour. I am very disappointed in the consistency of the dough. When I work it out into pans the dough breaks rather than stretches. There is almost no elasticity!My bread is much more solid. My family enjoys whole wheat bread, but we also enjoy light loaves! Any ideas what Iโm doing wrong?
When you sprout wheat, much of the gluten is broken down, which is great for digestion and improving nutrition, but makes bread baking much more tricky as it loses its stretchiness! This is why commercial โsprouted breadโ nearly always has vital wheat gluten or other type of binder added to compensate. You will have to experiment to adjust your recipe or use half sprouted flour and half regular flour and see if that helps.
It is quite a challenge to find good spelt berries, especially in the East side of this continent makes dry conditions too scarce to have a reliable source of good berries, not spoilt by humidity. In the last three years, I had to throw away (compost) three bags of 45 pounds of berriesโฆ
Buying the berries specifically for sprouting would make the cost prohibitive to make bread, about $8.- for a one and a half pound loafโฆ
Thanks so much for thisโฆbeen trying to convince myself to make the leap from organic home-ground flour to sprouted, but the next step seems kind of overwhelming! I think Iโll give it a go.