Sprouted Wheat Berry Bread = 2 Ingredients, 4 Steps

Intro: Sprouted Wheat Berry Bread = 2 Ingredients, 4 Steps

At Hostel in the Forest in Georgia I overheard someone say they'd donate a bucket of wheat berries to the hostel's communal kitchen. "Wheat berries," they sound so wholesome. On the Hostel's web page, they posted this recipe for a bread with two ingredients: sprouted wheat berries and dates. No kneading or rising required.

It involves 4 steps
1. sprout 2 cups wheat berries over the course of 3 days while rinsing 2x a day
2. chop up with 2/3 cup dates in a food processor
3. let sit 1 hour
4. bake for 2.5 hours at 300 deg F on an oiled baking sheet - or 200 degrees for 4 hours (less enzyme mortality).

Internet inquiry taught me this is Essene bread, a very old recipe; it was probably baked on rocks in really hot sun! It's so simple, tasty, very transportable (in pockets or bike bags) and packed with nutritious goodness! Try other dried fruits besides dates - I bet it'd be good.

Sprouted grains are "living food" and have way more good stuff than seeds/grains. Here is info on wheat berry good-stuff compared to plain unsprouted wheat grain:

• Vitamin B1 (thiamin) increase of 28%
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) increase of 315%
• Vitamin B3 (niacin) increase of 66%
• Vitamin B5 (pantathenic) increase of 65%
• Biotin increase of 111%
• Folic acid increase of 278%
• Vitamin C increase of 300%

STEP 1: Soak!

Cover 2 cups of wheat berries with water and soak overnight (8 hours).

STEP 2: Rinse for 2 Days!

Set them in a tray or large bowl in a dark cool place with and rinse 2 times a day (every 12 hours) with a screen colander. Watch and wait for sprouts!

STEP 3: See Sprouts!

You'll see the wheat berries sprouting, the sprouts will be about 1/3 the length of the berries day 3!

STEP 4: Get Some Dates!

Yum, who doesn't love dates (thought they remind me at first glance of a cockroach). Cut them up in big chunks, 2/3 cup.

STEP 5: Grind Up Dates and Wheat Berries!

Put the sprouted wheat berries and date chunks into a food processor, and grind away for a while til you get a dough ball-type mass.  See progression of 3 pics here. Notice sticky gluten strings being expressed in 3rd pic! There must be some bread science story in those but I didn't research it.

STEP 6: Let Sit!

Put the doughy mass in a bowl. You could add some nuts or experimental ingredients at this point (coconut? chocolate?). Let the dough ball sit in a bowl for 1 hour covered with a cloth.

One recipe recommended some kneading for an optimal loaf... experiment.

STEP 7: Bake!

Spray / smear a baking sheet with oil, and spread out the dough to be about an inch thick. One idea is to put sesame seeds or such on the loaf, they'll stick. 

Bake at 300 deg F for 2.5 hours... (Another recipe said 200 deg F for 5 hours as baking above 260 degrees kills some living enzymes - I would do 4 hours)... or bake on a hot rock (or the hood of your car?) in the blazing sun for the afternoon. I'll try this in the summer, stay tuned...

Then eat and share the yummy Essene bread - put it in your bike bag or pocket - it is a hearty dense loaf of yumminess that travels well. You can cut and freeze it too, or leave it on the counter a few days.

Comments

[DonnaB208]

Save the sprouted water. Its called rejuvelac and its a very healthy natural probiotic. Its also perfect for making plant based cheeses. http://rawmazing.com/recipe/rejuvelac/

[katmckee]

thank you!

[rosewood513]

Maybe you can use a dehydrator in low temp for longer so you can minimize nutrient loss.
Thanks good recipe..

[lucygjohnson]

can we grind the dried sprouted wheat berrys for a regular wheat bread recipe?

[katmckee]

I am not sure!

[katmckee]

ooh, I need to try this on the hood of my car this summer...

[XansArt]

I remember Trader Joe's used to have muffins that had nothing but sprouted wheat in them, and another version that had raisins and cinnamon. SO good! I'll be trying this. What do you think the dates are for? Have you tried it without the dates?

[katmckee]

Dates sure add flavor and moisture!

[jessaagreda]

I tried sprouted wheat berry bread for the first time a couple weeks ago while visiting Asheville and it was delicious! Can't wait to try the recipe. My friend and I are going to start sprouting today and will hopefully have some bread to share with our friends this weekend. I am heading down to the Hostel in the Forest this summer sometime and very excited about it. Thank you for publishing.

[katmckee]

That is exciting! I might go in August, might see you there!

[lwynne]

After I've soaked them submersed in water for the next two days do they need to be submerged in water or do they just need to be moist?

[katmckee]

Good question! they just need to stay moist!

[gemtree]

Sounds yummy! I may try mixing ground nut and fresh cranberries. Wonder of I can put orange in it. I love orange and cranberry combo.

[Parrhesia]

A cockroach - hah! It wouldn't have occurred to me, but you're totally right.

Thank you for the easy, healthful, and super tasty-looking recipe :) I'm going to try it with the wheat berries I've been attempting to sprout.

[chapa-de-frente]

Mouth salivating uncontrollably.
one thing i love other than music and movement, is food

[Gottwinkies]

As far as I know, that is what whole wheat grain flour is made from- Wheat grains (aka wheat berries). This is awesome! I have cans of dry-pack canned wheat berries that I got from a friend. Haven't known what to do with them, save grind em into flour! I love this idea-this will be great to try when I get to a store for dates. I wonder...would raisins produce the same effect? I have never been a fan of dates. It is finally hot here, so I may try cooking these on my barbecue outside. Thanks for this 'ible!!!

[showhorse1]

Where do you find the wheat berry?  Is it a flour?   A sprout?  What?

[katmckee]

Good question! It is the grain, and you get to sprout it after you buy it in the bulk section of your local market. See step 1 for photo of the unadulterated wheat berry.

[megapix]

Looks good, I'd like to try it. One question: Intro says 2 hrs at 300deg or 4 hrs at 200deg (when you describe the 4 step process), but step 7 says 2.5 @ 300 or 5 @ 200 degrees. Which is right?

[katmckee]

Megapix, thanks for the comment! I edited the ible to clarify. 2.5 hours at 300! The recipe recommending 200 degrees said 5 hours but that sure sounds like a long time to have an oven on. I can't wait to bake it outside in the hot sun.