Sprout. That word conjures the image of the often used and abused alfalfa sprout, doesn’t it? Or maybe if you garden, it also carries the connotation of new seedlings springing forth from the ground, the simplest miracle in the circle of life. For me, January’s newness sprouting from the old year also has the calm that comes post holiday, a little extra time to get back to waiting patiently on my foodstuffs. It hasn’t been that long since I tumbled headfirst into the pool of true whole foods, foods that are coaxed into maximum healthfulness by simple processes and lots of waiting. Sprouted flours fall handsomely into this category, and they aren’t really hard to do at home with some patience. But why bother?
Sprouting grains prior to using them enhances their nutrition by neutralizing phytic acid: a naturally occurring substance in most cereal grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Phytic acid actually prohibits your body from absorbing essential minerals like zinc, iron and calcium. According to Sally Fallon, an expert on traditional nutrition, our collective health was vastly better years ago. Prior to advances in the farming industry, grains naturally began to germinate as they stood in sheaves in the fields, and the phytic acid dissipated on its own without any additional man-powered assistance. Today our grains are processed quickly and efficiently, leaving all the phytic acid in place.
Some argue that this could be a reason for the upswing in gluten allergy and sensitivity, but I’m not sure myself. Personally, the best case I can make for sprouting grains is flavor. When I first started sprouting grain for flour, a new spectrum of grain flavor came through – a slightly sweet, well-rounded flavor, like nothing I’d ever tasted before. I’ll bet once you taste it, you will be converted as well.
Making sprouted grain for flour is actually quite simple. Fill a canning jar (or other glass jar) ⅓ full of grain and ⅔ full with water overnight, then drain and rinse 2 times a day until you see little tails growing on the grains, usually 2 days. If you are cooking the grain as a cereal, you can do this without drying the grain, but for flour you will need to dehydrate the grain. Before I inherited my mom’s dehydrator, I did this (inefficiently) in the oven with the door ajar, now I dehydrate in a proper dehydrator at about 115 degrees until the kernels are completely dry. Another drawback of making sprouted grain flour yourself is that you will need a grain mill or high-powered blender like a Vita-Mix to get the flour finely ground. Since I cook and bake a lot, I invested in a Vita-Mix blender more than a year ago and I love it. I has been an invaluable tool for making the types of food I am most interested in.
If tinkering with grain isn’t something you get excited about, you can still appreciate sprouted grains flours. They are available for purchase a natural food stores or online. One unique Wisconsin company that specializes in sprouted grain flours is JoshEWA’s Garden. They have mail order flours and also sell custom soaked and sprouted grains on an “as needed” basis.
Once you have something special like sprouted grain, what can you do with it to showcase it? My picky boys devoured the chocolate chip cookies I’ve made with it, and that is an easy way to notice a taste difference since chocolate chip cookies are a very familiar flavor. Crackers are not so difficult, in fact I’ve made many types and if you like to tinker in the kitchen and don’t mind a little flour dust, they are among the most satisfying projects. Generally speaking, they keep well for several weeks if stored properly and nothing is as easily impressive.
I found this easy spelt flour recipe at Smitten Kitchen, with its roots beginning at the New York Times. Have a look at the links, since the story of farro and spelt is interesting (they are not interchangeable). When you are waiting for your spelt berries to sprout, you’ll have time to check out the Tiny Kitchen video, too.
I accidentally forgot to add salt to my dough, so I sprinkled the top liberally with kosher salt along with the poppy and sesame seeds I like the crunchy texture and sprouted flavor of these crackers. They remind me a little of the old-fashioned, 100 percent bran cereal (this kind), and I’m curious to see when I crumble a few up and top them off with milk and a spoonful of honey if a new breakfast cereal may be born…
Sprouted Spelt Crackers (adapted from Smitten Kitchen via The New York Times)
¼ t. salt, optional
1 ½ c. sprouted spelt flour (additional for rolling)
½ c. cool water
mixed seeds for topping, I used poppy and sesame seeds
kosher or Maldon salt for topping
Preheat oven to 350.
Place the water in a bowl, and add the flour and salt (if using). Mix with a spoon until a shaggy dough comes together and then knead gently a few times by hand to form a sticky ball. I rolled out the dough on a silicone baking mat instead of on the back of a baking sheet as directed, so I didn’t need as much additional flour. (Homemade sprouted flour is precious!) It takes patience and some elbow grease to get the dough rolled out to the size of the sheet pan. You can score the dough into crackers or bake it as a whole sheet, but I prefer cutting them with a pizza roller to approximately the same square size. Spritz the dough with water, sprinkle with seeds and salt, and gently roll the pin over them to make sure they stick into the dough.
Bake for 15-30 minutes depending on thickness. (Check at 10 minutes, then every 5 minutes after.) About halfway through the baking time, I removed the crackers from the silicone mat and let them bake directly on the baking sheet.
When completely cool, store in an airtight, glass jar.
Whenever I get to Beans & Barley, I pick up some of my favorite peppers, the sweet-tart piquante peppadews. Their bright flavor with a bit of full-fat cream cheese is a perfect match for these crackers, and a few of them were happily my lunch today. I am far from soaking all my grains prior to eating them, but simple treatments like this remind me of their simple joys. For my health yes, but more for my taste buds. Another jar of grain will soak today, and something new to savor will follow. This anticipation is the best type of waiting for a slow January.
