Comments on: Sprouted Wheat

By: Becky

Becky — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:35:35 +0000

Thanks, Susan. I suppose I have malt, then. I guess I had best start experimenting with malt in my bread.
I eagerly await your suggestions for using sprouted wheat.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:39:50 +0000

Becky, no, when they are ground they are not flour, just ground sprouted wheat. I don’t dry them. Tim and I are talking about two different things, I think.

By: Becky

Becky — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:14:59 +0000

Susan…thanks for your reply. I read your instructions on sprouting berries. Without drying them, you said to grind them. If they are moist, are they going to mill into flour? So, then I read Tim’s comment that you need to dry the berries, and thus, I followed your steps, but then dried the sprouted berries, as per Tim’s suggestion, and then milled them. It looks just like flour. I suppose my question is: Do I have diastatic malt, or do I have sprouted berry wheat flour?

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:19:12 +0000

Becky, I’m not sure if you were addressing your questions to me but I can’t really advise you on making malt flour as I have never done that. As for how much to use, I only use it if the formula I’m using calls for it. Malt is not needed in every dough. It is helpful, for example, in doughs that use a large amount of a preferment (e.g. sourdough or poolish).

By: Becky

Becky — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:15:32 +0000

I meant flour…..

By: Becky

Becky — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:57:02 +0000

I’m not clear…so I allow some of my sprouted berries to turn to malt in the fridge, and then I dry the rest to be ground into four? How much malt do I need for a loaf of bread?

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:28:38 +0000

Craig, as I understand it the pigments in red wheat bran that are responsible for the darker color are also responsible for its slightly bitter flavor. So white wheat, which does not have those pigments, has a milder, less bitter flavor. I believe the baking performance is comparable.

Tim, thanks for the info on making diastatic malt. Although here I was actually not trying to make that, I would like to try it in the future. It would be nice not to have to order it from King Arthur Flour, which is the only place I know to buy it.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:39:22 +0000

BTW…the resulting malt is referred to as diastatic malt and you can buy enough (made from barley berries) to last just about forever (if stored correctly, e.g., in an air tight jar in the fridge), for about five bucks. You can use the same sprouting method, sans the drying and grinding, for making your own bean sprouts (any bean but mung is the one for starters), alfalfa, etc. Tim

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:30:50 +0000

Hi,
I think you missed a step in your process. Since you ground it and stored it without first drying it, it, of course, fermented in a short period. What you are trying to make is MALT. Most bakeries use barley berry malt, but wheat malt works just as well. What it produces with all the added enzymes is a “dough conditioner” that tends to make a finer and more coherent bread crumb, as well as some obvious health benefits. The malt also makes sugar an optional ingredient, although I use a teaspoonful to aid in browning the loaf. So, after the wheat sprouts (the sprout should be about as long as the grain of wheat), the next step is to dry it (sun drying takes several days - oven drying with low temp and a cracked door at the lowest temperature is much quicker -> 1-2 hours), then grind it and put it in an airtight container (jar with lid) and it will last indefinitely in the fridge. The bread should require as little as one teaspoon of the malt to perform its miracles. Great stuff! Tim

By: Craig

Craig — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:28:01 +0000

Is there a difference in taste of bread made with either red or white berries ???