Sprouted Grain Bread
Every winter I borrow my sister's food processor and make sprouted wheat, rye, and other grain breads based on a recipe in Flat Breads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. This year I tried kamut. It sprouted really well, faster than the wheat berries. Last year I tried oat groats but they didn't sprout. I suspect they were treated.
The first step is soaking the grains in spring water, or in my case non-chlorinated water, for 18 hours. 3 cups of rye grains are soaking in the picture above. Since we have a small kitchen I staggered the soaking schedule and refrigerated the doughs as I made them.
After the initial soaking, rinse the grains and drain them before returning them to the bowl for 12 hours and cover with a plate or damp towel. Rinse again and then keep an eye on them. The rye berries above sprouted in 24 hours and the tails grew to the desired length (1/3rd the grain length) in 36 hours or so. Rye is usually the quickest to sprout.
While the grains soak, prepare the fruit. I added 3/4 cup white figs and toasted some fennel seed to go with the kamut above. The grains swell to nearly double their volume. Add them in 2 cup intervals with an equal division of salt (1 teaspoon per 3 cups dry grain). To the rye grains I added cardamon and tart cherries. I followed the recipe and added apricots to the wheat berries.
Grind the grains until the dough comes together at the first sign of a ball. The dough will be rough and a little gooey.
Above is the kamut dough. I divided it into 16 pieces and made little patties.
They bake in a 325 degree oven for 15-30 minutes depending on the shape of the breads. I love these breads (cookies a co-worker called them). They are very dense and filling and they never go bad. If they get to hard I dip them in tea or coffee.
