My friend, Pat, recently shared a recipe for "Sprouted Spelt Scones with Berries and Cream" from The Elliott Homestead. Such a sweet blog and equally sweet of a friend to think of me, so I made the scones. I used some leftover sprouted whole wheat flour from the freezer - a gift from my daughter, Heather. The dough was easy to work and the scones were very tender. However, I'm unable to critique the recipe because, after tweaking it, I realized the recipe had become a clone of my King Arthur Flour Whole Wheat Scones that I make often. It is a recipe that I acquired during a bread baking class at the KAF Headquarters in Norwich, Vermont November 2013.
Like a frog on a lily pad basking in the sunshine then leaping onward to another adventure, I decided it was time to make my own sprouted grain flour. It's a skill that I have wanted to learn for a long time, so I began researching. I read blogs and books and watched YouTube videos until I had the knowledge I needed. Now, after having completed the process start to finish, I have discovered that it's as easy as making nut milks.
Put desired grain into a two-quart mason jar filling it halfway, then fill the jar almost to the top with distilled or filtered water. Screw on a screen sprouting jar lid. Rinse by shaking gently, then drain. Fill the jar again almost to the top with water and leave on counter overnight for 8-10 hours to soak. In the morning, drain the soak water. Fill the jar with fresh water and shake gently to rinse. Drain again, then tip the jar upside down at an angle so the remaining water drips out and to allow air flow. Every few hours, rinse the grain, drain, then tip the jar at an angle. Sprouting times will vary depending upon the grain, so monitor the progress. Look for a little sprout to form. You are aiming for "minimally sprouted" grain, not sprouts with longer tails that you'd grow as a salad topping. (Enlarge the photo on left to see what it looks like.) My time frame looked liked this. 10P-6A: Overnight Soak. 6A-11A: Drain, rinse, and drain. Rinse and drain. The sprouted grain was ready to dehydrate. I spread the grain onto dehydrator trays. 11A-5P: I dried the grain in my dehydrator at 105°. (Top Tray: Emmer Grain, Middle Tray: Kamut Wheat, and Bottom Tray: Spelt)
What kind of dehydrator do I own? TSM Products. I ordered it online from Wayfair. I have the five-tray, but there is also a ten-tray unit. What do I love about it? The stainless steel construction, including the shelves. Secondly, the fan and heat source is in the back wall, so it provides even circulation throughout the shelves. It may not be necessary, but I set the unit on a metal tray tipped upside to protect the surface it sits on from any heat that may be generated. The unit does not have a dial with Fahrenheit increments, but there is a small hole in the middle of the front cover to insert a thermometer probe. A thermometer with the correct size probe can be purchased separately, but I used one I already had. Although the probe on mine was too thick to fit the hole size, I adapted by laying it on one of the shelves. To adjust the drying temperature, you turn the temperature control dial while monitoring the thermometer. You'll quickly determine the proper setting. To dry grain, you'll want the temperature to be 100-110.
After dehydrating the sprouted grain until it was thoroughly dry, I ground it into flour using a grain mill attached to my Champion Juicer (left photo). Look at the lovely Emmer Grain Sprouted Flour! I also made Kamut Wheat and Spelt Sprouted Grain Flour. Store in the freezer for maximum "shelf-life."