Tell me more ×
Seasoned Advice is a question and answer site for professional and amateur chefs. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite
2

I have a plethora of whole grains (barley, rye, wheat berries, kamut, spelt) sitting around my kitchen, and I'm getting bored with soups and salads. Is it possible to use these in bread (yeast, preferably, but quick/tea breads are also okay)?

If so, what are the best approaches/ratios? Should I cook them first? Let them sprout? Pointers to recipes would be greatly appreciated.

share|improve this question
2  
I once wrote a borad answer to a similar question, maybe it will give you some ideas. cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/12611/… – rumtscho♦ Mar 16 '11 at 16:03

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I use whole grains in my bread- wheat, oats, quinoa, etc.

There are a couple considerations: 1- rehydration If the grain won't be adequately rehydrated from just sitting in water for an hour then it should be precooked. Wheat berries, for example, definitely need to be cooked. They just won't get enough water or time in the dough while it is rising.

A little experimenting may need to be done to get the water ratio right.

2- sharpness Adding hard ingredients will change the dynamic of your dough kneading. For example, if you knead in a mixer then you might have to go at a slower speed to keep from shredding the gluten.

Sprouting grains is fantastic. Sprouted grains are very nutritious and have a completely different flavor that I find very interesting. Sprouts also have a lot of sugar in them. I sometimes replace some of the sugar in my recipes with sprouted, dried, and ground wheat berries.

share|improve this answer
Do you have a recipe? How many cups of rehydrated grains do you add to a standard recipe per loaf of bread? Do you use the grains to replace part of the flour, or do you just add them to the regular ingredients? Thanks! – nerdpod Mar 17 '11 at 15:26
@nerdpod- I don't have a recipe because I just eyeball it. If you know what your dough is supposed to look like then you can adjust the flour/water while kneading to correct mistakes. I would guess that I add less than 1/4 of whole grain per loaf- you could add more but I just want it to add some texture without taking over. It does not replace flour because it does not add to the structure of the bread at all. – Sobachatina Mar 17 '11 at 15:33
Thanks! Looks like I'll have to do some experimenting. – nerdpod Mar 17 '11 at 15:44

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.