Golden Kamut Wheat Bread

Have you ever eaten sprouted wheat bread?  I'd never even heard of it much less baked with it a little over a month ago. I was searching for a good whole wheat bread recipe, when I came across a recipe that called for soaking the wheat berries until they sprouted, drying, and then grinding the wheat into flour, and making sprouted wheat bread.  The idea of doing this really grabbed my attention, and I began researching different recipes to make sprouted wheat bread.  I finally settled on a recipe using Kamut wheat berries, which I had purchased locally.

One of the websites that I visited which had a lot of helpful information was this one: CulturesForHealth  There was a wealth of information on this website that helped me understand why sprouting your wheat berries is so helpful to your digestive system when making bread.

When I began the process of sprouting the wheat berries, I did not remember to take pictures - can you believe that!  However, I did find a picture on the internet very similar to what my berries looked like after they sprouted:



After the berries sprouted (it took about 2 days), I then dehydrated them.

After dehydration, I poured them into this jar and froze them, because (at the time) I had enough bread to last us for several days, and I wanted to wait until we needed fresh bread.

I began the process of milling the wheat berries into flour using my NutriBullet.  At this time, I do not possess a grain mill, and so the next best option I had was to mill the flour using my NutriBullet.

After getting the flour milled as best as my NutriBullet could do, it was time to make the bread.  I will share the recipe I used below.

Here is my Golden Kamut Bread that after its second rising and ready to be baked.

The bread after it was removed from the oven.  This had to be the softest loveliest whole wheat bread I've ever made.  Our family was incredibly impressed with how wonderful this bread turned out.  There were a few extra steps involved in making this bread, but honestly - every step was worth it!

One thing that I have changed with this recipe, is that it really makes enough for 3 loaves, and not four.  The recipe called for 4 loaves, and after forming my loaves, I realized that the four loaves were very small loaves.  So the next time I make this bread (and I changed this in the recipe below), I will form the dough into three loaves instead of four.  Our family prefers nice big slices of bread - like slices that hardly fit into the toaster, lol!

Making your own homemade bread is always incredibly satisfying, but there is a certain feeling of satisfaction that goes above and beyond making homemade bread when you soak, sprout, dry, grind, and make your own wheat bread!  Not to mention the fact that this bread is very gentle on your stomach, and has a low-glycemic index, which is a huge added benefit for those keeping an eye on how many carbohydrates your body has to process.  I look forward to making many more loaves of this lovely golden bread in the future.  :)

GOLDEN KAMUT SPROUTED BREAD

4 cups warm water (110 degrees)
4 cups Kamut flour (sprouted, dried, freshly ground)
1 Tbsp active yeast
1 tsp vinegar

Mix well until this forms a batter-like consistency.  Cover and let sit 30 minutes to sponge.

Stir down batter and add:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil, melted)
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup vital gluten flour (optional)
1 tsp salt
Additional freshly-ground Kamut, enough to make a sturdy but moist dough, approximately 4-5 cups. Only add enough flour to have the dough form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl.  Mix well until the dough holds together.   If using a stand mixer, knead on medium-low for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy, but not sticky.  If kneading by hand, this will take 10-12 minutes on an oiled surface.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

Stir down dough, and divide into 3 equal portions.  Shape each portion into a loaf, and place in a greased loaf pan to rise.  Let rise for 30-45 minutes or until loaves are domed on top and have risen about 1-2 inches above the rim of the loaf pan.  Preheat oven to 350 while bread is rising.

When oven and bread are ready, bake for 30-35 minutes or until bread is browned.  Remove bread from oven.  Remove bread from pans and place the loaves on a wire rack cooling sheet.  Let loaves cool completely.

Optional: Brush melted butter over the loaves as they come out of the oven (this is something I always do to bread).