Healthy Whole Grains: Soaking, Sprouting and Sourdough

Introducing a brand new class from Ann Marie at Cheeseslave. It is a comprehensive guide to properly preparing grains. While whole grains contain lots of vitamins and minerals, these nutrients are not available to you unless you prepare them by soaking, sprouting or fermenting. In fact, for some people, grains used for baking and cooking that are not properly prepared are actually detrimental and damaging to the intestine. This class teaches you how to prepare grains with traditional methods that are easy to use at home!

Are Grains Good For You?

I have written a lot about how detrimental grains can be for certain people. I’ve also written about why sourdough leavening is so healthy. There are many reasons why grains can have a negative effect on a person’s health. For some (particularly Celiacs and people with gluten intolerance), grains are a food group that just doesn’t do them any good. Others just need to eliminate gluten from their diet. However, there are people who are just fine with grains and would benefit greatly from eating grains that are properly prepared.

Are Whole Grains Necessary?

Obviously, we are talking about whole grains because the majority of a grain’s nutrients are found in the germ and the bran which are removed if they are not whole. Whole grains are an excellent source of enzymes, minerals such as iron, magnesium and zinc, dietary fiber, vitamin E and the B-complex vitamins.

Soaking and sprouting grains is a traditional practice used by many cultures around the world. In past years, grains used to be cut and stored in the fields until it was time to sell them. They would sprout naturally in the fields, under the conditions of moisture and heat (rain and sun). Our modern methods today eliminates this important step.

There Are Nutritional Benefits To Soaking And Sprouting

It will neutralize phytic acid, which is a substance present in the bran of all grains that inhibits absorption of all minerals such as, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc. So if your bread package label says calcium — it is not going to be absorbed unless the grains were soaked and/or sprouted before the bread was baked.
It will help reduce the starches into simple sugars so your body can digest them more easily.
It will neutralize enzyme inhibitors. These are substances that allows the grain to stay fresh without preservation. However, they also inhibit digestion in the intestine unless they are removed.
Soaking and sprouting helps to produce enymes in the food.
Soaking and sprouting helps to produce vitamin C and other vitamins such as carotene and the B vitamins.

Make Your Own Breads At Home and Save Money

My husband loves bread and does well with it. A loaf of sprouted sourdough (which is hard to find) costs about $5.00 and they are small. He eats at least one loaf a week. $20.00 a month for just a loaf of bread! I can buy organic wheat berries for about $1.89 a pound. It takes about a pound of flour for a loaf of bread.

Store bought sourdough bread — $5 per loaf ($20.00/month)
Homemade sourdough bread — $1.89 per loaf ($7.56/month)
Savings per month — $12.44

That’s about $150.00 per year for just my husband’s bread! There are tons more items to make such as, pizza crust, crackers, granola, chips, etc.

And that is only one loaf a week. Your family may eat two or three or four. Do the math and calculate the savings per year.

It’s fun to make your own bread. Imagine your home smelling of properly prepared freshly baked bread! Ummm I can smell it now and it is heavenly!

The Most Compelling Reason To Make Your Own Properly Prepared Bread

Beyond the savings, it is the health benefits and the knowledge that you are providing your family with the very best breads available. And the knowledge that they will be able to receive the nutrients in the bread when prepared this way.

Make An Investment In Your Health

This class is a good investment at the sale price of $149.00. For me, it will pay for itself in a year, but for you it may take only 6 months or even 3 months. After that, you will continue to save money, provide a great food product for your family and pass along those skills to your children.

Register for Healthy Whole Grains: Soaking, Sprouting and Sourdough

Ann Marie is offering a $20.00 off coupon code that is good through February 24. Be advised that this is the only coupon that will be offered (no exceptions)!

Original price: ~~$199.00~~
Sale price: ~~$149.00~~
Price with coupon: $129.00 — less than $11.00 per class!

Use code LASTCHANCE at check out for the $20.00 discount.

Click here to find out more about the class.

There is also a webinar on the class that you can sign up for.

FREE WEBINAR ON SOAKING, SPROUTING & SOURDOUGH

Click here to view the recorded webinar for a free preview of the class

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mjskit January 29, 2012, 11:15 pm

Great post! I use to sprout grains all of the time, but haven’t in quite a while. Looks like I might have to take a look at starting back again. I have started making my own bread again which I’ve enjoy thoroughly.

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Tina January 30, 2012, 8:47 am

I love both blogs but must disagree with you here. There is no such thing as “healthy, whole grains”. I suggest you take the time to read “Wheat Belly”. The wheat that you are soaking and sprouting today bears no resemblence to the wheat our grandparents ate or the wheat of the bible. It has been hybridized and radiated to the point that it is now a monster grain. For your health’s sake, I cannot recommend that book, and others, more highly.

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- Jill January 30, 2012, 9:43 am
  
  Hi Tina,
  Point well taken. I have written a lot about how detrimental grains can be for some people. However, there are people who are just fine with eating grains and would benefit greatly from learning how to prepare them properly. There are grains other than wheat that these prep instructions also apply to.
  
  Reply
  - Tina January 30, 2012, 10:31 am
    
    There are people that can tolerate grains, but (and it’s a big BUT), why would we want to promote soaking, souring, etc. to make a bad product “less bad”. Grains are not even very nutritious. A person can get much better nutrition from veggies and fruit. All grains, not just wheat, are pretty useless in the diet and should be treated as not part of a healthy diet. Grains were never meant to be a huge part of the human diet. In the ancient times, meat, veggies and dairy (where available) were eaten before any grains were consumed. Grains were reserved for when the “hunt” did not go well or times of dire need. They were not used as daily nutrition. I don’t think we can put lipstick on this pig and call it “healthy”. We need to be honest.
    
    Reply
    - Jill January 30, 2012, 11:47 am
      
      The fact remains that some of the traditional cultures that Dr. Price studied did eat properly prepared grains and they enjoyed vibrant health.
      
      One size does not fit all. Teaching people how to prepare grains (and beans for that matter) in the traditional way is fine. For some, it is a major step in the right direction.
      
      Eliminating entire food groups is not the goal of traditional cooking. While it may be necessary for some people for a certain time period — whether it is grains, gluten, dairy, etc. — hopefully they can eat these foods again after they heal. But they should be real foods (like raw milk, properly prepared grains, etc.)
      
      Some people just can never tolerate these foods and for them they are toxic.
      
      It’s not a “one size fits all” issue.
      
      Reply
    - Susan January 30, 2012, 3:16 pm
      
      @Tina, Why would we want to go through all that to make bread? Because I LIKE bread, can tolerate wheat, and very much ENJOY making it. And I DON’T make it in a bread machine. I’ve been bread baking for 40 years and I get right down into the whole process of bread baking.
      
      Reply
      - Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE February 4, 2012, 2:00 pm
        
        @Susan I love baking bread! It is so easy with a sourdough starter. I do the “no knead” process and it is almost effortless. Just takes a few minutes to grind up some flour, and then I add my starter and water and it sits there for 18 hours. Then you stick it in the oven. Hardly any effort at all! With the leftover starter, I make whole grain waffles and pancakes which my family adores.
    - Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE February 4, 2012, 1:58 pm
      
      @Tina I guess if you go all the way back to the stone age, then yes, they didn’t have grains to eat. But people have been eating grains for 10,000 years. And they have been optimally healthy eating properly prepared whole grains.
      
      The Swiss people that Dr. Weston Price studied in the early 1900s ate 50% of their diet as rye bread. The Scottish islanders ate a large percentage of their diet as oats. These foods WERE used as daily nutrition and the people eating them had almost no cavities, perfect bone structure, and ZERO degenerative disease.
      
      Reply
- Doug February 4, 2012, 5:31 pm
  
  What Tina says is true with respect to much of the grain grown today bearing little resemblance to what our grandparents grew. However, this statement is virtually true about anything… I repeat anything produced commercially in this country. But to say that there are no grains available today that offer the nutritional value of grains grown fifty, one hundred years ago is utter nonsense. Spelt and emmer are two grains that are unchanged. And they are likely to remain that way because they produce low yield harvests and therefore are unattractive to large scale industrial growers and yet, they are widely available from smaller scale, usually organic farms. And the quality and nutritional value are extremely high. The same can be said for any number of heritage grains – grains that were prized a hundred years ago before various strains were commodicized – trading off yield for nutritional value. Such “heritage” grains are being grown all over the country by small dedicated farmers specifically for knowledgable consumers and discerning bakers such as myself.
  Doug
  baker
  columbiacountybread.com
  
  Reply
  - Jill February 4, 2012, 6:54 pm
    
    Hi Doug,
    Thanks so much for addressing Tina’s concerns with your expertise!
    
    Reply
Natalia January 30, 2012, 12:24 pm

Well, there is no way my husband will give up eating grains (tell Italian to exclude pasta and bread from a diet and he’ll tell you to go @#$& yourself, pardon my language) so I’ll rather be “soaking, souring, etc. to make a bad product “less bad””.
I am trying to limit grains in my own diet, but I just love bread and don’t see a big problem in having a piece of properly prepared whole wheat bread now and then.
You cannot be so critical of other people’s choices. Some people just can’t eliminate grains from their diets, so why not learn how to make them “less bad”?

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- Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE February 4, 2012, 2:42 pm
  
  @Natalia LOL!
  
  I don’t think grains are bad for us at all. I think they are good if they are properly prepared.
  
  Reply
Natalia January 30, 2012, 4:29 pm

Does soaking flour in kefir have the same effect as adding sourdough starter nutrient wise?
I have been making kefir bread recently. It is so easy and I like the dense texture very much. I was just wondering how it compares to using sourdough starter.

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- Solveig January 30, 2012, 7:17 pm
  
  Natalia,
  For any recipe that I could use milk, like in baking of waffles for instance, I use kefir, yogurt or both. One time I had an excess of whey from a batch of yogurt and I used even that. Didn’t let hubby see me dump it in the mixing bowl! 😉 Just for the fact that is is cultured.
  
  Reply
- Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE February 4, 2012, 2:02 pm
  
  Sourdough does break down more of the anti-nutrients. Of course it also depends on how warm your kitchen is and how long you soak for.
  
  Reply
Tina January 31, 2012, 8:44 am

If someone enjoys bread baking, bread and pasta, then by all means they have the right to make that choice. I truly believe in food and health liberty. My main point is that the grains of today are NOT even close to the grains eaten by the healthy cultures that Dr. Price studied. The have been hybridized, irradiated, and genetically modified to the point that they are unrecognizable. I think it is important to make sure people understand what they are eating when they eat grains. If they are educated about the grains of today and their effects, and make the choice to eat them, so be it. My exception comes from labeling grains as “healthy”. They are not “healthy” and should be treated like sugars and other less desirable things in the diet. The term “healthy whole grains” is an oxymoron. Teaching people to prepare grains correctly is fine, as long as you also teach them about the detriment of grains, what it can do to your health and how grains have changed so much in the past 50 years. If we don’t do that in the traditional food movement, we are no better than Big Ag, Big Medicine, Big Government, and Big Pharma. I think it’s important to educate about ALL aspects of grains.

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- Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE February 4, 2012, 2:06 pm
  
  Organic grains, which is what I buy, have not been irradiated or genetically modified.
  
  Many grains have been hybridized but that is not necessarily a bad thing. We have modern hybridized tomatoes, and Yukon Gold potatoes (a relatively new food, first bred in Canada in 1966) and all kinds of other novel foods like pluots (plum/apricot hybrid).
  
  I also don’t think sugar is bad for you if you eat unrefined sugar and don’t eat too much of it. Real maple syrup and honey and sucanat have vitamins and minerals. It’s refined white sugar or HFCS you want to avoid.
  
  Of course if you eat ANYTHING in excess it’s bad for you. If you ate nothing but kelp and liver, you’d get sick.
  
  I think the key is a balanced diet. All things in moderation.
  
  Reply
France @ Beyond The Peel January 31, 2012, 1:49 pm

Great post Jill. I think it’s such an important reminder to people that sprouted grains and flours where nothing fancy a hundred years ago. It’s not until the industrial age that this changed. It correlates with so many of our eating intolerances that didn’t exist before then.

I love all the information that explains the why.

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Doug February 4, 2012, 5:50 pm

Again, I agree with Tina when she says that eating grain is not a healthy choice and I don’t recommend anyone eat milled grain – whole wheat/whole grain or all white. But the point of sprouting grain is to convert grain to a veggie – wheatgrass. That and the unlocking of nutrients in the grain that are otherwise unavailable until the grain is brought to life. Fermenting a flour (wheat-starch) based dough is preferable to an unfermented wheat-starch based breads because fermenting helps in the process of converting starches to simple sugars that are easier to digest but to get the full nutritional value of any grain, sprout it. It’s simple and it’s an ancient method of making bread.
Doug
baker
ccbandg

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Jessica February 9, 2012, 1:21 pm

Very new to this – so it would help me out beyond measure!!!

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Lisa February 9, 2012, 1:23 pm

This could save my family a ton – TON of money – I so hope I win, because no way can I afford it otherwise… Thanks so much for offering this!

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Susan with Permanent Posies February 13, 2012, 12:51 am

Great info…..as ususal!

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