Soaking Grains Chat

[cathy79]

There has been some discussion (and recipes) appearing that are soaking grains/flours so I thought I'd start a conversation if possible.

It's still very new to me, so am looking for thoughts, advice and recipes.

I bought "Nourishing Traditions" and it's a huge book (dare I say overwhelming), and I'm not quite sure where to start.  I've made the Banana Bread and can highly recommend that recipe.  It's amazing how soaking wholemeal flour makes such a difference to the final texture.

Has anyone else got that book and could recommend some recipes?  Or other similar books and recipes?

I've found a few websites that focus on this style of recipe too if anyone is interested.

[SoBlessed]

Yes, I have just got this book, & want to get into soaking grains too, which is one reason I thought the 2nd bowl would be useful. As yet I  haven't read it, as I'm short of time at the moment. I love reading in bed before falling asleep, but obviously I can't read this book in bed, not your normal sized novel. LOL  So yes I'm wanting to learn too.

Just tried making my first soudough starter too. I think it was OK, but it didn't seem to be that bubbly/active.The bread I made was very hard & solid. It's in the freezer, so I'm not sure how it tastes yet! But it does look a little scary!!!

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Great idea for a discussion thread Cathy.  I'm reading Nourishing Traditions at the moment also.  I'm not overly inspired by the look of the recipes, but I wonder if that's because there are no pictures of the food.  I looked up the banana bread recipe that you enjoyed from the book and will give that a go soon.

I've been trying to make soaking grain and flour a habit, but it certainly does take some organising.  Before I head to bed each night I try to remember to run through what I need to cook the next day and prepare my grains then (thankfully my kids sleep through the TMX milling).  I am refusing to buy wholemeal flour (because I bought the TMX for milling fresh flour), but I have to admit that the TMX does a pretty average job at milling grain in comparison to some grain mills.  I've tried a lot of wholemeal recipes but often they don't work well with flour milled in the TMX.  Soaking certainly helps to combat the heavy flour problem and blender batter cooking (blending the whole grains in the liquid batter) is another way of getting around this also.

Please go ahead and post your soaking links.  I love to read about soaking as it is all still new to me too.  I've posted some info about soaking grains on my blog here and have a few soaking recipes on there as well.  I have found this recent article on Passionate Homemaking helpful regarding adapting recipes to include soaking.

[Nay-nay]

Yes I'm interested in hearing more about this. It is for digestion purposes?? Do you soak the grain or the flour once milled??

[Very Happy Jan]

great idea cathy79. I got a couple of different whole grains from the family farm but haven't used them as I haven't had time to investigate the soaking ideas. Really want to be able to mill them to make bread.

[RoxyS]

Yes, this is something that I would like to pursue but have only done once so far. For recipes like the High Fibre Craisin Bars that use rolled oats but don't really have liquid in the recipe would I soak the oats, drain &/or dry them and then mill before using in the recipe? This is part of my reason for being so hesitant about it.

When I milled my wheat for the muffin recipe I made last week I thought that the milling wasn't as great as I would have liked so maybe if I soak the wheat first next time and then blitz the mixture as Chelsea suggests I will get a better result.

I did get the first couple of Sue Gregg's Whole Food Cooking recipes and like her approach that it is a step by step process which is why she only gives out a few recipes at a time.

Looking forward to other's input in this subject as I have read previous posts about whole grains and found the information interesting and useful.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Yes I'm interested in hearing more about this. It is for digestion purposes?? Do you soak the grain or the flour once milled??

Yes it is mainly for digestion purposes Nay.  Soaking removes the phytic acid from the grain.  Phytic acid blocks the absorption of minerals by the body if not removed.  Soaking also improves the end product - it makes wholemeal baked goods lighter.  I'm hoping to find a chance to post my soaked bread recipe (using half soaked wholegrain flour) on my blog soon.

You can soak grains or milled flour. If you are using the grains whole (like with grain porridge or cooked brown rice) then you soak them as is in water with a little acid medium (like a tsp of lemon juice or cider vinegar).  If you are milling the grains into flour (like for bread or cake) then it is easiest to mill it first and then soak it in some of the liquid from the recipe and some acid medium.  It isn't really "soaking" - more like making a thick paste (the soaking water doesn't need to be discarded). Most grains need a minimum of 8 hours soaking and need to be soaked at cool room temperature (I use a shelf in our bedroom).  There is also a third option for soaking grains and that is blender batter baking.  A good example of this is Quirky Jo's brown rice pancakes.  The whole grains are blended up in liquid (including a little acid medium) and then left overnight to soak.  I really like this method as it seems to mill the flour really fine in the TMX and produce light and fluffy end results. 

[ruth]

I also have the 'nourishing traditions' book but have not really got into it yet.  I tend to only soak when the recipe specifically refers to it - as I am not a very creative cook ;-) - so more recipes would be great. 

I am soaking all my grains for my 8mth old DS - quinoa, rice and amaranth so far.  I am using Jude Blereau's new cookbook 'wholefood for children' as a guide.  eg I mill organic brown rice in the TMX and soak it with lemon juice and water and cook it up into a nice creamy porridge.  I have been cooking it on the stove though as not sure of the temp etc for the TMX,plus the quantities are quite small, and haven't had time to work it out yet.  I love that I can mill my own baby rice flour in the TMX.

I look fwd to reading more about this.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

When I milled my wheat for the muffin recipe I made last week I thought that the milling wasn't as great as I would have liked so maybe if I soak the wheat first next time and then blitz the mixture as Chelsea suggests I will get a better result.

I made some Quirky blender batter muffins for breakfast earlier in the week (the batter was soaked overnight) and used whole spelt grains.  They were fantastic - so light and fluffy.  Quirky Jo's soaking recipes really are a great place to start with soaking - pancakes, berry cake, muffins, self saucing pudding etc.

[RoxyS]

Thanks Chelsea & Cathy,

have just printed off QuirkyJo's muffin recipe and will get the batter soaking tonight. Can't wait to pick up my second bowl set next weekend when I'm in Perth, then I can start doing more soaking recipes. Will have to go back to Sue Gregg's website for more recipes.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

If you don't have a second bowl and are soaking milled flour it isn't a drama (you just have a bowl to wash at the end).  Just mill the flour and tip it into a bowl.  Sit the bowl on top of the scales and then weigh the liquid and acid medium in.  Give it a quick stir, cover with a tea towel and leave to soak. I find that easier than weighing the liquid in with the milled flour and then having to scrape it all out after the tmx has mixed it.  Rinsing milled flour from the tmx is much easier than soaked flour too.

[cathy79]

Quirky Jo has a couple of Blender Batter Soaking recipes on her blog.  If you search for blender, they should appear.

This one is really nice - Blender Batter Berry Cake

Most of the blogs that I've found do discuss their reasons for choosing this style of cooking, and there is a common Christian theme.  Ignore or enjoy, whatever your preference.

The Nourishing Cook - Cooking all 773 recipes in Sally Fallon's 'Nourishing Traditions' cookbook before 12/31/2011 - so she reviews the recipes as she cooks them which is helpful.

GNOWFGLINS - this one has some great fact sheets for starting out.  Lot's of useful information.

Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Like a Bubbling Brook

And of course Chelsea, Jo and Tebasile have contributed recipes here.

[meganjane]

WARNING! for the first website. My virus programme detected a threat and stopped a pop up from loading from this website.

[rainbow]

Yes I had the same "virus alert'  shame as I thought I really want to look at that website. Are the others ok???

[cathy79]

I've never had that warning, so can only apologise.

Here is the PDF of the info about soaking nuts - I don't seem to have downloaded the one about grains.