Using whole grains in your cooking/baking is the first and one the most significant step you can take towards improving your nutrition. Whole grains include: whole wheat, kamut, spelt, brown rice, oats, any many others. Unlike white flour, whole grains keep the bran & germ together and in tact, which supplies you with all the nutrients. It is important to note that making the switch to whole grains is easier than you think. In fact, many recipes can be switched white flour with whole wheat flour without any difficulty. But, just because you have or are in the process of switching to healthier grains does not mean you are getting all the nutritional value. Have you ever considered that whole wheat and other whole grains might be very difficult for your body to digest?
Grinding Your Own Flour
Fresh flour contains all the vitamins and minerals missing in commercial flours. It includes the bran which is vital for a healthy colon and weight control. It is economical. Within 24 hours up to 40% of the nutrients have oxidized. In three days up to 80% of nutrients have oxidized, so using freshly grained flours preserves all the wonderful nutrients. Read more benefits here.
I personally use a NutriMill grinder. You can read more about this particular grinder at Pleasant Hill Grain Company online (www.pleasanthillgrain.com). It has worked splendidly for me! They have wonderful customer service as well. This is the one of the best investments you can make towards becoming more healthy and nutritious in your cooking. Check out this article to compare different mills. I store mine on my kitchen counter, because it is small and convenient for easy access. I have ground everything from beans, to grains, to corn in it.
Phytic Acid Prevents Digestion
Unfortunately, whole grains contain phytic acid in the bran of the grain which combines with key minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc and prevents their absorption in the intestinal tract. This makes it more difficult to digest properly. Soaking, fermenting, or sprouting the grain before cooking or baking will neutralize the phytic acid, releasing these nutrients for absorption.
This process allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to not only neutralize the phytic acid, but also to break down complex starches, irritating tannins and difficult-to-digest proteins, including gluten. For many, this may lessen their sensitivity or allergic reactions to particular grains. Everyone will benefit, nevertheless, from the release of nutrients and greater ease of digestion.
How to Soak
1. The first stage of preparation is to soak the whole grain flour in an acid medium and liquid. The basic idea is to soak all the flour with the liquid ingredients and 1 Tbsp of an acid medium per cup of water called for in the recipe.
- If the substance is too dry to mix well (i.e. more flour than can mix evenly with the liquids), you can also add the liquid oil and sweetener (honey, maple syrup or agave) called for in the recipe to the mixture. This will help maintain a moist consistency that is easy to combine with the other ingredients after soaking.
- Acid mediums options include: cultured buttermilk, milk kefir, coconut kefir, water kefir, cultured yogurt, whey, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Dairy product acid mediums must be cultured!
- Make sure to use warm filtered water/liquids for soaking. Warm water is necessary for the soaking process to be effective. Warm the water/liquids until they are bath water temperature before adding to the grain/flour.
- Brown rice, buckwheat, and millet do not have as high of phytate content and thus need only be soaked for 7 hours (these are great last minute grains if you forget to soak, won’t be a big problem – also recommend purchasing brown rice pasta for this reason as well)
-All other grains (whole wheat, spelt, kamut, oats, etc) should be soaked from 12-24 hours, with oats have the highest level and best soaked for 24 hours.
2. Leave your grains soaking at room temperature on your counter. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, or with a plate to prevent it from drying out (especially in the case of a dough). After soaking, you add the remaining ingredients, if required, and proceed with recipe!
Sue Gregg shares two other benefits to soaking: “There are two other advantages of the two-stage process. Several hours of soaking serves to soften the grain, resulting in baked goods lighter in texture, closer to the texture of white flour. The longer the soaking, the less necessary is baking powder. Baking soda, alone, will give enough rise. Secondly, this is a great step in convenience, dividing the task into two shorter time periods, cutting the time needed to prepare the recipe right before cooking and baking when you feel
rushed to get food on the table.”
Another benefit I have found to soaking is that it absorbs the liquids and expands the grains, making a larger quantity in the end. This is very true especially with my soaking oatmeal. If I forget to soak, it results in a smaller batch, but if I soak it increases the quantity and is more satisfying and filling as well. Soaked baked goods and cereals are always lighter in texture as well, and not dense as their unsoaked wheat counterparts. Don’t quite know why this happens, but it extends the food budget further! Whole grains overall are much more satisfying and fill you up longer than white products…so once again, more value for your money!
Soaking Cereals
Simply soak your cereals in half the quantity of water called for in the recipe with the 1 Tbsp acid medium per cup of water for 12-24 hours. When you are ready to cook, boil the other half of the water before adding the soaked grain. It will be ready in 5 minutes!
For our regular twice a week breakfast of oatmeal, I soak 1 cup of rolled oats with 1 cup of water and 1-2 Tbls of kefir. I let it sit covered overnight. In the morning I put 1 cup of water to boil on the stove. When it is rolling, I add the soaked oats and let it simmer for 5 minutes or so. We then add ground flax seeds, dried cranberries, chopped apples and sometimes a little mashed bananas and there you have an excellent high fiber breakfast.
Soaking Quick Breads
For quick breads (waffles, pancakes, muffins, etc) add 1 Tbsp of an acid medium (best with cultured buttermilk or kefir) for every cup of water called for in the recipe, cover and soak as recommended above. If the recipe calls for buttermilk already, soak in the buttermilk or replace with kefir (which is my favorite!).
I replace buttermilk with kefir completely most of the time without problem. If desired, you can also add all the other liquid ingredients besides the egg, leavenings, and salt in the soaking mixture as well. This helps maintain a moist dough. After soaking, I simply add the egg, leavenings and salt called for in the recipe. Sue Gregg incorporates this idea in all her breakfast recipes. See recipe below. She has other sample recipes on her website.
Whole Grain Pancake/Waffle Recipe – includes instructions on soaking! This is simply delicious!
Soaking Beans
Beans should be rinsed then soaked with 1 Tbsp whey or lemon juice per cup of beans. After soaking, drain, rinse and start with fresh water. Follow the recommended quantities as you would normally.
Soaking Yeast Breads
Soak flour, and 1 Tbsp vinegar or kefir for every cup of water called for in the recipe (leave 1/2 cup of water for activating yeast later). I like to also add the oil and sweeteners to maintain moist dough, otherwise cover tightly with plastic wrap. After soaking, active the yeast in the remaining water with a tsp of honey. Proceed with the recipe.
My Homemade Bread Recipe – with soaking instructions!
Soaking Brown Rice
Combine your rice and all the water called for in the recipe with 1-2 Tbsp of acid medium and let soak for 7 hours. I combine these ingredients in the pot I will cook it in. When ready, simply turn it on and cook as usual. My recipe is to soak 1 cup brown rice to 2 1/4 cup water, with 2 Tbsp of kefir. Heat to boiling and then turn to low heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
For more recipes, view the recipe index. Most of my recipes include soaking instructions.
Soaking is actually quite simple. The key: thinking ahead! Write it in your schedule! Each morning after breakfast and making dinner preparations, I also ask myself if I need to soak anything for the next day. I quickly combine it and let it sit on my counter.
Further Reading
Urban Homemaker articles on Soaking here & here
How I use kefir and the wonderful benefits
Tammy’s Kefir Making Instructions
Two Stage Process - introduction to soaking by Sue Gregg – I drew much of the above information from this article
Sue Gregg’s Breakfast cookbook is my favorite intro to different whole grains and how to include them in your diet. This book shows you how to grind grains in your blender for many morning breakfasts. Works wonderfully!
Be Kind to Your Grains – article by Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions on why we should soak our grains
Two other good options that accomplish the same benefits as soaking, include using sprouted flour or sourdough methods.
Hi Lindsay,
I was just reading all your wonderful recipes. They sound delicious, I hope to try them soon.
I bake bread often but I haven’t been soaking and I want to try the kefir. I was wondering if you could tell me exactly how to use apple cider vinegar instead. I thought I might use that until I can get the kefir grains. Thanks again for sharing.
Blessings,
Debbie
Hi! I’ve been referring to this post for months as I slowly enter the world of grain soaking. Mostly, I have soaked oats each night for A.M. oatmeal.
I just got my hands on some buckwheat and want to soak it, but also read about how good it is toasted, and wondered about it, oats for granola, etc…. do you soak, then toast, or toast then soak, or do one but not the other?
Thanks for any help!
I have never tried toasted buckwheat, but I would imagine you would want to soak then toast otherwise you would void any toasting benefits.
I have found this very fascinating! But I have a question or thought…I’ve been slowly transitioning our family to more natural cooking…avoiding processed foods and such. I know we can’t go 100% organic (mainly due to our location) but we’re chipping away at it. My thought about going natural was this…(bare with me…there’s a point to all of this) there are Mom’s who are “germ-o-phobes” and go overboard in making everything so ridiculously sanitized that when their children come into contact with germs, their bodies react worse and their symptoms are worse because their bodies haven’t had “practice” in fighting off the smaller germs. So I’m thinking if we went 100% natural or organic, would this eventually have an adverse affect on my children’s internal organs? If they ate processed foods or even pasta or bread made from commercial flours, would it make them sick? If I went through this process of soaking for all my grain needs, and my children one day go out and eat the fluffy white commercial products, will their intestinal tracks be in wreckage over it? I’m just throwing out my thoughts here and wondering if anyone has any thoughts of their own regarding this.
@ Shannon: organic means that no chemicals were involved in producing the food – pesticides, herbicides, and so forth. Perhaps once you and your kids get used to that you might notice when you eat non-organic stuff, but I doubt it.
Plus, if your kids are getting the extra nutrition from soaked/sprouted products at home, their bodies will be better able to tolerate the nutrient-leaching effects of commerical flours when they do eat them.
Soaked flour is a separate topic. Yes it should be easier to digest, and many people with digestive trouble (like celiac disease) can only eat soaked/sprouted bread for that reason, but – as with the organics – a healthy person won’t blow up like a balloon and roll on the flor in pain from a cafeteria sandwich now and again
Your best bet is to give good stuff as much as possible and feel good about the nutritional head start you’re giving your family.
Is it necessary to cook the oatmeal after soaking it? Or anything for that matter. Soaking it softens it into an oatmeal texture if one adds all the liquid (where you suggest adding 1/2 to soak it). Cooking anything kills enzymes (I’m talking eating as raw as possible) so is it unsafe or necessary to cook the already-softened, soaked oatmeal?
We soak our oatmeal overnight on Fridays for a meal on Sabbath. What I do to prepare it “hot” is I put in some oatmeal, water and yogurt or sometimes I use raw milk instead of water. I mix it all together and put it in the oven with the light on. In the morning we have a good hot meal- well it’s not really hot as it would be if you cooked it but still- not cold is what I mean.
Sorry for the silly question but when you say “cultured yogurt” do you just mean any yogurt you can get at the store that says “live and active cultures” on it?
I’m still learning to soak grains/legumes. As for the warm water, what temperature should it be and does it need to stay warm during the entire soaking process? Usually, the water cools off and then some websites say that you should refrigerate the soaking beans or else they may spoil.
Please help!
Water should be lukewarm and ideally soaked in a warm place, such as in a dehydrator, with pilot light in oven or in the warmest place in your house for most effective soaking.
So in the oven with the light on is better than on the counter? Good to know, since I thought it needed fresh air to work. I don’t have a dehydrator.
It can be done both ways but keeping it warm is ideal.
I really don’t have a warm place to put this, other than a countertop. Will the beans spoil if I do this? I have a yoghurt maker, which the bowl will fit on top of but I’m not sure if it will be too hot. Or I suppose I could put it on top of a heating pad. Does anyone know what temperature the water should be? The heating pad is less hot than the yogurt maker, which is about 100 degrees.
Your beans will not spoil. Lukewarm is about right. Heating pad on low is not a bad idea!
Thanks so much for posting this. I’m still getting the hang of this soaking thing. I’m grateful to ladies like you who I can turn to with culinary questions.
Thanks! I wondered if this would work. It also brings up a question:
Is cup measurement the same for ground grains (flour) as for the whole grain? Or, will I need to somehow change to measuring by weight instead of volume?
hi! so, i’m wondering a few things about soaking my grains…how come this isn’t common knowledge? i mean, nobody i’ve talked to has ever heard of soaking their grains…and if whole grains are hard for the body to digest if they aren’t soaked first, then should we even eat whole grains at all that haven’t been soaked? for example, i always buy 100% whole grain bread but I’m sure it hasn’t been soaked. Is that bad for my children to be eating b/c it isn’t being digested in their bodies properly? I’m assuming it is still better than bread made with enriched flour…this is stressing me out.
It is a growing movement of people led by Weston A Price foundation and Sally Fallon to research and understand these workings of whole grains. Apparantly these practices were upheld by our ancestors and it has only been in the last hundred years with the industrial revolution that we have lost the art of properly preparing our grains. I would encourage you to read more at: westonaprice.org. Whole grains are definitely still preferred even if you cannot soak them, but your body will just not be able to digest the whole benefits of them.
will do. thanks so much for your help!
Hello
I read that if you had to choose between store bought whole grain bread (which they don’t soak ahead of time) or enriched white bread, you should choose white bread. I know that is hard to swallow. Whole grain bread is usually moldy if not stored properly or consumed fresh (ideally freshly grounded)… whole grains tend to oxidize and go rancid quite quickly. It affects the immune system over time if one consumes moldy grains/nuts etc. It is quite a complicated and meticulous process.
Ahhhhhh! Thank you darlyne. This is why I’m so stressed out. I’m trying my best to feed my family the right things but it’s SO confusing… So it seems that my only safe bet is to buy a grain mill and make my own bread, no? Those things are so expensive! I guess I should start saving.
In the meantime store-bought whole grain bread or the white stuff????????? Once again, I’ll say it: AHHHHH!
Do you have access to a local health food store? You can find sprouted whole grain bread. That is the best alternative to homemade soaked bread.
Mary – I do not have a grain mill.
I’ve used two methods without a grain mill:
1) Use a coffee grinder to grind my grains – tedious for large amounts but it works!
2) I soak my grains first and then grind them in a blender with all the liquid in the recipe. I learned this blender method from a woman online that Lindsay referred to. I do not remember her name or the link. Lindsay? It was the blender recipes for soaked cornbread and waffles, etc.
Sue Gregg is the woman.
Is it ok to soak oats in raw milk, along with lemon or some milk kefir.
Certainly!
Legend! Thanks:-)
Thanks. Does that mean that the phytates are changed into something good for our bodies by the process of soaking? ….Whats the word? nulified, no…..neutralised?
Cool site, thx for the help.
Danny
I guess you can think of it in that way. The phytates are neutralized. They are the barrier of sorts and soaking breaks them down giving our bodies the ability to absorb more of the vitamins and minerals in our grains.
When you soak oats in water, do you discard the water prior to eating. If not, why not?
Thx, Danny
No, there is no need to discard any liquids. In fact, they get fully absorbed into the oats so that it is a thick paste of sorts. The acid medium simply helps breaking down the phytates.
Lindsay,
I hope you don’t mind, but I just posted a bread recipe on my blog, and I’ve made it in a bread machine. I’d just check it during the kneading cycle, since it tends to be a wet dough and might need a little tweaking.
http://anneelliott.com/blog/?p=1176
~Anne
Do you have any bread machine recipes using soaked grains?
Thanks!
Debbie
No, but many readers have tried my homemade soaked bread recipe in their bread machine with good success. They just cut the recipe by 1/4 to make one loaf in the machine. Check out the comments on my recipe here.
Hello….
You soak the wheat grains, dehydrate and then grind/mill..Then use as a normal flour for bread/cake making. _ the soaking has already been done…
If using pre ground regular flour, then soak flour for over 12 hours before forming into bread etc..
regards Ingrid
The soaking process allows the body to absorb more of the nutrients, but once it is dried and milled it oxidizes and goes rancid easily so it is always best to consume freshly milled grains as opposed to buying already milled grains at the store.
Please forgive my ignorance but I new to this. I recently purchased a wondermill and have been milling my own wheat and making bread. The idea of soaking my grains is totally new. My question is – if wheat is 40% oxidized after 24 hours and you mill it, then soak it (for your bread recipe), are you not loosing a lot of nutrients in the soaking process? Is is still healthy to just mill and then bake?
You do not loose nutrients through the soaking process, it in fact makes the nutrients more accessible to your body. After soaking your flour, all the nutrients are able to be digested because the prohibitors (phytates) are removed.
Please tell me how to manage a recipe which already includes some vinegar?
Do I count that tablespoon as the first cup of flour, then add one tablespoon for each additional cup in the recipe?
Also, I am thinking of substituting the yeast with equal parts lemon juice and baking soda to equal the total amount of yeast in the recipe. I think you see where I am going…do I count this acid in the acid to add?
Thanks so much for providing this forum.
If your recipe already includes vinegar, than you can definitely apply that as the acid medium, and add 1 Tbsp more per cup of liquids. The same goes for your desire to use lemon juice.
I’d never really given much thought to the flour I have to add to my bread recipe until today’s question came up. My bread always turns out great (even won a blue ribbon at the fair) but now I’m wondering if I should experiment with sprouted wheat as you suggest.
WOW, thank you for this VERY CLEAR explanation and guidance. This soaking is complete new news to me, after baking for 27+years. Actually I was frustrated A LOT, earlier today, when trying to figure out how to soak, after reading all the reasons why I should soak, and now feeling like I have been poisoning my family for all these years. Where has this information been and why has it not been taught? My ?, so if soaked flour overnight for bread baking, then go to knead and need more flour, should that additional flour be soaked too? I do not want to cancel out all my new soaking efforts, by using unsoaked flour. I am anxious to give it a try. My reason for stumbling on this 2 step method, is because I inquired into why bread has strong yeasty taste, and it was suggested to try soaking. Never too old to learn, for sure. I await help. THANK YOU AGAIN.
On those ocassions when you need additional flour, it is recommended to use sprouted flour. You can sprout your own or purchase it through To Your Health Sprouted Flour Company online.
OK, where can I get information on sprouting my own flour? How would you store this, so to have it ready when needed? This is opening to me a whole new avenue of baking I had no idea existed. Again, thank you for your time and response.
If you search google there are a wealth of sites that have given tutorials for sprouting your own flour.
If I have a recipe (pancakes) that calls for milk as the only liquid, do I combine the flour in the recipe with the milk and some yogurt (I don’t have kefir) and soak at room temperature? I have this weird fear of leaving anything dairy out at room temp. for a long time (probably just because I’ve never really been exposed to soaking…). Also, would anything change if using raw milk? Thanks so much! I am loving your site and all the wonderful and SO helpful information you provide! I am just getting into soaking grains, and your site has been so helpful! And do you think I would still need to add in all the baking powder the recipe calls for? Thanks!
I would simply replace the milk with watered down yogurt in equal quantity and soak the flour in that. It is totally safe! You can definitely cut back on the baking powder a bit.
I just wanted to know, do I need to soak my cream of wheat before cooking?
I would recommend it!
Does anyone know how I should go about making chinese steamed buns? I want the flour to ferment naturally instead of using yeast. Will it work and how? Any ideas would be great! Thanks in advance!
Maybe someone already saw this but if you want your beans to cook properly you should only soak them in water. Soaking or boiling beans in anything acidic will prevent them from cooking properly.
Yes, a few others have mentioned that…but it has never been the case in my experience. Plus the benefits of soaking the beans far outway any possible side affects.
I just read a recipe for natural granola where you soak the oats in yogurt for 2 days at room temperature. Wouldn’t the yogurt spoil during that time and likely lead to food poisoning? I’ve scoured the web looking for some expert to say that yogurt left at room temp is safe, but they all say to pitch yogurt if it has been left at room temp for more than two HOURS.
I am sorry…I do not know the answer to your question. All my experience using yogurt for soaking and such have been totally fine. It may be the difference of cultured yogurt to regular yogurt. In order to culture yogurt, it has to be a room temperature for extended periods. I would imagine people warn against the consumption of it to cover their backs. Raw milk yogurt sours naturally and is safe for consumption, but the average web source would not confirm that. I would submit your question to westonaprice.org. They have a more thorough database of information. Let us know what you discover.
Thanks for your reply! I’ll see what I can find out.
It is a common practice in India to soak flour, in thinned yogurt to make pancakes, for 2 to 3 days at room temperature till you get the sourness desired. If you use yogurt with active cultures it is fine.
EllenF,
I use Lindsay’s Granola recipe: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/07/homemade-granola.html
(So yummy – I make 2 batches a week!) and I soak it in yogurt at room temp for 24 hours. It always smells sweet and I have never had any problems with it.