What do I do if I can’t soak the flour for my favorite cookies or cake? What if the recipe doesn’t have the liquids necessary to soak? As you may very well know, soaking your grains is extremely beneficial for breaking down the phytates that prevent proper digestion of whole grains, as discussed in detail here.
Soaking, fermenting or sprouting are the recommended alternatives in order for our bodies to fully benefit from all the nutrition in whole grains. Over the last few years I have been exploring and experimenting with adapting all my favorite recipes for soaking and I have been successful with my whole grain bread, tortillas, pizza crust, granola, bagels, and some of our favorite muffins and biscuits. I have chosen soaking methods over sprouting because of its simplicity. But there remains a few baked goods that I haven’t had success with, for one reason or another, no liquids in the recipe or certain temperature requirements. Or there has been other times when I needed just a wee bit more flour to roll out my dough or prevent stickiness. I have come to the realization that the best recommendation here is to use sprouted flour.
Why sprouted flour?
Sprouting your grain transforms it so that your body recognizes it as an easily digestible vegetable rather than a starch! It changes the composition of starch molecules, converting them into vegetable sugars. Through the sprouting process, phytates are broken down allowing your body to digest calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc, and enzymes are created that aid digestion. Complex sugars are dissolved which can help eliminate painful gas, and vitamin and mineral levels are increased – vitamin B6, folate, and niacinand to be precise.
Jenny at the Nourished Kitchen shares, “When examining the nutrient density of sprouted wheat to unsprouted wheat on a calorie-per-calorie basis, you’ll find that sprouted wheat contains four times the amount of niacinand nearly twice the amount of vitamin B6 and folate as unsprouted wheat. Moreover, sprouted grain contains more protein and fewer starches than unsprouted grain and is lower on the glycemic index than its unsprouted counterpart.”
Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions points out, “The process of germination not only produces vitamin C, but also changes the composition of grains and seeds in numerous beneficial ways. Sprouting increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6. Carotene increases dramatically-sometimes even eightfold.”
So sprouted flour is more digestible and nutritious!
There are two choices when it comes to using sprouted flour. You can make your own (with the use of a dehydrator) or you can buy sprouted flour from many online sources. (See below for details)
Having a quantity of sprouted flour in your freezer readily available is the most convenient option to provide your family with easy digestion. We recommend you store it in the freezer to preserve the nutrients in the flour. I would also not recommend buying a huge quantity at a time unless you have the freezer space. We now intend to use sprouted flour for pie crusts, desserts, my favorite banana crumb muffins, pretzels, donuts, and whatever else our heart desires! 
Sources for Sprouted Flour
To Your Health Sprouted Flour - an excellent company that produces organic sprouted wheat, spelt and rye grains and ground flour. I love this option because they offer sprouted grain that I can grind myself at home. This will help preserve the nutrients more.
Shiloh Farms – they sell both sprouted wheat & spelt flours as well as various sprouted baking mixes
American Spice – sprouted whole wheat flour
Local Harvest – offering sprouted spelt flour
Resources – How to Sprout
Mini E-book on Sprouting – a very useful little guide on sprouting all your grains and seeds!
Sprouted Grain - a helpful tutorial on Sprouting by The Nourished Kitchen
Why Sprout? – a very thorough explanation of the benefits of sprouting from The Nourishing Gourmet
Making Your Own Sprouted Flour – a pictural tutorial on sprouting flour by Keeper of the Home
Do you sprout? Have you tried sprouted flour? What was your experience?
Your articles and information on sprouted cereals are great. I am sure this is a blessing to many who are affected with diabetics.
Would you use your NutriMill to mill sprouted grains after you dehydrated them?
Certainly.
I used to do the soaking/sprouting trip, but now that Shiloh Farms and Essential Eating make the most amazing sprouted flours, I just buy them and my baked goods are so much better than when I did my own flour. They even test to make sure the flour is sprouted and not drown. Great stuff.
Hi Lindsay,
Do you know if it is possible to soak almond flour? I buy it in large bags but I don’t think the almonds were previously soaked, only blanched. I have Celiac and still have trouble digesting it. Is there any way to soak the almond flour if the recipe doesn’t have liquids? Do you think you could just soak it in water and a little lemon juice then let it dry out or would that ruin it? Thanks!
Cat, I really don’t have an answer to your question as I have no experience with almond flour. I know you can soak the almonds, dry, and then grind them. I would imagine you could soak the flour but I am not sure how to go about it. You could try soaking it in just enough water to get it moist. Does the recipe require any other liquid ingredients? You can add oils, butter, or honey to the soaking mix to keep it moist. That’s where I would start and just experiment. I do it all the time!
Lindsay, thanks so much for your reply! I will do some experimenting! Take care.
Hi Lindsay,
I’ve been sprouting my grains, drying them, and grinding them for some time. I’ve had problems with hit or miss success with my bread. I finally figured out the problem (I think). I was letting the tails get too long on the sprouts. Apparently, in talking to some experienced bakers, this completely changes the sugar/starch/protein ratios and makes the finished product less than delicious (actually disgusting, disappointing, and maddening are more like it.) After buying the book you suggested by Peter Reinhart, I discovered that letting the berries sprout just until the berry is splitting (about 6 hours)is key to great baked products.
I LOVE coconut flour, and use it anytime I need something quick and didn’t have the forethought to soak. I don’t mind that it uses alot of eggs because I feel that that makes the food all the more nutritious for my little ones (and the little one I’m baking!) My word of caution with the coconut flour is to give it to your children early in the day. Coconut raises the metabolism (because of medium-chain triglycerides??) and can keep you awake. I gave my 2 year old a treat made with coconut flour for a bedtime snack, and she was awake for 4 hours! Now they get it for breakfast, even if it’s cake.
Thank you again for your valuable information. I am sprouting my first spelt grains as we speak. I’m hoping to make a sprouted bread loaf. I found the book “Sprout garden : indoor grower’s guide to gourmet sprouts” an invaluable guide. The author (can’t remember his name right now) goes through the basics of sprouting with jars, towels, dirt, commercial sprouters and other methods in great detail. Then he has directions for each kind of common sprouting seed as well as a handy chart at the back of the book. I love this book.
I can’t really wrap my brain on how to soak flours. From what you said it sounds like you just soak the flour in the liquids of the recipe. Is that correct and then add the rest of the ingredients after soaking. Do you have to add anything acidic to the soaking? Thanks for your help or perhaps just pointing me to a source with the correct answers.
I have started soaking all of my whole grains and seem to prefer them now. They are just so darn delicious when soaked!
For m above. I have made crispy almonds(soaked and dehydrated) and then ground them into flour just in the blender. That worked well.
Did you visit the soaking post I linked to above? Yes, you always include a acid medium in order for the soaking to be effective. I usually use 1-2 Tbsp of an acid medium for every cup of liquids. Works great! You don’t have to have a perfect amount, and that is just a rough guide.
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for this. I guess I missed the link because when it said for soaking grains, I just automatically thought whole grains (which I think I understand) and I did not know you included quick breads in the post as well. I read it and it was helpful. I hope to purchase one of sue gregg’s books one day!
Wouldn’t another simple alternative be to use grain-free flours like blanched almond flour or coconut flour? Being gluten-free, I use these grainless flours all the time.
Sure thing! I wouldn’t recommend almond flour due to the phytates in nuts as well, and thus it requires soaking or sprouting, but coconut flour is a good alternative. These flours just don’t work well for a standard recipe though. You have to have specific recipes made to use those flours. I like to have the sprouted wheat flour available for my favorite recipes that call for wheat.
If you ever come across a soaked almond flour, please let us know! Bruce Fife’s book on coconut flour has a lot of good recipes – but they use tons of eggs. Can you remind me what kind of eggs you recommend (I don’t have access to a farm)? Thanks, Lindsay!
I love that you did this post! I JUST sprouted sunflower seeds for the first time, and have been investigating sprouting grains for making flour. I need to get a grain mill immediately!
Thank you for your thorough and well researched and cited material. It is so helpful for someone who (like me) is transitioning over to a natural and whole-foods lifestyle. Thanks to you, I have switched to raw milk, started using coconut oil, and even made your homemade deodorant recipe (I use expeller-pressed coconut oil because my husband doesn’t like the flavor of coconut in everything, so I added a few drops of lemon essential oil and it smells lovely!). I am once again thankful for your commitment and obedience to God. Your ministry is making a big impact! 
I purchase my flour from … To Your Health Sprouted Bread and Flour Co.
Go to this link for prices http://www.sproutedbreadandflourco.com/flour.html
Hi Linsday,
I just have a question:
How do you cook your brown rice? I cannot get mine to come out right. Since I switched over from white to brown, I cannot make it taste good, its chewy, hard and mushy…all at different times:)
Also, is there any type of white rice that is actually healthy and quicker to cook? Would soaking my brown rice make it cook faster?
Thanks for your great blog!!
Kristen, I used to have the same problem with brown rice. I soak mine with a little whey for at least 7 hours and then cook it as per the package directions. My girls (who don’t normally like brown rice) love it this way and call it “fluffy brown rice”.
Thanks Michele! I’ll try that!
De-lurking as I thought you might find the following article interesting on soaking. Sprouting seems worth while, but soaking? not so much.
http://www.breadbeckers.com/phytic_acid_friend_or_foe.htm
Also, I didn’t know if you had this problem, but our drains became clogged with the toothpaste I was making with coconut oil. Have you had this same problem? We switched back to tooth chips and notice are teeth are cleaner as well.
Yes, I have seen that article passed around quite a bit. Unfortunately, I do not see any credentials behind this article nor do I see any solid evidence to prove her claims against soaking. Weston A Price, Sally Fallon and Sue Gregg among others have credentials and have completed studies to prove the importance of soaking. I just find it hard to believe that article without references.
As to the toothpaste, I did not have that problem. You may have had too much coconut oil or too thick of a substance. Our toothpaste was pretty thin so it would flush down quite easily.
I love all your ideas for natural “good for you” cooking, but I am curious what your monthly budget allowance is for food? We are a one income family, and I am wondering how much your average grocery bill is? Can you do a post sometime about the ways that you budget, and give your readers some idea as to how much to allot for food if you want to eat this way?