If you have been around here for long, you know that I strive to soak my whole grains for the benefit of breaking down the phytates and making the nutrients more accessible to our bodies. Over the years, I have taken many of my favorite recipes and adapted them to allow for the soaking process to be completed. There is a never ending stream of emails that I receive asking the question, “how do you adapt recipes for soaking?” Today, I am going to make an effort to give two examples of how I have accomplished this process. I hope that is helpful to you. Over the next few weeks, I will be a compiling a video tutorial of what soaking looks like with a few of our favorite recipes.
First off, let me just encourage you that it takes time and experimentation to adapt your recipes. With each recipe that I successfully modified, it took at least two tries to get it right. So be patient and just have fun with it. For the most part, it is relatively easy.
So, let’s begin…I will start by going through one recipe with you and offering my steps towards conversion.
Biscuits – Original Recipe
7 cups spelt flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups butter
5 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp salt
1. Evaluate the liquids.
I always start adapting every recipe by evaluating the liquids. This spelt biscuit recipe has 2 cups of milk as the liquid ingredients. To soak, I can simply replace this amount with an acid medium in its entirety or in whatever portion I desire. My acid medium choices: cultured buttermilk, kefir, yogurt, whey, or water and lemon juice.
I have had best success with soaking in kefir, as it imparts wonderful nutrients but also gives a moist light texture to my baked goods. So, I converted 2 cups of milk to 2 cups of kefir. In order for soaking to be effective, you really only have to use at least 1 Tablespoon of acid medium to 1 cup of liquids in your recipe, so I could also use 2 cups water with 2 Tablespoons acid medium. You could also use milk and just add 2 Tbsp acid medium. The choice is up to you!
If your recipe calls for yogurt or buttermilk anyway, that is sufficient to satisfy the acidic medium. You won’t have to add anything to the recipe; just mix the yogurt/buttermilk and flour or grains overnight, then proceed with the recipe as written.
2. Combine liquids with flour.
Secondly, I will combine my acid medium liquids with the flour. To keep a moist texture, I will often thin out the kefir or yogurt to the consistency of buttermilk so as to keep the mixture from getting too dry. Mix the flour and the acid medium together. If the mixture remains very dry, you have a third option.
3. Add the butter or oil to the soaked goods, if necessary.
If there are butter or oil called for in the recipe, you can add it to the mixture as well to help keep the moist consistency. In this spelt biscuit recipe, I wanted to use a combination of coconut oil and butter as it provides such a delicious flavor. So, I melted the coconut oil/butter and added it to the soaked flour/acid medium. I know have a moist consistency.
I will then cover this bowl with a towel and allow to sit on the counter at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Ideally, you want to keep it in a warm place. In the oven with the pilot light on, in a dehydrator, on top of a high shelf, or in a warm bedroom of your house.
After it has soaked, I would kneed in the baking powder and salt. And there you have it…delicious soaked biscuits that will not only rise better because of the soaking but will also be more easily digested by your body. Check out my adapted soaked biscuit recipe.
In other recipes, I also add the liquid sweeteners (such as honey) to the recipe to maintain the moist texture (as in my soaked whole grain bread). There are mixed opinions as to the safety of this practice, but Sue Gregg has used this practice in many of her soaked blender batter recipes, and thus I have not been too concerned about it.
What if there are no butter/oil ingredients?
If there are no oil ingredients in the recipe, add just enough more water to make it slightly moist but not dry. Start with 1/4 cup increments.
What about a recipe that has no liquids?
Here’s an example:
Raspberry Muffins – our family favorite muffin recipe!
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups raspberries, frozen
2 eggs, well beaten
2/3 cup oil, coconut oil preferred
As you can see, there are no liquids in this recipe besides the oil. So, this recipe will take a little more practice and experimentation to avoid drying it out. As you’ll see in my adapted soaked raspberry muffin recipe, I simply combined the flour with melted coconut oil and 2 Tablespoons acid medium (kefir in my case). I add just enough water (between 1/4-1/2 cup) to keep it moist and well combined. For effective soaking, you want to use at least 1 Tablespoon of acid medium to 1 cup of liquids in your recipe. Since this recipe has no liquids, I simply guessed it with the 2 Tablespoons. I really don’t think you can go wrong. The more the better.
As you can also see in this recipe, the original recipe called for sugar, which is easily replaced with a more natural alternative such as rapadura or sucanat. The original recipe also called for canola oil, which I simply replaced with coconut oil.
If through trial and error, you cannot seem to keep the dough from getting too dry and unworkable after soaking, I recommend using sprouted flour (see below).
What if I am dairy intolerant?
I have found best results from soaking with kefir, yogurt, or buttermilk, but it is possible to soak with other acid mediums (lemon juice, apple cider vinegar) if you are allergic to dairy. Read our discussion on Soaking Methods for the Dairy Intolerant.
What about a recipe with yeast?
Since the yeast cannot be added for the overnight soak, you’ll need to withhold 1/4-1/2 cup of water from your recipe with which to ‘proof’ the yeast. Note that I have had perfect success with reserving just 1/4 cup. When you’re ready to finish the dough, mix the yeast with 1/4-1/2 water and sweetener (I use 1 tsp of honey), proof for 5 minutes at room temperature, then add to the dough that has been soaking overnight. Knead and allow to rise as directed in your recipe. You can see this demonstrated in my soaked whole wheat bread recipe.
What happens when the final mixture is too wet?
This happens to me quite frequently. For example, my pizza crust recipe tends to be too wet if I use less than 10 cups of flour in the original soaking mix. It tends to get very elastic and need alot more flour to make it workable and able to be rolled out. In this case, I keep white flour or better yet, sprouted wheat flour on hand.
Sprouted wheat flour is just as beneficial as soaked flour, but is more time consuming to accomplish and more expensive to buy. Buying quantities of sprouted flour or making your own, can help supplement in the case that you need to add extra flour, flour a pan, flour a surface to roll out the dough, etc. When you just use sprouted flour for these supplemental purposes, it can stretch the cost out.
Sprouted flour has already been soaked and dried and therefore has accomplished the process of breaking down the phytates. Sprouted flour is also nice to have on hand if you forget to soak and are throwing something together at the last minute. Just use the sprouted flour and away you go. No soaking necessary! Read more about sprouted flour and my recommended source. I buy 10 lb bags of sprouted grain and they last me forever!
What about cakes, pie crusts and cookies?
You will often find that cakes, pie crusts, and cookies are difficult if not impossible to soak. Either there are absolutely no liquids or the final product is undesirable. I just have not had much success here. In this case, I use sprouted wheat flour. Cookies will not rise very well, so I still use a combination of white flour and sprouted wheat for a better appeal. Pie crusts are similar. The results usually will be crumbly and hard. White flour alone or in combination with sprouted flour again is more ideal. Since these are special occasion items at our home, I really don’t stress over it too much. White flour does make for a lighter texture that nothing else really can fully beat.
I hope this little tutorial was helpful for you and inspires you to work at adapting your favorite recipes to incorporate the benefits of soaking!
Check out my recipe index for many more yummy adapted recipes!
Further Reading:
Stay tuned for some video tutorials on soaking some of our favorite recipes!
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I wish there was a way to save some of your blogs on Pinterest!
this was so helpful. ty Lindsey!
Hi Lindsay,
I have tried the raspberry muffins several times and love the taste but they always cave in and are very gooey. Do you soak your flour or use sprouted for this? Do you put the raspberries in frozen or thawed first? I want to keep making them but they are usually unpresentable for guests:) Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks!
Jill
Is it safe to leave milk at room temp or warmer for 12-24 hours before baking?
Lindsay thank you so much for this post! Do you grind your own grains? If so what kind of grinder do you use? Have you sprouted your own grains? I'm looking to doing the above things cause I have celiac disease and have to cook gluten free. I haven't had much luck with soaking (breads and such) but plan to try again. Also can you soak with water kefir? Thanks ton!
Thanks for this post Lindsay! After a few failed attempts at soaking I, just earlier, started a soak for some spelt bread. I used a recipe from Sue Gregg's Breakfast book and that recipe said to put the yeast mixture in the soak…I think. Did I read that wrong?!
Thanks for the post about soaking! I found it interesting that you like kefir best. For some reason, whenever I used kefir it made my baked goods doughy. Maybe I let my kefir ferment too long before using it?
Great post! I have made only the blender waffle/pancake batter and it is delicious, now thanks to your info I feel confident enough to try other recipes. Just one question do you grind the sprouted grain in you Nutrimill (how fine or coarse for what type of grain) or Blendtec? I have both appliances and I was wondering which one in your opinion gives you a better result. Thanks
I usually use my Nutrimill since I have one! I always keep it pointed straight up, half way between fine and coarse.
So informative! I've wanted to try soaking more recipes, but have been too busy to experiment. It's great to read your stories and details. I'll have to start planning ahead and do the soaking!
Thank you! I can't tell you how grateful I was to read this. Like Carla, I've dabbled with soaking — but was always wondering about whether or not I was actually doing things the proper way.
I am stopping in from Make New Friends Friday.
I am going to enjoy looking around your blog. I am trying to get better at making my own things and getting back to the simpler life.
Lindsay, Thank you so much for clarifying this procedure. I'm a new Nourishing Traditions fan (I read it in January) and, as I'm sure you were at first, a bit overwhelmed with everything in my diet that needs replacing.
One of the first things I did was replace my white flour because I do quite a bit of baking. I have been buying the sprouted spelt from To Your Health and, while I love the new flavor of my recipes, it has been so expensive! I have ordered 20 lbs in 2 months (I still have about 7 lbs left) and I just don't think I can keep buying it at this rate. I was told (incorrectly I believe) that even though the spelt was already sprouted, I would still need to soak it. You have given me so much hope! I definately see the benefit in keeping some sprouted flour around for dusting pans or flouring a surface to knead on (or for those times when my little boys need banana bread immediately), but I think I will start buying regular whole grain flour and take the extra time to soak it myself.
I and my good friend Jen, who has embarked on this nourishing journey with me, found your blog a few months ago and have just loved it. Insprired, we started our own called This & That (http://www.anneandjen.blogspot.com). Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas, recipes and tips, and for making it a priority for your family. I also have small kiddos (6, 4 & 3) and the task can be daunting at times, especially without preparation and planning. You are a great encourager! =)
Anne
Okay, that makes sense. Thanks, Amanda!
I do the same thing – not sure what Lindsay does, but I simply might fill the measuring cup 3/4 full with the kefir and then fill the rest up with the water. So I'm staying with the total amount of liquid the recipe is calling for.
This post was very helpful with all the step by step instructions. I am looking forward to next weeks video instructions too. A little off topic but I'm new to baking my own bread. Can you suggest a container to hold the baked bread in through out the week? I really dont like wrapping it in cling wrap over and over. Any suggestions?
I reuse Ziploc bags personally, but you can also try parchment paper or green bread bags. They can also be washed and reused.
Thanks! This was helpful! As a matter of fact I had a failed soaking recipe happen to me just the other day. Now my only problem is, learning to knead my bread. I suck at it. I gave up the other day and just decided to not soak my bread and use my bread machines dough setting. (I cant really soak my grains with the dough setting, because of the instructions it has for the yeast). Better than buying bread at the store…but still not as good as soaked bread. I think im going to try and get my local natural food store to start carrying sprouted grains.
Thank you – this was so thorough. I have one question. Every time I soak my grains the resulting mass is so gummy that I cannot incorporate the rest of my ingredients. The closest I came was using my stand mixer to mix my banana bread but it didn't cook up right b/c it was a gummy mess. I'm guessing that even with my stand mixer I wasn't able to incorporate my levenors (e.g. baking powder) correctly. Could you please tell me what I'm doing wrong? I'd really like to soak my grains but every recipe, whether it be quick bread or yeast bread, has this problem. The soaked gluten just doesn't want to let in those other ingredients. Thank you!!!
It sounds like you did not mix it thoroughly enough originally with the first step or else you are using too much flour. I am not sure. It’s hard to say without seeing it. It honestly is easier to try a recipe that has already been adapted to get the look and feel of soaking before experimenting with your own recipes. Check out some of the ones I have created.
Thanks for the ideas- I have friends who sprout their own grains and then grind them. I have not had a desire to add all that to my schedule. However, soaking my flour is something I can totally do. Thanks for the instructions on how to get it done! I use yogurt in all my breads anyway, so adding it beforehand is no big deal. THANK YOU!
XOXO
Joce
My biggest problem is that I never remember early enough to get the flour soaking. I don't menu plan, but cook what I feel like that day. This causes problems for soaking though. I need to, at least for my baking needs, work out how often I need to bake so I can better prepare for it. I do better with lentils and beans though. I think it is just a matter of forming habits. Thanks for the tips.
Yes, menu planning is a must for soaking. I write out my weekly plan with any notes by each day of things that need to be soaked for the next day. If this is not up your alley, look into purchasing sprouted wheat. It does simplify it a bit.
This was a very thorough and helpful post! I have a soaked pie crust recipe that we like, you might try it. It's really quite easy, I've even made it in the food processor before.
http://makeahomemom.blogspot.com/2009/09/soaked…
Thanks for even more of the great tips!
In Step 2 you mentioned, “To keep a moist texture, I will often thin out the kefir or yogurt to the consistency of buttermilk so as to keep the mixture from getting too dry.” How do you do this? Do you just add water to your kefir or yogurt to make it thinner?
Thank-you so much for this post! It was very helpful.
Thanks Lindsey! I am so happy to read more about this! My kitchen is going through a huge remodel right now but as soon as it's put back together my goal is to start soaking all my grains. I was wondering if you could recommend a Sue Gregg cookbook to read. I have already read Nourishing Traditions, but is there another with more recipes?? Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
Yes, check out the Breakfast cookbook or her course Baking with Whole Grains. Both are very helpful and were my first resources and exposure to soaking and whole grains. She keeps it simple and concise, whereas NT can be pretty complex.
Thanks for this post. I have been dabbling with soaking a bit now, but I am never 100% sure if I am doing it right. I am glad to know that I am on the right track! Thanks!
For the muffin receipe you mentioned, I simply replace the 3/4 c. sugar for 3/4c. honey and this makes it very moist and turns out very well. Thanks for the great article on soaking! It is helpful for me.
No, if you use honey you would want only 1/3-1/2 cup max as it is very sweet. I replace equal portions when using rapadura.
Lindsay, you did an excellent job putting together a very understandable tutorial on sprouted and soaked grains. I'm always amazed at how you can say clearly in one post what would take me days to communicate!
This was encouraging as I am pretty much on the same page with how and what I soak. The difference is that I sprout my own grain as I need it, rather than buying it. This takes a little more work, so in certain seasons, (such as pregnant for our 3rd child!:)) I am not as consistent.
The nice thing about sprouting my own grain is I can choose which grain I want to use – usually soft white wheat, 'cause I'm gonna use the resulting flour in pastries or other treats. Do you have this option when you buy it?
Lindsay,
This is a terrific article! Thanks so much for taking the time to share it. I will star it in my reader.
I am fully convinced of the benefits of soaking, however, most of the times I have tried have not worked out. For example, I have a wonderful waffle recipe that I love which is supposed to work either soaked or not. On Father's Day last year, I got everything all ready the night before so I could make Steve some tasty and healthy waffles. The problem was that in the morning, the mixture was absolutely putrid. I know my yogurt was nice and fresh, as I make it myself. I have had this experience almost everytime I have tried to soak grains. The only exception is when I do soaked oatmeal using only water and lemon juice. I would love to use dairy products, but the results are inedible every time I try. Do you have any suggestions? I don't see this talked about, so I am wondering if I am doing something wrong.
Is it possible to soak grains in the fridge or does that stop the fermenting process enough that the benefits are not reaped?
Have you tried the Sue Gregg waffle/pancake recipe? It is awesome! Check out my recipe section. I honestly have better success with kefir than yogurt, but I always have to give it a smell test. If it cultured too long the flavor can be far too sour and thus affect the final product. Start by trying some of my recipe adaptions and you’ll get the hang of it.
I have all the Sue Gregg cookbooks and LOVE them. IN fact I'm soaking wheat right now for bread and have Blender Molasses Muffins in the blender right now ready to finish this morning.
Great tips
Kim
Thank you for this! I recently adapted my own pizza crust for soaking and from your instructions, it looks like I did it right. Yeah!!! I tried adapting my wheat rolls a while ago and they flopped; I think more flour would do the trick.