A Spring Day and Sprouted Wheat

Today was the kind of day I love; overcast, cool but not cold with a light breeze and a hint of the possibility of rain. It seemed the perfect day to experiment with the sprouted wheat berries I started mid-week, so I searched the Internet for that perfect recipe. Today's loaf was the result of combining several recipes, and a few ideas of my own.

I have a bread machine (which I couldn't live without), but most of the recipes suggested grinding the sprouts before adding them to the dough. It seemed logical to make the entire recipe in the processor, so after grinding the wheat, I added all the other ingredients.

Recipe for Spring Sprouted Wheat Bread

3/4 cup wheat berries (sprouted, no longer than half an inch shoots)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 Tablespoon yeast (I use Gold Star, purchased in bulk from price club)
1 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour

Rinse and drain berries. Combine yeast with water and stir to mix. Put berries in food processor and process until ground. If they are not grinding, add just enough flour until a paste is made and process to grind berries. Add brown sugar, salt and butter and continue to process until the berries are the size you desire. I suggest no larger than 1/4 the size of the wheat berry, to avoid having hard wheat fragments on the crust. Add the water and yeast and process to blend in. Finally, add the remaining flour and process for 2 -4 min. to knead the dough, stopping to scrape down the bowl if necessary.

Turn out onto clean surface and knead several times (oil or flour may be used to keep the dough from sticking to the surface). Place dough in bowl, cover, and place in a warm and draft-free spot for about 90 minutes (until almost doubled). 'Punch down' the dough by squashing it. Fold the dough in half several times, pulling to stretch the dough and returning to a 'ball shape' each time.

Place on lightly greased baking sheet, cover with a clean dishtowel and let rise for 1-2 hours. Dough should almost double. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

When dough is nearly doubled, finish the loaf with a glaze of beaten egg if you desire a shiny crust, or milk, score gently with a sharp knife, and put bread into oven. Immediately turn the temperature down to 350. Bake 30-35 minutes until done. Poke with a toothpick or skewer to test. Bread will be done when no dough adheres to the skewer.

Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. This bread will be more dense and moist than a regular loaf, but the sweet nuttiness is delicious!