Sprouting, Soaking, and Fermenting–oh my

I can’t let bread week go by without talking about sourdough, soaking, fermenting, sprouting, and other traditional ways of preparing grains–my “Real Food” readers would kill me!

First, my personal philosophy:

Everything in moderation. I do eat bread and grains. I have tried diets where I cut out all carbs and did very badly. After researching more about metabolism, I discovered that I do best with more carbs than, say, my husband who can do just fine without them. That said, I really don’t eat much bread. I do enjoy some toast with eggs on the weekends, and for that I usually purchase Ezekiel sprouted bread or Little Rooster bread, which is a locally produced fermented bread. While I do know how to make my own bread (as you’ve noticed from my bread postings!) I don’t do it very often, and since it’s so infrequent I don’t feel the need to grind my own flour or soak/sprout/sourdough it.

However, if you want to make your own bread on a regular basis, and if you are interested in preparing your bread (and other grains) in a way that is easier for your body to digest, you may want to learn more about what is referred to as “traditional” methods. In fact, my friend Kelly from Kelly the Kitchen Kop just posted an excellent article today that talks about grains or no grains, and includes links to various methods and health claims. I encourage you to check it out.

Additionally, GNOWFGLINS is holding a free webinar on Friday, February 3 to talk about the basics of sprouting, fermenting, and soaking grains.

Again, it is not my intention to guilt anyone into yet another thing to do. Yes, it is “best” to use sourdough and other traditional methods of bread making. But if that’s not going to happen and your choices are between making homemade bread with whole wheat and buying a loaf of Wonderbread (recognizing that sprouted and fermented breads are rather pricey), I’d vote for homemade bread with whole wheat.