I went to a set of classes at the home of a friend of a friend, and learned exactly what I've been needing to learn for a while. This time the bread is turning out FABULOUS, my kids LOVE it, and are anxious for me to make more when we get low!!!
Grains Class, Amy Loveless,
Saratogajacks.com
The book Amy referred to - "The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast, by Caleb Warnick & Melissa Richardson - I have a copy already, and have used, but not successfully, so I was grateful to have this in person training from someone who has used it with success, and to receive an actively growing live start to get started with.
In 1984 instant yeast came on the market, with lots of dire consequences.
The long yeast process was necessary, because it takes time to break the grains down properly. Grains are like legumes - you'd never try to have dry legumes ready to eat in 15 minutes!
Kamuth wheat is 5% gluten, vs 80% of others
Since then there has been a huge rise in auto-immune diseases, such as yeast infections, fatigue syndromes, autism (recently linked to leaky gut), etc., etc., etc.
5 Steps for Healing your Gut (I can't figure out for sure which steps were 3 or 4)
1. Go off the garbage you've been eating, like the rapid yeast breads, etc.
2. Replace with healthy foods for 2 whole weeks
Bone broth -- extremely healthy
Yogurt or kefir, raw cultured
Fermented vegetables
Coconut products
5. Plug the leaks - Colostrom from Dr. Anthony Klein Smith, chewable colostrom (bovine)
Natural sour dough breaks down the starches/carbs, and fills with enzymes instead! (Her diabetic husband would eat a regular roll and go up 220, eating the sourdough roll he'd go up 5!)
Self grinding flours are best - purchased ground flours are made in plants where machines divide up the ingredients, and put in other things, instead of grinding it complete.
(Recommends Silver Nugget hand crank, from ID, since the competition stole their design, altered one shape and had it made in China.)
Tools for Sourdough bread making
Big metal bowl from IKEA ($9.99)
Danish dough whisk from Amazon ($9.99)
Recipe
Note - IMPORTANT - for every cup of water you add one tsp salt.
4 C water
about 1 C start
(feed this mix with a handful of flour)
4 tsp salt
5 big scoops (about 1 1/2 C each) flour*
Optional ingredients
2 eggs (makes it fluffier)
2 tbsp coconut oil
seeds
1/2 C honey
pepper (counterbalance the sweet with not sweet)
2 tbsp ginger powder (old fashioned dough enhancer)
other flavorings as desired
(She didn't measure anything accurately, it's not an exact science for her.)
*Flour questions - the sourdough method breaks down the wheat such that the gluten is negligible, so any flours, even the altered ones will work.
Leave in bowl, but place a clean garbage bag around it, and set it aside for at least 8 hours. Then you punch it down and separate it into loaves as desired, and let rise for at least 2 more hours. Bake in 350 degree oven until bread reaches 190 degrees internally, (about 30-40 mins). For a harder crust, put 2 inches of water in a pyrex dish on bottom oven shelf, 15 minutes before putting the bread in, at 400 degrees. Bake bread with the water for 15 minutes, then remove the water and turn down the oven to 350 degrees and finish cooking.
Feed your yeast/start with 1 C flour and 1 C water (not hot). Stir. It should be thick enough for a spoon to stand up, then it will last one week in the fridge. Remember yeasts are territorial, so do NOT put two yeasts next to each other, or store modern breads near your yeast starter! It could ruin them.
Sprouting Grains Class, Instructor Kimberly Shock (EXTREME athlete, vegan for many years, she uses sprouted grains for her nutritious diet.) I have her phone number if you have questions.
When sprouted, grains are GLUTEN FREE, as the sprouting process turns them into a vegetable.
In a quart jar, place 1/2 C of grains. Soak grains for at least 24 hours (different than other instructions you'll read).
Rinse, rinse and rinse to get rid of the folic acid - you will do this twice a day. Do this between 3-7 days depending on what you are growing and how much you want it sprouted. (If you're going to the bathroom too often, maybe you grew it too long.)
Dehydrate sprouted grains on the lowest setting, sufficiently dried, they have long shelf (10 years), and can be used like normal grains, ground, etc.
You can sprout everything, (but if you sprout kidney beans they are poisonous until cooked.)
Sprouted grains are 1/2 the carbs of non-sprouted.
No dehydrator - you can dehydrate on cookie sheets outside, just protect from birds & other critters & weather...
OR use immediately as moist sprouts: Blend together 2 C sprouted wheat to 1 C water, use as a base for your recipes. (As I'm looking in the book Natural Yeast book, I notice that you usually use a little sprouted grain, and mix it with unsprouted ground grains.)
Wheat grass - 7 days to grow. "One ounce juice is better iron builder than a blood transfusion." 1 lb wheat grass has equivalent nutritional to 23 lb homegrown garden vegetables.
Sprouting provides 900-2000% nutritional improvement over non-sprouted grains. Sprouting makes it a vegetable. (Even dehydrated.)
Sprouted Almond Milk recipe
1 C almonds - soak for 24 hours
Drain, rinse 4-5 times until water runs clear
In blender, combine almonds and 4 C cold water (for cold milk)
1-2 T sweetener (optional)
Blend 3 minutes, and drain through cheese cloth, or similar to remove solid particles.
