How to soak and sprout wheat.

Here is how I sprout my wheat. Add wheat berries hard red or white (or grain of choice, oat groats or barley) to a bowl and cover the berries with filtered water it is essential to not use chlorinated water.  Allow the berries to soak for 6-12 hours, then dump off the extra water (I use a small strainer to make this step easy).
Twice a day, run fresh water over the grain and then strain off the excess water again.  Allow the berries to remain on the counter (covered) for 3 days until the berries have sprouted little 'tails' that are about a quarter of an inch long.  You can put them in a Ziplock bag that is not closed in the fridge.

Once the wheat berries have sprouted, throw the grains in your dehydrator for 12-ish hours, or until completely dry.  You could also do this on a baking sheet in your oven on the lowest temperature. 

Grind into flour and you're ready to go!  I then store mine in the fridge or freezer until I'm ready to use it.

 I do mine in a magic bullet cup though, it goes pretty fast. You can use a blender or a grain grinder.   If you don't have a grain grinder, you can also grind the grain in your coffee grinder.  Since most recipes don't call for more than a few cups of flour, grinding in the coffee grinder can be pretty efficient.


When you are just getting started use your favorite bread recipe, and substitute half a cup of flour that the recipe calls for with the sprouted wheat flour and up it next time you make it. Until you feel confident and satisfied with the result.

You may be wondering why should you want to sprout your grains and isn't whole grains good enough.  There are three main differences between whole grains and sprouted grains:
1) Sprouting activates essential enzymes in food
2) Sprouting increases the amount of vitamin content
3) Sprouting neutralizes anti-nutrients, like phytic acid, which constrict the body's ability to fully absorb nutrition.

Regular white or even whole wheat products can cause a lot of problems in our digestive systems, causing mucous buildup, allergic reactions, and even constipation. This means the body is unable to absorb the nutrients it needs. However, with sprouted wheat, these negative effects can often be eliminated. A lot of wheat-intolerant people are able to handle sprouted wheat bread products because the starch is already converted to simple sugars. It's a lot easier to break down. 

Homemade Ricotta Cheese or Cottage Cheese (continuation from Mozzarella post)

I usually make this cheese while making Mozzarella or right after...waste not, right?  And everyone around my house loves this stuff.
Make sure to do it with fresh whey, no more than 3 hours old, left over from making hard cheese.  If you don't have whey, buttermilk can be used as a wonderful substitute.

Heat the whey in a pot until foam appears.  This usually happens just prior to boiling; if the mixture boils, it will taste burned.
Turn off the heat; let the whey set for 5 minutes.
Gently skim off the foam and place the whey in a colander lined with butter muslin or fine hole cheese cloth.
Let drain for 15 minutes, then refrigerate.  This ricotta will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator.

About 1/2 pound per gallon of whey.


*For cottage Cheese, basically you follow the instructions above but add 2 tablespoons fulls of white vinegar to the hot whey and heat it to 95 degrees F, the curd will separate from the liquid.  Use a cloth lined colander and follow the steps above.

30 Minute Mozzarella from scratch and Ricotta Cheese

 

1/2 rennet tablet (can be bought at some Walmarts or Macey's usually in the baking or canning isles.)
1/4 cup cool chlorine-free water (most bottled waters are chlorine-free), you can boil it and let it cool completely if you don't have bottled water.

1 gallon 2% low-fat milk (1%, or skim or even powdered milk)
2 teaspoons citric acid (baking isle)
1 teaspoon salt (optional)

You will need a thermometer, a stainless steel pot or something similar, a large bowl or jar with a lid to store it in and a wooden spoon.


Crush the rennet into the water and stir to dissolve. I put mine in a mortar and crush it that way.
  Pour milk into a non-reactive pot (no aluminum or cast iron).
  Place over medium heat. Sprinkle the citric acid over the milk and stir a few times. Heat milk to 90 degrees F; milk will begin to curdle.
  At 90°F, add the rennet solution and continue stirring slowly every few minutes until the milk reaches 105°F Turn off the heat. Large curds will appear and begin to separate from the whey (the clear, greenish liquid).
  With a slotted spoon or mesh strainer, scoop the curd into a large glass bowl. (If it's still too liquid, let it set for a few more minutes). Press the curds gently with your hand and pour off as much whey as possible.
 ++ Microwave curds on high for 1 minute, then drain off all the excess whey.
  With a spoon, press curds into a ball until cool.
  Microwave two more times for 35 seconds each, and continue to drain the whey and work cheese into a ball.
  In the meantime, place the whey over medium heat and let it heat to about 175°F.
  When cheese is cool enough to touch, knead it like bread dough until smooth. When you can stretch it like taffy, it is done. You can sprinkle 1 to 2 teaspoons salt into the cheese while kneading and stretching it. The cheese will become stretchy, smooth and shiny. If it is difficult to stretch and breaks easily, dip it into the hot whey for a few seconds to make it warm and pliable. Then pick it up again and stretch it into a long rope. Fold over and stretch again. Dip in hot whey as needed to make the cheese pliable.
  When the cheese is smooth and shiny (this takes just a few minutes), it is ready to eat. Shape it into a log or golf-size balls, then store in a solution of 2 teaspoons salt to 1 cup water, I usually keep mine in a clean Mason Jar in the fridge.

Sometimes I like to put it in olive oil to store it, sometimes with herbs or garlic for extra flavor.

**Don't throw away the whey,cool it put it in a jar and put it in the fridge so you can use it in place of liquid in home made breads, or bread pudding.
***Or use the reserved whey to make ricotta or cottage cheese.   I will post the recipe for this on another blog.
Note: If you are using store-bought milk, and your curds turn into the consistency of ricotta cheese and will not come together, switch brands of milk. It may have been heated at the factory at too high a temperature when they pasteurized it.
++If you do NOT have a microwave:  After step 5, heat the reserved whey on the stove top to at least 175F.  Add 1/4 cup of cheese salt to the whey (you could probably substitute kosher salt, but cheese salt is best).  Shape the curd into one or more balls, put them in a ladle or strainer, and dip them into the hot whey for several seconds.  Knead the curd with spoons or gloved hands between each dip and repeat this process several times until the curd is smooth and pliable.  Please be careful!  This is really hot, and working with more liquid increase the risk of getting splashed!  If you use the non-microwave method, you cannot use the whey to make the Ricotta, because the whey will contain too much salt.

90 Minute Dinner Rolls

Makes 12 Rolls

2 cups unsifted flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix 3/4 cup flour, sugar, salt, and undissolved yeast.
Heat milk, water, and margarine until warm ( like baby bath warm to the wrist). Gradually add to the dry ingredients.
Beat 2 minutes at medium speed; add 1/4 cup flour. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes and stir in enough additional flour to make a soft smooth dough. Knead until smooth.
Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into balls and arrange in a greased 8" round pan. Cover rolls and place in a draft free warm area.
Let rise till it doubles and bake at 375F for 20 to 25 minutes.

I generally grind my own flour out of sprouted wheat berries or grains. I will post another blog on how to sprout grains.

Potato Soup.

Potato Soup is a cold day staple at our house.  Good for warming the body and the spirit.  I usually pair it with fresh from the oven hot bread with honey and butter, or served in a bread bowl with cheese sprinkled over it all. More often than not I use left over potatoes from the night before, which of course reduces prep and cook time making it a fast week day meal.

3 bacon slices

1 cup chopped onion

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Cooking spray

1/2 cup water

2 (14.5-ounce) cans fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups 1% low-fat milk

4 ounces shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese (about 1 cup), divided

1/2 cup light sour cream

4 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Add onion to drippings in pan; stir around for about 3 minutes or until tender.
2. Place potato slices and onion in a 5-quart electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Combine 1/2 cup water and next 3 ingredients (through pepper); stir into mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
3. Mash mixture with a potato masher; stir in milk and 3/4 cup cheese. Increase heat to HIGH. Cover and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Sprinkle with bacon and chives.

It can also be done in the crock pot on low for 4 hours, just up the liquid added by half a cup.