Treat Your Wheat

WHY

Why treat grain:  because there is phytic acid in the bran portion of grain.  Phytic acid prevents nutrients from being available in our digestive systems.  By soaking or sprouting grain, the phytic acid can be significantly reduced.

HOW

How to reduce phytic acid:  by either soaking or sprouting grain.

By soaking the grain in an acidic medium (such as apple cider vinegar and water, kefir, yogurt or buttermilk), the phytic acid is greatly reduced.  A rule of thumb is to soak for at least 7 but never more than 30 hours.  (At least 7 hours is needed to reduce the phytic acid significantly, but more than 30 hours can encourage bad bacteria to grow.)  Using sourdough is advantageous, because that grain in the sourdough is soaked.

In sprouting, providing the necessary water and light will begin sprouting a new little plant from the grain seed.  That changes the chemical composition...it is now a vegetable!  Before it grows too much vegetation, the sprouts are dried, then ground into flour.

WHEN

When to use the soaking or sprouting method:  always when using whole grains, but not absolutely necessary when using white grain. 

The benefit of using whole grains is the germ and bran of the grain which contain the nutrients have not been removed.  The downfall is the bran contains phytic acid which blocks nutrients.  So, it is necessary to soak or sprout any time you use whole grains.  (One exception:  oats.  You can cook those whole oats up for breakfast without any fuss.)

White grain is great for quick breads, cookies, or whenever there isn't enough time to soak or sprout (such as sprinkling flour on the counter to knead your bread).  Keep in mind that white grain doesn't have the nutrients, though! 

NOTES

I have not tried sprouting my own wheat because it appears time consuming.  So, I use the soaking method.  If I can't finish my recipe before the dough has soaked for 30 hours, I put it in the fridge until I can get to it.  (It has to sit at room temperature for an hour before proceeding with the recipe.)  In a pinch, when you need to pick up a loaf of bread or you're eating out, there's little advantage to wheat over white if it isn't sprouted, soaked or sour dough.  White doesn't have significant nutrients and whole has the nutrient-blocking phytic acid.  For that reason alone, the importance of treating your wheat for good nutrition is obvious!

P.S. -- Always, always look for organic and/or "non-GMO!"