Why Soak and Sprout Grains
ENTER TO WIN! Learn to cook healthier meals for your family! Click here to enter to win Real Food for Rookies, a new online class -- retail value $120, plus over $60 worth of discount coupons. Don't miss out! contest ends this SATURDAY Sept 4th at midnight Pacific.
Humans have been sprouting, soaking and fermenting grains for thousands of years. Every culture around the world that subsisted on grains has used some sort of soak or fermentation.
Doesn’t that blow your mind? Every culture. And we wonder why we have so much gluten intolerance today.
Corn, a staple food in North American and Mesoamerican cultures since pre-Columbian times, has traditionally been soaked in a solution of water and cal, or pickling lime, prior to cooking and eating. Called nixtamalization, the earliest evidence of soaking corn is found in Guatemala’s southern coast, with equipment dating from 1200–1500 BC.
Maize subjected to the nixtamalization process has several benefits over unprocessed grain for food preparation: it is more easily ground; its nutritional value is increased; flavor and aroma are improved; and mycotoxins are reduced. (Source: Wikipedia)
Today people have stopped soaking corn, or are soaking it for a much shorter period of time. My former nanny told me that when she grew up in a small village in Guatemala, they always soaked the corn in lime water for 1-2 weeks. Nowadays, she she says they don’t soak it at all — they just cook it with the lime.
Unsoaked Corn and Pellagra
In the early 1900s, for example, in the American South, people were using corn more frequently in their cooking for corn breads, corn grits, and the like. However, they were not soaking it. And we saw an epidemic of Pellagra — 100,000 afflicted in 1916.
The traditional food preparation method of corn, nixtamalization, by native New World cultivators who had domesticated corn required treatment of the grain with lime, an alkali. It has now been shown that the lime treatment makes niacin nutritionally available and reduces the chance of developing pellagra. When corn cultivation was adopted worldwide, this preparation method was not accepted because the benefit was not understood. The original cultivators, often heavily dependent on corn, did not suffer from pellagra. Pellagra became common only when corn became a staple that was eaten without the traditional treatment. (Source: Wikipedia)
Other Grains and Traditional Soaking & Sprouting Methods
It isn’t just corn that is traditionally soaked. Injera, a pancake-like bread from Africa (specifically Ethiopia and Somalia), is made by mixing teff flour with water and letting it ferment for several days (Source: Wikipedia).
Similarly, sourdough starter, a mix of fermented flour and water, was used in all bread baking prior to the 20th century. Modern commercial yeast, commonly used in America today, did not exist.
The sour taste of sourdoughs actually comes not from the yeast, but from a lactobacillus, with which the yeast lives in symbiosis. The lactobacillus feeds on the byproducts of the yeast fermentation, and in turn makes the culture go sour by excreting lactic acid, which protects it from spoiling (since most microbes are unable to survive in an acid environment). All yeast-leavened breads used to be sourdoughs, and the leavening process was not understood until the 19th century, when with the advance of microscopes, scientists were able to discover the microbes that make the dough rise. (Source: Wikipedia)
My Experience
I grew up eating sandwiches on white bread and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. I remember tasting sprouted bread for the first time twenty years ago, when I was in college in San Francisco. On an avocado and cheese sandwich with alfalfa sprouts. I thought it tasted pretty good — and I knew it was healthier, but I didn’t know why.
I’ve bought sprouted bread since that time, as well as German dark rye breads and traditional sourdoughs. I guess I was just always looking for more flavor. I didn’t know these breads were actually healthier.
Reading Sally Fallon-Morell’s book, Nourishing Traditions, really opened my eyes. Since I devoured that book two years ago, I’ve been going back to the traditional ways and soaking my oatmeal, eating sprouted bread or naturally fermented sourdough bread, and baking with sprouted flour.
Why Soak and Sprout Grains
There are many nutritional benefits to eating soaked, sprouted or fermented grains.
According to Wikipedia:
Sprouting grains causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvements in the contents of total proteins, fat, certain essential amino acids, total sugars, B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, starch and anti-nutrients. The increased contents of protein, fat, fibre and total ash are only apparent and attributable to the disappearance of starch. However, improvements in amino acid composition, B-group vitamins, sugars, protein and starch digestibilities, and decrease in phytates and protease inhibitors are the metabolic effects of the sprouting process.
Soaking and Sprouting Increases Absorption of Minerals
We Americans eat a lot of bread, crackers, tortillas, and oatmeal. All of these things contain phytic acid (and other anti-nutrients). Unless phytic acid is broken down, it actually blocks absorption of important minerals like calcium and zinc.
We all know the nutritional benefits of choosing whole wheat flour over refined white flour. But if we eat whole grains, we’re eating the bran, or the outer part of the grain. That’s where the anti-nutrients like phytic acid are contained. Unless we soak or sprout our whole wheat, and soak our oatmeal and peanuts, we are blocking mineral uptake. Kind of defeats the purpose of trying to eat healthy!
Phytic acid occurs primarily in the seed coats and germ of plant seeds. It forms insoluble or nearly insoluble compounds with minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc, such that they cannot be effectively absorbed into the blood. Diets high in phytic acid and poor in these minerals produce mineral deficiency symptoms in experimental animals (Gontzea and Sutzescu, 1958, as cited in Chavan and Kadam, 1989). Source
Soaking and Sprouting Activates Enzymes
According to the naturopath and herbalist Isabell Shipard (Shipard, 2005), “Sprouts are a tremendous source of (plant) digestive enzymes. Enzymes act as biological catalysts needed for the complete digestion of protein, carbohydrates & fats. The physiology of vitamins, minerals and trace elements is also dependent on enzyme activity.” Source
Grains and legume seeds of all plants contain abundant enzymes. However, while grains and seeds are dry, enzymes are largely inactive, due to enzyme inhibitors, until given moisture to activate germination. It is these inhibitors that enable many seeds to last for years in soil without deteriorating, whilst waiting for moisture. Enzyme inhibitors in some grains and legume seeds (for example trypsin inhibitors in raw soybeans and certain other beans and peas) need to be inactivated by heating or other processes, before they can be safely fed. However, heating, cooking and grinding processes can also inactivate certain digestive enzymes within grains and seeds. Fortunately, during germination and sprouting of grains and seeds, many enzyme inhibitors are effectively neutralized, whilst at the same time the activity of beneficial plant digestive enzymes is greatly enhanced. Source
How to Properly Prepare Grains
There are two ways to reduce phytic acid and increase enzymes. One is to soak or sprout whole grains before using them in recipes. The other way is to soak ground flour in sourdough starter, yogurt, or kefir.
White flour doesn’t have a lot of anti-nutrients, because the anti-nutrients are found in the bran, which has been removed. However, white flour doesn’t have any nutrients either. It’s an empty food that has no real nutritional value.
So, ideally, you want to eat soaked or sprouted whole wheat flour. Try to minimize intake of white flour, but if you do eat it, it’s best to ferment it with sourdough starter, which makes it more digestible.
One trick I employ is to use brown rice pasta instead of regular wheat flour pasta. Brown rice is much more nutritious than refined flour, and rice is not as high in phytic acid so it is not essential that it is soaked.
Resources
See my resources page for sources for sprouted flour and grain mills to grind your own whole grains, and a wide selection of sourdough starters. For information on how to soak grains, pick up a copy of Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions: you can find it on my resources page.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday.
Photo credits: Wikipedia
NEVER MISS A POST! Sign Up for FREE Email Updates:
You can also Subscribe in a Reader
18/11/2009 at 2:02 am Permalink
Thanks for another wonderful clarifying article Ann Marie
We have found the transition to soaking grains relatively easy,if not thought-intensive-I am really glad for the simplicity of coconut flour,just the same!
My family are really enjoying food so much more now that I use lashings of butter,cream and chicken stock in everything!
I have found pasta a hard one-we don’t want the phytates in wholemeal ,yet white pasta is so devoid of value.Here in Australia I haven’t come across much brown rice pasta at all, and the white rice pasta is so flabby and disgusting.So I end up buying organic white pasta yet feel it is such a nutritional shortcoming,even though pasta is such a good way to get children to eat vegies and good fats and meat.
By the way,I don’t think I have had such a serious case of food envy as I had looking at all the food from the wapf conference.It’s given me some new ideas-I’m glad you had such an enlightening time there, and am looking forward to what you have to share.
18/11/2009 at 2:43 am Permalink
wow… VERY well researched and linked! thanks for the ’411′. a new fan, Ken
18/11/2009 at 4:58 am Permalink
Thanks Ann Marie. I bought some Sprouted Flour this weekend at the Conference to bake with. We have been eating store bought Sprouted Breads for awhile and there is NO comparison on taste with White Bread. My son who is a ASD child tolerates Sprouted and Soaked and a lot of my IBS problems went away as well. I just sent him to school with some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins I made. First time baking with it, next time I will either use more liquid or less flour, they came out very yummy, but a little drier than traditional muffins.
I can’t wait to try different recipes, my husband is the “cook” and I am the “baker” here!
18/11/2009 at 4:59 am Permalink
I mean to say Sprouted Breads are MUCH better tasting than White Bread! I did not mean that to be confusing!
18/11/2009 at 5:10 am Permalink
This is great news for all those French Toast lovers out there! I just sent it out to all my friends on Facebook.
Melissa @CelluliteInvestigation´s last blog ..Cellulite, Estrogen, and Female Incontinence: Everything I Know About Hormonal Balance I Learned From My Dog
18/11/2009 at 5:28 am Permalink
Thanks for posting this, Ann Marie!! My family was just asking the very question that you have in your subject line. Now, I can forward your info to them!
Great meeting you at WAPF! : )
JenE
18/11/2009 at 6:47 am Permalink
I’ve been eating soaked oatmeal for breakfast for some months, first soaking in lemon juice and now whey since I have it. With the coconut oil, raw milk, raw honey, and cinnamon, one serving fills me up SO well. Perfect early morning breakfast. (especially since I don’t like to eat meat in the morning. it’s just too much for my belly.)
Sharing this.
18/11/2009 at 6:58 am Permalink
I am new to the entire soaking/sprouting process and it fascinates me. I am gluten-free not because I have celiac disease but because eating gluten causes me to obsess about food and the next thing I know I’m binge eating and have gained 30 pounds. I have had Ezekiel bread once or twice since going gluten-free and I know it has gluten but it never caused the obsession or binge eating. That said, I don’t eat it today. It’s one of those things I’m not willing to mess with.
I do see the reasonableness in your point about gluten-intolerance being on the rise(and I’d also include food allergies). I often wonder if we’ve polluted our bodies to the point where it starts rejecting foods. I don’t have an answer for any of it and am just in the process of exploring answers for myself.
18/11/2009 at 7:11 am Permalink
Great article – I’ll be sending folks to this article – you’ve done really an amazing job of making the information clear and easy to understand. Thanks!
Deb´s last blog ..Bill Mayer Speaks Out On Vaccines
18/11/2009 at 9:26 am Permalink
For years I had a bowl of oatmeal every morning and couldn’t understand why I suffered from constipation with all that fiber in my diet. Then I read in Sandor Ellix Katz’s Wild Fermentations how traditional porridge was made from oatmeal that had been soaked for 12 hours or so. What a difference it has made! Now if I forget to soak my oatmeal the night before I will find something else — maybe a hard-boiled egg — to eat in the morning.
Anne Marie – I agree with you; it is amazing how we have lost knowledge within our families of the importance of soaking grains, despite the fact that all peoples everywhere have been doing this for millennia! The Wikipedia article on porridge, for example, makes no mention whatsoever about soaking before cooking.
18/11/2009 at 9:32 am Permalink
Hi Ann Marie,
I love your blog! I just wanted to make a correction on your definition of
nixtamalization it is an alkaline solution that corn is soaked in not acidic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization
18/11/2009 at 9:37 am Permalink
A short follow-up: If anyone is interested in soaking oatmeal as I do, make sure you heat the water to about 110 deg F. It also helps now that we’re into cold weather to put it in some sort of insulated container. My own system to to put the oatmeal mixture into a glass with a plastic lid ( http://www.fishseddy.com/browse.cfm/4,309.html ) and then lower the whole thing into a thermal mug (my son got one with his drink at 7-11 — yes, I know, don’t start with me).
18/11/2009 at 10:12 am Permalink
Great article! It was so good meeting you at Wise Traditions last week.
Angela
18/11/2009 at 11:00 am Permalink
Amy -
I think the human body is very strong and can rebuild from just about anything. Sally Fallon Morell says that she and her brothers and sisters grew up with crooked teeth and wearing glasses, but she was able to reverse that in her own kids — in just one generation.
18/11/2009 at 11:02 am Permalink
Paul –
One of the great things about Wikipedia is it is open for anyone to edit. Maybe you could register on that site and edit that page. Why not?
18/11/2009 at 11:07 am Permalink
Paul – How do you measure the temperature of the water? Do you use a thermometer?
I got a neat thing at the pet food store. It’s a reptile mat. You can set your ferments on it and they will stay at just the right temperature.
Another thing I love is my Excalibur dehydrator. Not only do I use it for drying (soaked nuts, seeds, oatmeal for cookies, etc.) but I also use it for keeping ferments at the right temp (you just take all the trays out and sit stuff inside.
See my resources page for where to buy dehydrators http://www.cheeseslave.com/resources/#kitchen
18/11/2009 at 11:08 am Permalink
Karin – Thank you, I fixed that. What would I do without my readers/editors? You guys always help me catch errors — thank you!!!!
18/11/2009 at 11:42 am Permalink
Thanks for such well-written and excellent information. How long do grains and flours need to be soaked before cooking or consuming?
18/11/2009 at 12:05 pm Permalink
Leigh – Good question and one I should have addressed above. I will update the post. Please get a copy of Sally Fallon’s book, “Nourishing Traditions” — she covers most grains/nuts/seeds in that book and tells you how to soak/sprout and ferment them all.
18/11/2009 at 12:52 pm Permalink
Wow, very thorough post on soaking grains. I think it’s easy to be intimidated by soaking grains, and it’s great to start slow so it’s not overwhelming. I always recommend soaked oatmeal (porridge), because it’s very simple to soak the oats in water and then cook them like usual in the morning.
I posted just the other day about a very easy soaked-grain quick bread I made recently. I’ve had the hardest time finding a bread recipe I can get along with (soaked or not) and this one finally hit the spot. Still, I avoid grains most of the time so it’s really just a treat. But it sure tastes good with grass-fed butter on top.
Elizabeth from The Nourished Life´s last blog ..My Version of Homemade Bread
18/11/2009 at 1:02 pm Permalink
I use a Taylor Instant-Read Pocket thermometer ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004XSC4/ref=ox_ya_oh_product ) that costs $6.50 or so. Note that the dial is smaller than it looks in the picture, so you could have trouble reading it if you’re far-sighted.
I didn’t edit the Wikipedia “porridge” article per se, but back in July I did pose a question on the Discussion page to the “porridge community,” if you will, asking whether anyone else could confirm Katz’s statement that historically porridge has been a fermented product. So far no one has come forth with an answer.
18/11/2009 at 2:20 pm Permalink
Thank you Ann Marie. I recently bought a copy of Nourishing Traditions and am still working my way through it. I will definitely put that chapter to good use.
18/11/2009 at 2:33 pm Permalink
I used to soak my oatmeal overnight in water and yogurt (as in Nourishing Traditions), but eventually my husband rebelled — he doesn’t like the slightly sour flavor. So I’ve taken to soaking it in water only — I figure that’s better than nothing, but how good is it? And is there anything else I could do to make it more nutritious without adding a sour taste?
18/11/2009 at 3:11 pm Permalink
Erica, in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics I was reading the blog of an American woman who was in training to compete in one of the distance events, and she mentioned that a lot of the top African runners considered teff to be their secret nutritional weapon. (Teff is a tiny grain that is actually a member of the millet family.) So now I throw in a heaping tablespoon of teff to my oatmeal. If nothing else it does seem to make for a thicker porridge. After my oatmeal/teff mixture has cooked I also add flaxseed meal, brown rice bran, maca powder, and raw cocoa powder and let that sit for a while. Then just before I eat it, I put in some Trader Joe’s French Village Cream Line (?) plain yogurt. Needless to say, it takes a while to get used to the flavor of a concoction like that, and a little bit of sourness is hardly noticed! But really, adding a little teff is a painless way to boost the nutrition of oatmeal. Teff comes in two varieties that I know of; the most commonly found one is brownish colored and is rich in iron. I use the so-called “ivory” teff ( http://www.goldminenaturalfoods.com/IVORY-TEFF-HEIRLOOM-QUALITY-1-LB/productinfo/0132-7001/ ) which is lower in iron because I have read that men should not supplement with iron (though I don’t know how much credence to put in that).
18/11/2009 at 8:56 pm Permalink
Ann Marie,
That’s a great idea about using the dehydrator to ferment during the colder months! I’m so gonna do that. I’ve been using my microwave to clabber my milk and sprout seeds. I put hot water bottles and leave the light on so it stays warm but by morning, it’s pretty darn cold in the wave.
18/11/2009 at 11:39 pm Permalink
Erika A. ~ Hopefully no one will tell me this is a no-no, but I can’t think why it would be… Try soaking with Kombucha – this does NOT leave a sour taste, period.
AnnMarie ~ Great article-great research-great overview-great quotes! I was struck by the fact that this information is on Wikipedia! Why don’t more people know and do this? I have to be honest and fault myself, too, though. I knew about this for several years and only this year began following the Nourishing Traditions style diet. And to our benefit – my daughter whose been gluten intolerant is no longer – well, as long as grains are soaked, sprouted or fermented.
Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS´s last blog ..Chai Tea Gift Mixes
20/11/2009 at 8:50 am Permalink
Hi Cheese Slave,
I just found your blog after going to a nutritionist and changing my eating for my family over the past two and a half months.
Very interesting about corn meal. I am now looking for a good recipe for cornmeal and found this one that soaks the cornmeal with buttermilk, which I thought was interesting, but would love your thoughts on it.
http://chezannies.blogspot.com/2009/05/recipe-for-corn-bread-with-bacon.html
Thanks and I love your blog! It’s a great inspiration for me!
20/11/2009 at 8:54 am Permalink
Hmm.. I just read a bit on Wikipedia about it. So, if you wanted to use corn meal, would you suggest using masa harina?
20/11/2009 at 9:50 am Permalink
Erika,
I just add about a tablespoon of whey to each cup of water I soak our oat groats in. No one notices any sour taste.
13/12/2009 at 8:50 pm Permalink
I wouldn’t use Wikipedia as a source because it is not credible.