Sprouted Kamut Bread

Sprouted KAMUT Bread

This Sprouted KAMUT Bread is made with sprouted KAMUT berries, home-milled whole grain Khorasan flour, and regular bread flour.

Sprouted Kamut Bread

KAMUT® is the name of the brand, and not the wheat. The wheat is “Khorasan” wheat. To ensure the quality of the organic, heirloom grain, Khorasan, the wheat was trademarked KAMUT®. The word “kamut” comes from the ancient Egyptian word for “wheat.”

Khorasan is related to Durum. Both grains descended from Emmer. Khorasan is high in protein, with a sweet aroma and a chewy texture. The kernels are amber in color and almost translucent.

I got some Khorasan grains from the farmer’s market and ground them into flour.  As you can see from the photo below, KAMUT® grains (on the left) are much bigger (about 2 to 3 times) than white winter wheat berries (on the right).

Kamut Berries compared to White Winter Wheat

Flour milled from KAMUT® Brand Khorasan berries is beautiful and cream-colored.  It reminds me of semolina, but it’s not as coarse or grainy.

Whole Wheat KAMUT Flour

This is what the white winter wheat looks like when it’s ground into flour.

White Winter Wheat Flour

Additional posts and helpful information on sprouted bread

Other experiments using different grains in sprouted wheat bread

All of these breads include sprouted wheat berries along with whole wheat flour and bread flour.

Sprouted KAMUT Bread Recipe

Adapted from The Pleasure of Whole-Grain Breads by Beth Hensperger

Makes: 1 loaf

The notes in the book suggest using 7/8 cup of KAMUT® Brand Khorasan flour to 1 cup of whole wheat flour in bread.  For this particular recipe, I substituted 1/2 cup of KAMUT® flour for 1/2 cup of whole wheat and an additional 1 cup of KAMUT® flour for 1 cup of bread flour for a total of 1 1/2 cups of KAMUT® flour.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Pinch of ginger
  • 1 1/2 cups home-milled KAMUT® Brand Khorasan whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1/8 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sprouted KAMUT® berries, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups bread flour
  • Wheat germ, for sprinkling (optional)
  • Melted butter, for brushing

Directions:

Step 1: Sprout the KAMUT® Berries

Duration: 2 to 3 days

Makes: 1 cup

1/4 cup raw KAMUT® berries

Place the berries in a bowl and add tepid water to cover by 1 inch.  Let stand at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours.

Drain the berries and rinse with fresh water. Place the berries in a 1-quart jar.  Cover with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.

Place the jar on its side in a warm, dark place. Twice a day, rinse and drain the berries with tepid water poured through the cheesecloth.

After 2 to 3 days, the berries will sprout.  Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 3 days.

When I made this bread in the summer, I only had to sprout the berries for about a day, then I dried them on a towel and refrigerated them for a couple of days until I was ready to bake the bread. When you’re ready to bake the bread, grind the berries in a food processor or blender. Be careful not to overprocess the berries; they should be chunky.

Step 2: Make the Sprouted Bread

Pour 1/2 cup of warm water into a small bowl.  Sprinkle the yeast, sugar, and ginger over the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl using a whisk or the bowl of your mixer, combine the KAMUT® flour, milk powder, and salt.

Add the warm water, honey, and 4 tablespoons of butter. Mix or beat for 1 minute.

Add the yeast mixture and beat for another 1 minute. Add all the KAMUT® berries and the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed until a soft dough forms. It should just clear the sides of the bowl. Switch to a wooden spoon when necessary, if making by hand.  I mixed the dough by hand using a Danish dough whisk.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and spongy, 1 to 2 minutes for a machine-mixed dough and 3 to 4 minutes for a hand-mixed dough, dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time, just enough as needed to prevent sticking.

Place in a lightly greased deep container, turn once to coat the top with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan and sprinkle the bottom and sides with wheat germ.  Turn the dough out onto the work surface and shape it into a loaf.

Flatten each piece on the counter and pat each portion into a rectangle. Then roll into a loaf shape.  Press the seam closed with your fingers, and place seam side down into the prepared pan.

Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise until it level with the rims of the pans, about 1 hour.

Sprouted Kamut Bread proofing in pan

About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and position a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crusty and golden. Remove the loaf from the pan to cool on a rack and brush the top with melted butter. Let the loaf cool, then slice and enjoy.

Sliced Sprouted KAMUT Bread

I like this bread. It is a little bit chewy and tastes great toasted with butter and/or spread with jam.  However, I couldn’t quite distinguish the KAMUT® flavor.  It just tasted like wheat to me (which is not a bad thing because I happen to like wheat).

This bread has been YeastSpotted.

Please visit Wild Yeast to view all of the lovely breads in the roundup.

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Comments

7 responses to “Sprouted KAMUT Bread”

  1. Kamut is a grain I have been wanting to try. Now with this bread recipe I will have to locate some so I can try it.

    thanks for this one. Looks AMAZING!!

  2. Looks great. I love semolina so I bet I would love kamut even more.
    I should get Beth’s book. I love the other one I have of hers. 🙂
    Thanks for the recipe,
    Susie

  3. That looks great! I’ve been meaning to try kamut, I’ve had some in my cupboard for a while now. Thank you for the recipe and the step by step pictures!

  4. Hi, and thanks for this recipe and guidance, but I have a question: is it really necessary to grind the sprouted berries before incorporating them in the dough? (I have seen some other recipes that do not call for grinding them before using and am wondering what the effect would be of leaving the sprouted berries whole.) I am trying to replicate a delicious bread I had in England called “granary bread” that had lots of yummy “bits” in it. thanks.

    1. There are several ways to use sprouted wheat berries in bread. For this particular loaf, you chop or process the wheat berries slightly just so they aren’t so crunchy. You don’t grind them completely. However, you can certainly leave the sprouted wheat berries whole, if preferred.

      If you are looking for a granary-style loaf, my baking group made one several years ago. My version is made with sprouted wheat flour and rye flakes. https://www.breadexperience.com/granary-style-ish-loaf-with-sprouted/

  5. How can the recipe be adjusted if I don’t want to use dry milk powder or other forms of animal derived milk. Can plant based milk such as soy, almond or oat be used? The liquid in the recipe then would be adjusted as well I would assume. Otherwise I would love to make this bread. Thank you.

    1. You can use a plant‑based milk powder, such as:
      Coconut milk powder
      Soy milk powder
      Oat or rice milk powder
      Or
      Omit the dry milk powder completely, and replace all of the water with plain, unsweetened non‑dairy milk (soy, oat, almond, etc.), same volume or weight.

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