Bread Experience

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Sprouted Wheat Bread

This delicious sprouted wheat bread is made with wheat berries that you sprout a few days ahead of the day you plan to make the bread.  The sprouted wheat provides a crunchy and sweet flavor to the loaf and the dry milk powder provides enrichment and additional flavor to the bread. The result is a creamy-colored loaf with a tender crumb and golden crust. It’s wonderful! Just wonderful.  This is one of my favorite breads.

Sprouted Wheat Bread

According to Beth Hensperger, author of The Pleasure of Whole-Grain Breads,

Breads with sprouted grains have been tremendously popular with bakers for decades. The wheat berries add texture and nutrition to this light whole-wheat and honey bread. Sprouting the grains takes a few days, but is a simple process.

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 Wheat Bread

Makes: 3 loaves

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

First step: Sprout the wheat berries

Makes: 2 cups

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup raw wheat berries

Place the wheat 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 wheat berries and rinse with fresh water.

Divide between two 1-quart jars. Cover with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Place the jars on their sides in a warm, dark place. Twice a day, rinse and drain the wheat berries with tepid water poured through the cheesecloth.  After 2 to 3 days, the wheat berries will sprout.

Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 3 days.

Grind in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. (I used my blender to grind the sprouted wheat berries.) Do not over process; the berries should be chunky.

Next Step: Make the Sprouted Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 packages) active dry yeast
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Pinch of ginger
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour (I’m using freshly milled red spring wheat)
  • 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water (105° to 115°)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sprouted wheat berries, chopped
  • 4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
  • Wheat germ, for sprinkling
  • Melted butter, for brushing

Directions:

Pour the 1/2 cup 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 in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the whole wheat flour, milk powder, and salt. Add the warm water, honey, and 4 tablespoons butter. Beat for 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and beat 1 minute longer. Add all the wheat berries.

Then add the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl forms, switching to a wooden spoon when necessary if making by hand.

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, and cover with plastic wrap.

Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Grease three 8-by-4-inch loaf pans or two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans and sprinkle the bottom and sides with wheat germ. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and divide into 3 equal portions.

Pat each portion into a rectangle and roll into a loaf shape. Place, seam side down, into the prepared pans.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until level with the rim of the pans, about 1 hour.

About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the over to 350°F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crusty and golden.  Brush the tops with melted butter.

Remove from the pans to cool on a rack before slicing and serving.

Sprouted Wheat Bread

I asked my youngest son to taste this bread. He said “It tastes like oatmeal bread”. That’s a good thing. Both of my sons love oatmeal bread. It’s one of the first breads I ever made in my bread machine and it’s still one of their favorites. I think we may have a keeper.

Sprouted Wheat Bread

You might also enjoy Sprouted Wheat Bread with sprouts and no flour – Once you get the hang of it, making sprouted wheat bread with no flour produces a light loaf that doesn’t look or taste like a brick.

Sprouted Bread with No Flour

Happy Baking!
Cathy

Comments

  1. Thanks for posting this recipe in such details. Will try it out this week.
    Heartfelt gratitude for sharing your love for baking :).

    Reply

  2. Thanks FIRE Finance. Sprouted Wheat Bread is one of my favorites. In fact, I’m making a batch today. Hope you enjoy. Let me know how it turns out. BTW, it freezes really well. I usually freeze at least one of the loaves from each batch.

    Cathy
    The Bread Experience

    Reply

  3. This DOES look like a very yummy bread! I will have to try it, although I need to warn you, I’m not very good at foods that require ‘babysitting’ i.e. sourdough…I’m a neglectful baker~

    Reply

  4. Speaking of a neglectful baker, I’m the one who fell asleep while I was baking bread the other day…Lol.

    This bread is easy! The only part that requires a little bit of time is sprouting the wheat grains. You just have to rinse them with water twice a day. However, I’ve actually forgotten a time or two and they still sprouted.

    Reply

  5. 4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour

    Is there a way to make this with completely fresh milled wheat flour? I am very new at baking and grinding at home and looking for a recipe to use, The one I have been working with thus far has been a flop every time!

    Reply

  6. Hi Emikat,

    For this particular recipe, the addition of the bread flour makes the loaf lighter and tastier than if you make it completely with whole wheat flour. However, if you want to make the sprouted wheat bread completely with freshly milled flour, you can use a combination of hard red winter wheat and hard white wheat (either winter or spring). Or, you can just use the hard white wheat. Hard white wheat has the same nutritional value as hard red wheat but produces a lighter loaf. It just depends on your preference.

    If you’re looking for a recipe for a whole wheat loaf from freshly milled whole wheat flour, try this one and see how you like it https://www.breadexperience.com/recipe-for-whole-wheat-bread.html

    You might also enjoy some of these other whole grain bread recipes https://www.breadexperience.com/whole-grain-bread-recipes.html

    Happy Baking!
    Cathy

    Reply

  7. Hi Cathy,
    we found this recipe accidentally, because I’m a bit obsessed with sprouting things right now.
    I just wanted to say thanks!
    I’ve made the bread twice, and I really like it a lot.
    Bests! JJ

    Reply

  8. JJ,
    Thanks for stopping by! So glad you like the bread. It’s one of my favorites as well. I’ve been working on a completely sprouted wheat bread (with no flour), but so far, it’s just a brick. 😉

    Reply

  9. I would love to know how that all sprouted wheat bread is coming out. And have you tried just an all whole wheat? I am still mixing my gorgeous locally grown and milled red spring wheat with white bread flour, and I feel so dirty!

    Reply

  10. Hi JJ! I’m still working on the all sprouted wheat bread.

    Once I’m finished with the BBA Challenge (only 3 breads to go), I hope to have more time to focus on other experiments. Stay tuned…

    Reply

  11. Hi Emikat,
    If your bread flopped several times in a row maybe it isn’t the recipe. Bread will flop if: 1) the water you dissolved the yeast in is too hot or if the yeast is too old,2) If the flour you use isn’t high gluten (hard winter wheat) 3) if the place you let it rise isn’t warm enough (if my kitchen is too cool sometimes I warm the oven JUST A LITTLE then turn it off, put a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven and put the bread dough in the top to rise). I guess your bread probably turned out because you’ve not posted more comments! I’m going to try the sprouted wheat bread!

    Reply

  12. I love the whold grainy style breads and this Bread turned out amazing. I even messed up a few things and it still turned out great, I refrigerated the sprouted wheat berries for a week because I just didn’t have the time to make the bread, I over processed the wheat berries and I used half and half sugar and honey because I didn’t have enough honey and I rose it for 3 hours because I had to go pick up my son. I had some this morning with my coffee and YUMMMM. Thanks for the recipe I’ll be using it again

    Reply

  13. Hello, I’m so glad you enjoyed this sprouted wheat bread. This is one of my favorite breads. I love the flavor and texture. I’ve had to refrigerate the sprouted wheat berries for a while myself. The timing is a wee bit tricky if you’re not ready to bake once the berries are sprouted, but it is definitely worth the effort.

    Reply

  17. Hi Cathy
    I am falling in love with your blog, I want to try this recipe with whole wheat flour instead of bread flour, do I have to change something else?… Thank you. Claudia

    Reply

  18. Claudia, I apologize for not responding sooner. Your comment got lost in the shuffle. You can make this bread with all whole wheat, but it probably won’t be quite as light. Let me know if you try it and how you like it.

    Reply

  19. Hello,
    VERY new to bread making. “Made” my first loaves last night. What. A. Disaster. Will try this recipe. I have decided to buy, rather than sprout my own seed/legumes/grains since I am not home most of the day and washing and rinsing the sprouts during the day is not possible (tried it and the stink from the beans filled the house). Could I use already sprouted flour, especially if the texture is a bit more fine?

    Reply

  21. Hello Again!
    Thank you so much for the link. I made the bread yesterday. The loaf is actually edible! I substituted some of the water for honey since my family likes their bread a bit on the sweeter side. My loaf did not come out nicely rounded like yours, though. It was a bit flat. Could it have been because of the honey? Also, I didn’t use instant yeast, but rather, baker’s active dry yeast. It’s been in my fridge for ~2 weeks. I looked up how much to add and the info I found said 1.25 as much as instant. Finally, I don’t have a mixer or a dough whisk, so I mixed by hand. I proofed for 60 minutes each time. Could any of this have led to a flatter top? Also, is the bread supposed to be dense? Mine didn’t come out too dense, but you definitely get full with a not-too-thick slice. Overall, though, only my second time making bread and considering the disaster from the day before, I am looking forward to trying other recipes. BTW, almond butter is great with i

    Reply

  23. I’ve just started experimenting with sprouted grain bread. so far (1 loaf) I totally failed. I learned that I had over-sprouted the wheat berries. I also used a sourdough starter but don’t know if that had anything to do with my fail. I will do this recipe of yours–looks delish! I’m wondering: is it necessary to use dry milk powder? What’s its purpose in the recipe? Can I substitute something else? More flour?

    Reply

  24. Hello and thanks for visiting the Bread Experience. The purpose of the dry milk powder is to enrich the dough and the flavor of the bread. It produces a loaf with a creamy-colored, tender crumb and a golden crust.

    If you are looking for a recipe for sprouted bread without the use of milk, you might want to try the Sprouted Wheat with no flour version. http://breadmakingblog.breadexperience.com/2010/05/sprouted-wheat-bread-with-no-flour-take_22.html With that version you definitely need to make sure you don’t over-sprout the grains or the bread will be gummy.

    Happy Baking!
    Cathy

    Reply

  25. This is the first time I have ever make any kind of spouted bread and it turned out amazing. I ground all the flour as well, and added a couple of tsp of vinegar. ( I have to put vinegar in everything I make) Totally impressed. Next time Im going to try adding a few seeds and some whole wheat kernels. Thankyou so much for sharing your recipe.
    Lorry

    Reply

    • Hi Lorry, I’m glad your sprouted bread turned out so well. I love sprouted bread. It sounds like you made some good changes.

      Happy Baking!
      Cathy

      Reply

  26. I’ve made this bread twice now and the flavor is awesome. I’m new to making my own bread and think I might be doing something wrong with the rising. It rises but I feel like it should be more. Any tips for a new bread maker.
    Thanks
    Kim

    Reply

    • Hi Kim,

      Welcome to bread baking! So glad you’ve joined in the fun.

      First of all, be sure to let the dough rise in a warm place. You can use your oven (with the light turned on or place a bowl of hot water underneath the bowl). Or, extend the fermentation time (proofing) if the dough doesn’t seem to be rising enough. During the first rise (in the bowl), the dough should double in bulk. You can test this by pressing the dough with your index finger. if the indention remains, the dough is ready for the 2nd rise.

      The number of loaves you make with this recipe and the size of the loaf pan will also make a difference. I used the smaller glass loaf pans for this bread. If you use 9×5-inch pans, you might want to make two loaves instead of three.

      Happy Baking!
      Cathy

      Reply

    • Oh my! My pans are 9×5! I can’t believe I didn’t notice that. The oven with the light on is a good trick as well cause my oven seemed kinda cold so i just left on the counter.

      I can’t wait to try it again!
      Kim

      also thanks for your speedy reply 🙂

      Reply

  27. Hello, made three loaves yesterday– all with bread flour, not whole wheat and no dried milk… and they were divine! My family, friends INHALED the bread. What a fun bread to make especially after Easter, when folks have used the wheat berries to sprout to use for Easter baskets, I had left over so I sprouted them to make the bread, and then those sprouts that are an inch long went into the salad… super yummy. What a fantastic recipe thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply

    • Hi Christina! So glad you enjoyed this bread. It’s one of my favorites. I bet the sprouts were really good in a salad. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply

  29. Thank you so much for helping me look like a Rock Star to my husband,lol. I finished this recipe last night and it was fantastic. I did have a scare as while my dough was on it’s first rising. I started reading your take two on your sprouted wheat bread with No Flour. My mind didn’t grab the no flour and for about 5 min I thought I had let the wheat berries sprout and get to long and it was going to turn into a gummy bread. THANK YOU for your comment on May 19,2013 addressing the other recipe and gummy. It made so much since and boy was I relieved.

    Also, my household is just my husband & I so making 2 loafs would be too much for us since I have 9X5 bread pans. Your recipe on sprouted wheat crackers popped into my mind cause it makes my mouth water. I decided when I divided the first rise into 2 loafs to take one and make a bread loaf and put the other into the fridge inside plastic wrap and in a ziplock and deal with it another day. 15 min after getting the bread loaf in the oven I open the fridge and my oh my the dough had busted/risen out of the plastic wrap. I went to your cracker recipe and started on #5Rolling the Doh. I did divide it into 2 like you said in the end you would of done to make them thinner, the unused is in the fridge not much bigger this morning. I rolled the other 1/2 out Really thin and they sat for the remaining time the bread was cooking. I also did the spritzing with water, seeds on top and rolled them in that worked like a charm too. There was to many to fit on one cookie sheet so I did 2 batches which was Perfect because I had melted butter left over from the bread, which by the way was SOOOO delish. The first batch of crackers poofed/rose in the oven and I brushed melted butter on them after they came out. We loved them and named them poofy bites, they’ll be great with hummus. On the second batch I said what the hell and brushed the melted butter on Before they went into the oven and OMG!! They didn’t poof up at all, they came out thin, crisp, crunchy, and SOOOO delicious! They are fantastic crackers!
    I’m curious about learning how to freeze the dough, if it’s possible to not get that second rise until your ready to put it in the bread pan and cook it? I did put it right up against the freezer vent when I put it in the fridge. Also, is it even worth freezing or will freezing hurt or change the nutritional value of the sprouted wheat. But for now I’m going to make more crackers out of what’s left while I eat this absolutely delicious bread.
    Thank you so much, what a fantastic ride!

    Reply

    • Dee, thank you so much for sharing your experience with the sprouted wheat bread and crackers. A great ride indeed! I need to try that melted butter trick on the crackers. Yum!

      Reply

  30. I made this! Milling my own flour from organic hard red winter wheat, and using organic double 0 flour, yielded 3 smaller sized loaves. Unsure why.
    Regardless… This is the BEST bread I’ve made from an Internet search. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
    I’m going to freeze one loaf because my sons have eaten one leaf already. It does have an oatmeal quality, though not a brick like most wheat breads. This is soft and has a wonderful chew with occasional crunchy bits. Delightful!
    Thanks for sharing this!
    Lori

    Reply

    • Hi Lori, thanks for sharing your experience with this bread. It’s still one of my favorites. The loaves aren’t that big. I used three 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pans. I’m so glad your sons liked it. I like the occasional crunchy bits myself.

      Reply

  31. Thank you so much for the information. I have a nice supply of wheat berries as we as a 12 grain unmilled mix. I’ve made all sorts of breads with these grains but I’ve never sprouted them! I thought I needed special equipment from the health food store to do it. I can’t wait to to start experimenting!

    Reply

  32. I have larger loaf pans, and I’m wondering if this should be two loaves instead of three. Can you tell me the approximate size of each of your three loaves?

    Reply

    • Hi Lauren, I used 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans for these loaves so if you have 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, you could make two larger loaves.

      Reply

    • I make 2 loaves, because I have one larger stone-type and one metal smaller sized loaf.
      I take the smaller one out of the oven about 7-10 minutes sooner than the larger. We find the bigger, more ‘sandwich sized’, better – so I’m going to buy another larger loaf stone pan. It definetly yields a crunchier crust which we like in contrast to the soft inside.
      Soo hard to wait til it’s cooled to eat!

      Reply

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