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The
Benefits of Sprouted Flour:
the sprouting has the added benefit for Rice, Millet
and Quinoa to be Gluten
Free. Although not exempt, in other
grains sprouting lowers and transforms gluten , making
them much less nocive for allergic people...
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A
NOTE ABOUT GLUTEN : Gluten is an amorphous
ergastic protein found combined with starch in the endosperm
of some cereals, notably wheat, rye, and barley. It
constitutes about 80% of the proteins contained in wheat
and is composed of the proteins gliadin and glutenin.
Gluten is responsible for the elasticity of kneaded
dough which allows it to be leavened, as well as the
"chewiness" of baked products like bagels.
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Extraction
: Gluten can be extracted from the flour of wheat and
other grains by washing the starch out. To do this,
a simple dough of flour and water is rinsed with plain
water and kneaded until the rinsing water remains clear
and free from starch and bran. For chemical, non-food
purposes, a saline solution provides better results.
The remaining lump of gluten should have a stringy,
sticky texture reminiscent of chewing gum. See Our pages
here
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More
infos also here
and here
with Essential eating
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SPROUTED
FLOURS BENEFITS
•Easier
to Digest - Sprouting breaks down the starches in grains
into simple sugars so your body can digest them like a
vegetable (like a tomato, not a potato).
•Increased Vitamin C - Sprouting produces vitamin
C.
•Increased Vitamin B - Sprouting increases the vitamin
B content (B2, B5, and B6).
•Increased Carotene - Sprouting increases the carotene
up to eight times.
•Increased Enzymes are actually produced during
sprouting.
•Reduction of Anti-nutrients
Sprouting
neutralizes enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid, which is
a substance present in the bran of all grains that inhibits
absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.
• Potent carcinogens and enzyme
inhibitors are neuturalized
• 100% whole grain is higher in dietary fiber
• Enhanced flavor component
• Sprouting significantly extends the shelf life of
flour |
Until
the 20th century, grain was left to sprout organically
before it was milled into flour. The invention of the
combine harvester during the Industrial Revolution changed
everything. Grain could be harvested in the field and
then moved to storage bins. The ancient practice of sprouting
was cast aside for modern processing. Unfortunately, nutrition
was also cast aside. When whole grains are not allowed
to ferment or sprout, they don’t contain the nutrients
that sprouted whole grains do. And they retain the naturally
occurring antinutrients, even when milled into flour.
Breadlink
has returned to the traditional practice of sprouting grains
in order to render them more nutritious and digestible.
However, we don’t leave our grains out in the field
to sprout. We nurture the grains in our facility, allow
them to sprout, then dry them at a very low temperature,
to maintain precious vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. |
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Please
find below an extract from the work of Janie
Quinn from Essential Eating
Sprouted Baking, by Azure Moon Publishing 2008 and www.EssentialEating.com
The
Beauty of Sprouted Flour
Sprouting a grain actually changes its composition from a starch
to a vegetable. How cool is that?
When
whole grains are sprouted, they are converted into a living food
so that more vital nutrients are able to be absorbed by the body.
The sprouting process is quite simple, yet the outcome is very exciting.
As the grain sprouts, it turns into a plant, and the body recognizes
it as a vegetable. Vegetables are the easiest-to-digest foods because
they are broken down by vegetable enzymes, not pancreatic enzymes
which are less abundant in most people’s digestive systems.
The sprouting conversion happens when the sprout pierces the shell
of the grain. Once this process is complete, the body can digest
the sprouted grains as a vegetable. Picture a grass seed that has
begun to sprout into grass coming alive as a vegetable. The sprouted
grass seed is then dried and milled into flour.
Effects
of Germination on Cereal :
Recent studies show that refined white flour is devoid of many nutrients
and fiber necessary for a healthy diet. Today, emerging science
is illustrating the benefits of whole grains in combating heart
disease, cancer and diabetes. Quite possibly, sprouted whole grains
may play a part in prevention of these serious dis-eases. Imagine
eating your favorite baked goods such as pancakes, cookies or breads
made with flour that digests as a vegetable!
Our
Milling Process
It has taken years of research to develop a food safe, superior
milling process that produces the finest sprouted flour available.
The Falling Number Test is used to
assure the grains have sprouted and have not drown. Only Grade A
grains are used. They are cleaned, sprouted, organically rinsed
and gently dried to stop the enzymatic action at the grains nutritional
peak before they are milled and sifted. Being organic, our sprouted
whole grain flour it is not genetically engineered or irradiated.
For thousands of years milling was based on stone-grinding grain
into flour. As modern technology replaced stone ground mills, the
term “stone ground”, as related to flour, is sometimes
used as a marketing tool. The term stone ground is not regulated
and therefore is used without scrutiny. Similar to the terms natural,
homemade and healthy, stone ground has no legal requirements and
is considered puffery on many food labels.
Our
sprouted flours are purposely not stone ground but hammer ground.
Consider that in the ancient technique of grinding flour with stones,
called stone grinding, the surface of the stones get ground down
in the milling process, and this ground stone goes directly into
the flour. During the stone ground milling process the miller must
pay close attention that the stones do not become overheated, scorching
the flour. Stone ground flour is not the most efficient, unprocessed,
low-temperature or food safe way to mill flour. Breadlink sprouted
flour benefit from the term of RAW FOOD because
at any time of their making the temperature does not go over 22
°C
In conventional milling, heat and shearing can tear apart the grain
and destroy the essence of the kernel, called starch damage. Our
milling process is more gentle and keeps the integrity of the grain
intact. The certified organic Breadlink Sprouted Flours are milled
using a modern, lower temperature milling system in order to produce
a superior quality, less processed, safe, nutritious flour.
Carbohydrates
and Starches
Starches, such as unsprouted grains, are foods that need pancreatic
enzymes to properly digest. The confusion comes because carbohydrates
are found in fruits, vegetables and starches. A vegetable can be
a starchy vegetable, such as a potato, but it still digests as a
vegetable in the body and does not use pancreatic enzymes to digest.
The Breadlink Digestible Diet is a starch-free diet as it suggests
eating grains (starches) that have been sprouted into vegetables.
According to the way they digest, unsprouted grains are considered
starches, and sprouted grains are considered a plant or a vegetable
and therefore digest as vegetables do in the body.
Carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables and sprouted grains are
better for you and easier to digest than carbohydrates found in
starches such as wheat and other grains. Starches or whole grains
are virtually impossible for the human body to breakdown and digest
properly. The main reason they are hard to digest is that in their
dried state they contain enzyme inhibitors that prevent ease of
digestion in the body Consider that the destiny of a grain is to
reproduce or to sprout, something it cannot do in the digestive
tract. Those with starch intolerances can usually digest sprouted
grains as they have converted from a starch into a vegetable or
simple sugar.
Sprouted
Flour and Gluten
Gluten is the protein of grain. All grains have a percentage of
gluten because all grains have protein. When grains are sprouted
the gluten index drops and may be easier for the body to digest
as they are converted into a plant, and are no longer a starch.
Although many people have been diagnosed with gluten sensitivities,
gluten intolerances or celiac dis-ease, many diagnosed with gluten
problems are more likely to be sensitive or intolerant to starch.
In general, they both exhibit the same symptoms of disease. Most
people find gluten easy to digest, but when a body cannot properly
digest gluten, serious health issues can result. For those who are
truly gluten intolerant, any amounts of foods containing gluten,
including sprouted flour may still create a problem. Many
peoples had been diagnosed with starch sensitivities. After embracing
the Breadlink path and spending some time cleansing their system
from a starch-based diet, they were able to digest, without difficulty,
sprouted flour products. Why? Sprouted flours digest as vegetables,
using vegetable enzymes, not pancreatic enzymes which are less abundant
in most bodies.
Because of the escalation of wheat-intolerant and gluten sensitive
people in our culture, more and more wheat-free and gluten-free
products are being marketed. In particular, products containing
spelt are becoming popular. Spelt is a member of the same grain
family as oats and wheat, but is a markedly different species. The
popularity of spelt at the beginning of the century was replaced
by modern wheat which was more suitable to high volume food production.
Many
individuals with wheat and gluten sensitivities are able to consume
sprouted spelt flour.
The
protein in spelt contains a unique grouping of amino acids and less
gluten than all other wheat varieties. Spelt, nutty and mild in
flavor, has a tough outer hull that allows it to grow into a more
delicate water-soluble kernel. This added benefit allows the nutrients
to be more easily absorbed by the body during digestion. As with
other grains, for the spelt grain to be more easily digested, it
needs to be sprouted. Important >> Read below please >>
Enzymatic
Action of Sprouted Grain:
Turning Complex Carbohydrates into Simple Sugars
A kernel of grain given the right conditions of moisture content
and proper sprouting temperature gets ready to germinate. The germ
cell of the grain which contains fat and protein creates enzymes
and secretes them into the carbohydrate cell of the grain so the
germ can eat the complex carbohydrates as a simple sugar. This enzymatic
action turns the grain or complex carbohydrate into a more digestible
edible food?a simple sugar. Now that the grain is a simple sugar
it is considered a vegetable as simple sugars are vegetables. The
simple sugars created in this process produce the energy that enables
the sprout to grow.
Our
sprouting process induces sprouting and then stops the enzymatic
action when the complex carbohydrates have turned into simple sugars
preserving the sprouted whole grain berry and keeping its baking
integrity intact. The sprouted berry is then dried, milled and sifted
into sprouted whole grain flour.
A
simple sugar is not table sugar which is a complex carbohydrate.
The body recognizes and metabolizes simple sugars, like vegetables,
easily and does not need pancreatic enzymes to digest them. On the
other hand, when the body eats complex carbohydrates, even whole
grains unsprouted, the pancreas must produce a fluid called pancreatin
that contains many enzymes to break them down into simple sugars
for the body to digest.These enzymes include amylase to digest carbohydrates,
lipase to digest fats, and protease to digest protein. Most bodies
do not have an abundance of these pancreatic enzymes and the pancreas
may become exhausted and unable to properly digest and metabolize
carbohydrates, fats and proteins which can cause many digestive
disorders and related dis-eases. How amazing it is that the sprouting
process uses a similar process to turn a grain into simple sugars,
just like the human body does. That is why the enzymatic action
of sprouted flour is so important in making it more easily digested
than unsprouted flour.
Although
the enzymes created to grow the sprout are cooked off during baking,
the non-heat sensitive vitamins, minerals, protein (amino acids)
and pre and probiotics are still intact and available for the body
to absorb.
Baking
With Sprouted Flours
Sprouted flour is suitable for all your baking needs and can be
substituted one for one for all-purpose white flour in most recipes.
We offer wheat and spelt sprouted flours. Wheat is higher in gluten
therefore preferred for bread or yeast baking over spelt. Spelt
may be used in yeast baking, but it might not have as high a rise.
When using spelt to make yeast bread, shorten the kneading or mixing
time to no longer than 15 minutes. As gluten adds structure to bread
and as spelt is low in gluten, normal kneading times may weaken
the dough when using sprouted spelt flour. This may result in the
bread not rising or collapsing as it rises. Spelt also has less
bran than wheat. Bran and gluten absorb the most liquid of all the
parts of the grain. So when using sprouted spelt flour, add slightly
less liquid in your recipe.
Baking with Breadlink Sprouted Flours
Breadlink Sprouted Flours perform well in both household and industrial
food applications. You can use Breadlink Sprouted Flours the same
as you would other flours in your recipes including baked goods,
pasta and pizza crusts!
Sprouted
Flour versus Sprouted Grain
Bread products that are called flourless or manna are made from
a mash. Mash is made from wet sprouts that are made directly into
dough and are not dehydrated or sifted – called wet-milling.
Sprouted products made from a mash are coarser in texture and can
have a distinctive fermented taste. Because of the fact that these
wet-milled sprouted products are milled with sprouts that skip the
drying and sifting process of dry milling, there is a potential
for “foreign” matter to remain in the mash. Breadlink
Sprouted Products are not made from a mash, they are rinsed, dried,
sifted and milled into flour.
When soaking grains there is a tendency to over soak them which
produces what appears to be a sprout, but is actually the endosperm
swelling through the bran coat from drowning the grain – not
a sprout. Our sprouting process assures the grain is sprouted, not
drowned.
Ancient cultures soaked grains prior to consumption. Science tells
us that soaking grain neutralizes the phytic acid on the bran coat
that acts as an enzyme inhibitor in the human body. Although soaking
is beneficial to the digestion of grains it does not provide the
benefits of consuming sprouted grain that has actually converted
from a starch into a plant. Properly sprouted grains combine the
digestibility of vegetables: Truly, they are the best of both worlds.
Over
the years, bits and pieces have been published about sprouted, germinated,
malted and fermented grains, mostly as a result of studies conducted
by the agriculture research community for cereal grains. Most of
these reports are regarding “malted” feed for animals.
The length of time these studies soak, germinate, sprout or ferment
grain varies greatly. There is no consensus about the length of
time this process takes and it varies greatly from hours to days.
The reported results state various conclusions, but most are not
about a product that would actually be turned into a food product
that would be consumed by humans.
None
of these studies use the internationally standardized method, the
Falling Number Test, to measure the alpha-amylase enzyme activity
in flour to detect if a grain has actually sprouted and not drowned.
The Falling Number Test cannot be conducted on a sprouted grain
berry; the grains must be in the form of flour.
The
words “sprouted”, “malted” and “germinated”
are not regulated on food packaging. Food manufacturers are using
these words without a clear definition or without specifically stating
what they are actually doing to alter the grain and what chemicals
are used in the process, if any.
Breadlink
has developed a measured and controlled process to clean, sprout,
dry, sift and mill whole grains to consistently produce sprouted
flour with the highest percentage of sprout action in the industry
while maintaining great baking characteristics. Each batch uses
the Falling Number Test and adheres to the sprouted whole grain
flour definition developed to inspire an industry standard. The
Falling Number of sprouted flour is only relevant when compared
to the Falling Number of the whole grain prior to sprouting.
Currently,
no other food producer adheres to any definition of sprouted flour
nor do any companies test for this level of safety, quality and
sprout action in a sprouted food product. We would welcome more
producers of sprouted flour on the condition they meet the same
high level of standards and procedures used to produce the Breadlink
Sprouted Flours.
Fiber
in Sprouted Whole Grain Flour
Today, conventional wisdom recommends eating whole grain flour because
it contains more fiber than refined white flour, but it can not
be compared to the nutrient content and digestive benefits of sprouted
whole grain flour. Our sprouted flour is milled using the whole
grain so it contains the same amount of fiber as unsprouted whole
grain flour but without the bitter taste.
Shelf-life, Freshness and Storage
The phrase "freshly milled" flour is rooted in the fact
that unsprouted grain flour begins to go rancid when milled. It
is recommended that unsprouted grains be freshly milled and unsprouted
flour be refrigerated until consumed. The germ cell of the grain
on unsprouted flour is the part that becomes rancid.
During the sprouting process, the germ cell is consumed by the endosperm
and is no longer in a state that can become rancid. When grain is
sprouted, dried and milled under measured conditions, it becomes
a stable food ingredient, allowing it to maintain its freshness
and shelf life much longer than unsprouted flour.
Keep Breadlink sprouted flours in a dry condition and they will
stay fresh for at least 18 months if not longer. Do not store flour
near foods and products with strong odors. Freezing may extend the
shelf-life . If frozen, return the flour to room temperature before
using.
Please
note that most of the picture below shows you the actual unsprouted
grains and not the flours made with the sproutes grains
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Wheat
Flour made with Sprouted Wheat
Raw
wheat can be powdered into flour; germinated and dried creating
malt; crushed or cut into cracked wheat; parboiled (or steamed),
dried, crushed and de-branned into bulgur; or processed
into semolina, pasta, or roux. Wheat is a major ingredient
in such foods as bread, porridge, crackers, biscuits, Muesli,
pancakes, pies, pastries, cakes, cookies, muffins, rolls,
doughnuts, gravy, boza (a fermented beverage), and breakfast
cereals (e.g. Wheatena, Cream of Wheat, Shredded Wheat,
and Wheaties).
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Rye
Flour made with Sprouted Rye
Rye
bread, including pumpernickel, is a widely eaten food in
Northern and Eastern Europe. Rye is also used to make the
familiar crisp bread. Rye flour has a lower gluten content
than wheat flour, and contains a higher proportion of soluble
fiber. Some other uses of rye include rye whiskey and use
as an alternative medicine in a liquid form, known as rye
extract. Often marketed as Oralmat, rye extract is a liquid
obtained from rye and similar to that extracted from wheatgrass.
Its benefits are said to include a strengthened immune system,
increased energy levels and relief from allergies, but there
is no clinical evidence for its efficacy. Rye also seems
active in the prevention of prostate cancer.
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Spelt
Flour made with Sprouted Spelt
Spelt
flour is becoming more easily available, being sold in British
supermarkets since 2007. Spelt is also sold in the form
of a coarse pale bread, similar in colour and in texture
to light rye breads but with a slightly sweet and nutty
flavour. Spelt pasta is also available in health food stores
and specialty shops. Dutch jenever makers distill a special
kind of gin made with spelt as a curiosity gin marketed
for connoisseurs. Beer brewed from spelt is sometimes seen
in Bavaria and spelt is distilled to make vodka in Poland.
Spelt matzo is baked in Israel for Passover and is available
in some American grocery stores. Flour from sprouted spelt
grains is increasingly available throughout North America
in grocery and health food stores now in the UK with Breadlink.
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Barley
Flour made with Sprouted Barley
Barley
contains eight essential amino acids. According to a recent
study, eating whole grain barley can regulate blood sugar
for up to 10 hours after consumption compared to white or
even whole-grain wheat, which has a similar glycemic index.
The effect was attributed to colonic fermentation of indigestible
carbohydrates. Barley can also be used as a coffee substitute.
Dehulled or pearl barley may be processed into a variety
of barley products, including flour, flakes similar to oatmeal,
and grits. Barley-meal,
a wholemeal barley flour which is lighter than wheatmeal
but darker in colour, is used in porridge and gruel in Scotland
Barley-meal gruel is known as Sawiq in the Arab world. With
a long history of cultivation in the Middle East, barley
is used in a wide range of traditional Arabic, Kurdish,
Persian, and Turkish foodstuffs including kashkak, kashk
and murri.
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also do a special flour mix (WRS) : 75% wheat + 12,5% Rye
+ 12,5% Spelt
Also
sprouted flour from : Millet, Rice, Quinoa,
Do
you know ? Dietary bulk has been cited as an important
factor influencing the nutritional intake of young children
in developing countries. In Tanzania, a potential solution
to the problem of dietary bulk in weaning foods, has been
the promotion of 'kimea' or 'power flour' which is a cereal
grain that has been sprouted (germinated). Flour made from
this germinated grain contains amylase and has a thinning
effect when added in small quantities to thick porridge
thus allowing small children to consume a greater quantity
of porridge.
Alternatively,
the effect of adding kimea to porridge
can be seen as improving energy density because more flour
can be added to the mixture whilst the same consistency
is maintained. The frequency of use of kimea and mothers'
perceptions about its value for young child feeding were
evaluated in eight villages of Kyela district, Mbeya region,
Tanzania. In four villages kimea had been promoted (project
villages) and in the other four villages there had been
no special programme of promotion (non project). A total
of 131 mothers attending MCH clinics and 37 dispensary staff
were interviewed. Forty two per cent of project village
mothers and 18% of nonproject village mothers had heard
about the use of kimea for young child feeding but only
45% of these mothers used kimea when preparing porridge
for their young children. Reasons for low adoption rates
are discussed. Thirty seven per cent of mothers who had
heard about kimea were unable to describe correctly how
to use it to thin porridge.
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