help me convert my bread recipe to NT

caedmyn · 02-12-2006, 11:26 PM

I'd like to keep my bread recipe but make it more in line with NT...I tried sprouting grain, drying it in the dehydrator, and then grinding it into flour, which seemed to work fine. Then I soaked some oatmeal w/yogurt and used all that in my bread recipe. Well the bread flopped...I don't know if it needed quite a bit more cooking time or less water, but it was way too mushy and not cooked all the way. So...I'm trying again tomorrow but would like some advice on how to adjust the recipe. I'll be using regular whole wheat flour this time as I only had a little of the sprouted flour.

Here's the recipe (for a bread maker):
1 1/2 c. water
1 T. olive oil
1 T. honey
2 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. gluten
1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. flax
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast

How much should I decrease the water to adjust for the soaked oatmeal?

caedmyn · 02-13-2006, 02:28 PM

bump

yitlan · 02-13-2006, 02:42 PM

I am not a baker, so can't help much. But what I would do is substitute the sprouted flour and not worry about the oats so much. It's almost three cups of flour vs just a half cup oatmeal. If it's a family favorite recipe, I'd leave it at that. But, if I were to try, I'd start by decreasing the water in the recipe by at least a half cup, since the oats will soak in at least that much. Anyone else?

xenabyte · 02-13-2006, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caedmyn

I'd like to keep my bread recipe but make it more in line with NT...How much should I decrease the water to adjust for the soaked oatmeal?

Well, it's hard to compose an NT style bread recipe for a machine, because the machine does not allow for variation in moisture content, that you could compensate for by oven baking and in kneading in more/less flour... That being said, this is what I would do, if using a machine and that particular recipe:

First, it's more important to soak the whole wheat flour, than the oats. The whole wheat flour will have the high phytic acid content. Unless you are buying your oats whole and grinding them yourself, the company processing them into flakes will already have taken out alot of the phytic acid (and nutritional value). So they are basically harmless, fiber to add in....

So, night before you want to make the bread. Soak your 2 3/4 cups WW flour in the 1 1/2 cups water, with maybe 1-2 tbs yogurt added (or lemon juice or whey). Then next morning add this 'slurry' and the rest of called for ingredients in your recipe and bake on the 'whole wheat' setting, if your machine has one.

This will take care of the phytic acid and still not change the moisture content too much. It should produce a good loaf. Be sure to keep the container/jar that you are soaking your flour and water in, covered. This will help prevent evaporation of the needed moisture.

Please let me know if this helped and the loaf turned out closer to your usual recipe

caedmyn · 02-14-2006, 12:05 AM

Well I just baked a loaf with the soaked oatmeal and regular whole wheat flour, added 1/2 c. less water, and baked it for 5 more minutes. It looks okay, although I haven't cut it yet (the other loaf "fell" a little after I took it out and this one hasn't). I'll let you know how it turned out tomorrow...

I have a couple of questions in the meantime. What exactly is wrong with oatmeal/rolled oats? I've been eating soaked rolled oats for breakfast in the morning but if they aren't great nutritionally maybe I should switch to something else. I seem to recall recipes for oatmeal in NT but I could be wrong.

Also, if I sprout grain, dry it, and then grind it, I shouldn't have to soak the flour, right?