My biggest hang-up for not doing a lot of things is time.
There are only so many hours in each day and there’s always a list of things to do. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Making bread or soaking the oats or sprouting the almonds doesn’t always make it to the top of the list.
I do try though. I try to soak when I can and sprout when I can. Especially since now I know how easy it is. My sourdough is usually fed daily, although we’ve cut back on the amount of bread we eat, so I don’t have to bake bread nearly as often.
But sometimes this stuff is pushed so far to the bottom of the list that goes into tomorrow… or Saturday… or next week.
Life happens, right?
At the same time, if these things are falling further away from me and closer to the edge of the earth, am I really making them a priority?
Let’s be practical.
If we want our families to eat better and get more nutrition out of what they do eat, we need to make it a priority. On the flip side, time is precious. Not everything can be a priority.
So how do we choose what’s a priority and what isn’t? What will gets a pretty check mark? And what simply won’t be written down?
Sourdough vs Soaking vs Sprouting
When Mr. Crumbs and I first got married, we were always making big decisions. At least it felt that way. We could banter back and forth for HOURS and get absolutely no where on the topic, so our only method of truly making good decisions was writing down a list of pros and cons.
The sourdough vs soaking vs sprouting debate seems to be one that is difficult to resolve. So, I’m employing the pro/con list to help us solve the priority dilemma.
Sourdough
PROS
- Time – as little as one minute per day to feed; don’t have to be home to create warm environment for the rise; total of 20-30 minutes now for mixing/kneading process and an hour for baking later
- Money – least expensive bread recipe possible (only requires flour, water and salt)
- Energy – most of the “work” is done ahead of time by feeding the starter; mixer does the bulk of the kneading; requires 5-10 minutes of hand kneading at the end
- Nutrition – with these benefits, sourdough is quite possibly the healthiest bread available
CONS
- Time – a single rise using a heating pad could be ready in as little as 4 or as many as 6 hours, leaving a 2-hour gap to play the waiting game; double rises are much less predictable and require more presence in the kitchen
- Money – batches don’t always come out edible, so even the minimal ingredients are wasted
- Energy – effort is required to develop a “perfect” sourdough recipe and sometimes energy is wasted when loaves fail for no obvious reason
- Nutrition – none
Soaking
PROS
- Time – the active time of adding flour and water to a bowl takes roughly one minutes; the inactive time is entirely hands off and can be done while sleeping
- Money – other than flour, no additional cost if I already have the soaking medium in the kitchen
- Energy – little effort is needed to “add” and “stir” and “let it sit overnight”
- Nutrition – breaks down gluten and phytic acid; predigests starches easing the work of the body
CONS
- Time – at least one day advance preparation is required
- Money – the cost of organic milk for buttermilk, yogurt and kefir cannot be ignored over time
- Energy – a great amount of mental energy is used when trying to determine how much of what ingredients should be used to soak in a recipe that wasn’t originally written to be soaked; a smaller yet still significant amount of energy is used to locate specific recipes that include soaking instructions
- Nutrition – soaking only reduces 10% of the phytic acid (source); only whole grains need to be soaked (so if I only have white flour on hand, there’s no point at all)
Sprouting
PROS
- Time – filling a jar with nuts/grains, water and salt is quick; agitating the jar takes less than a minute
- Money – no additional expense if they were going to be eaten anyway
- Energy – requires 2-3x daily shakes or stirs, but other real foods take much more
- Nutrition – the benefits of sprouting are enormous and cannot be ignored
CONS
- Time – active time is low, but the inactive time can take up to four days; this doesn’t include any post-soaking dehydration (12-24 hours with the last few requiring frequent checks)
- Money – the cost of whole grains instead of pre-made flour, plus the cost of a grain mill if these alternative methods aren’t suitable; possible cost for a dehydrator if the existing oven is insufficient or undesirable
- Energy – none for sprouting; requires work to drain and lay out grains/nuts if dehydrating; must frequently check on the grain/nut during dehydration to ensure it’s done
- Nutrition – none
To Summarize
Sourdough
To me, it only makes sense to bake sourdough. The nutrition of it is absolutely amazing and even though we don’t have any wheat or gluten sensitivities, I’ve noticed it is easier on my own body to digest.
Since this basic sourdough bread recipe works with a single rise, I’m okay with that 2-hour waiting window. The timing of the bread has worked out so that we’re home for that window anyway.
Soaking
I typically use about 50% white flour in a lot of my bread recipes. And since soaking has no effect on white flour and only minimally reduce phytic acid, I can’t say I’m all-in for soaking for bread.
There’s probably a recipe somewhere out there that explain how to soak the 50% of wheat and then add the white later… or that it’s ok just to soak it all together in the first place… but that’s requiring more mental energy than I have to give it. Frankly, the cons simply outweigh the pros.
Plus, phytase (the stuff that breaks down phytic acid) is found in the whole grain. If we ground our own grains at home just before use, they’d be in ample supply. Then the need to soak the whole grain becomes a moot point.
Sprouting
There are significant benefits to sprouting, and sprouting nuts is something that can easily be incorporated into a busy schedule, even when you include the dehydrating time (now that I know we prefer them after a full 24 hours).
However, the issue of sprouting grains is like a teeter totter and I’m not yet completely on board. Sprouting grains means we have to buy them whole and I haven’t yet found a quality source that is affordable. If we regularly buy whole grains, it would be ideal to have a grain mill… but that’s not in the budget at the moment. We could use this process to grind with coffee grinder or food processor, but then we’re adding a significant amount of time into the process.
In An Ideal World…
I’d own a grain mill, would grind my grains at home and make sourdough bread regularly. Also, I would be more than happy to make rolls or biscuits on a whim because I have fresh flour at my fingertips. I could skip sprouting the grains altogether, but still sprout our beans and nuts. Because a gassy family is not fun.
For my sourdough, I source a sprouted einkorn flour rather than sprouting, drying and grinding it myself (granted it’s not cheap, so that probably explains why it’s not too popular) and begin with some active starter in a 50/50 sponge of the water and most of the flour for the loaf, leaving it to develop in the refrigerator overnight. This basically combines fermented, soaked and sprouted benefits as well as those of using a more primitive grain. I’ve been making it this way weekly for about a decade now and it’s great as a sandwich bread as well as more fancy uses. Sprouted whole white wheat flour also works and is about half the cost of the einkorn where I get it; probably still not what most folks consider inexpensive, but it can be reasonable if ordered in bulk (I buy 25 lbs of each at a time).
Point is, it doesn’t have to be an either/or choice. The wild yeasts seem to particularly love the diastatic malt which is produced naturally as part of the sprouting process, so it makes for a very airy loaf even at higher moisture ratios.
As much time as I rack up researching nutrition and sourdough in particular, nowhere have I read this!!Wonerful work!!
My heart and soul respond to sourdough, always has. So my question is:
If a recipe calls for a small amount of yeast, fruit and nuts and no sourdough but let it sit for a lot of time, is it almost as good for me as sourdough? Is the same kind of stuff in it when I bake it?
Hi Heidi! It’ll be close, but not the same. Technically, sourdough has wild yeast and bacteria, which will help compensate for some of the enzymes that result in tummy trouble when digesting grains. Letting it sit for a long time, i.e. soaking, will have a similar effect on a smaller scale. And of course, adding the yeast makes up for the lack of yeast from sourdough. So if you’re not able to make sourdough, soaking would be the next best step (in my opinion anyway!).
Hi Tiffany, thank you for this post! I bake a lot, and have been using a sourdough recently, which is great fun and makes delicious bread. My question is, with using a sourdough starter, hence a long rise, plus using freshly ground flour, is it still important to sprout grains first before grinding? Thanks!
Hi Joanna! It’s really a matter of personal preference. I don’t have any scientific evidence to support this, but my personal thought is that soaking the grains through sourdough would be just as effective as soaking/sprouting the grains in terms of getting rid of phytase. For me (and my priorities) it feels redundant. 🙂
Hi Tiffany,
I’m sorry if this is a ridiculously stupid question, but I’m just getting into a low phytic acid diet, and I miss bread!! I don’t mind making it myself, but I seriously doubt I’ll maintain the starter for that long. My question is: In a pinch, is storebought sourdough bread of any nutritional value and also low in phytates?
Also, are you able to use any type of flour for sourdough bread? I guess what I mean is, in all of the process, does it make any difference whether I use Rye, Wheat, Sprouted Wheat to make sourdough if I’m trying to keep my phytic acid intake low?
Hi Janelle! Yes and no. Sourdough is my own preferred option when buying bread, but the majority of commercial sourdough isn’t made traditionally with a super long fermentation. I don’t have knowledge as to the different levels of phytic acid in different flours, but that would be interesting to read about! I’m sorry I’m not more helpful Janelle, but I wish you luck in finding answers!!
LOVE the list! I have been banging my head against the counter trying to decide to continue using store bought sprouted wheat or to switch over to sourdough.
When you are talking about sourdough, are you happy with basic white flour? Or do you want to use whole wheat, or sprouted? AND, do you know how long store bought sprouted flour is good? Has it been sitting on the shelf too long to hold any nutrients? Is the money spent on sprouted wheat worth it if I’m just putting it into a sourdough?
Please be my saviour and use your Pro/Con skills to set my kitchen straight!
Hi Erin! Hopefully my ideas aren’t too random and can help sort out yours. 🙂 First, I should preface that I’m not actively feeding or making sourdough at the moment, so keep that in mind.
Am I happy with basic white flour for sourdough. Sometimes. I’d REALLY like to up the ante to include whole wheat, but how much whole wheat would depend on how well the bread was turning out in the end. White flour offers no nutrition (to me) so it would almost be better to make soaked whole wheat over white sourdough (which is what I’m doing).
I don’t sprout my flour. I know it has benefits, but I’m not able to fit it into my schedule at the moment. Instead, I just concentrate on soaking.
I haven’t heard specifics on sprouted store-bought flour, but my guess would be 1-4 weeks in the fridge. I don’t know if I feel comfortable storing it on the shelf.
Money spent on sprouted wheat for sourdough worth it… not in my opinion. I think there’s a big markup in sprouted flour, and to just continue to soak it (for 24+ hours no less) makes the original soaking/sprouting process seem redundant.
If you want sourdough, I’d go with buying the whole grain and grinding flour and making sourdough. I’d start with 50/50 white/wheat until you got the hang of making sourdough (maybe feed the starter with white but use wheat when you make the bread), then slowly increasing the ration to 100% whole wheat. If sourdough proves difficult, I’d make 100% whole wheat soaked bread instead where you again, buy the grain and grind the wheat.
Does that help? 🙂
It does help! Thanks! I love the idea (and freedom) to use white to feed/build my sourdough and whole grain to make the bread. That seems like a very doable and beneficial compromise.
I am taking your word as law for now so I can stop having a migraine over what is best nutritionally, financially, and mentally. Thank you for the break and I am excited to continue following you! I’m LOVING your blog!
What a logical approach 😉 I love making pro/con lists. It really puts choices into perspective. It does sound like soaking grains really isn’t worth the effort that goes into it. I’m all for healthy eating, but it also has to be practical, and simple for me to jump on board.
I haven’t ever sprouted grains… it sounds interesting, so I may read up more on it.
Now that you’re a pro at making sourdough, how often does it turn out edible?
LOL, sometimes my “logic” works against me!
I’m with you – if it takes too much times or effort, it’s just not going to happen. Soaking grains does provide benefits, so I don’t want it to sound like the effort is for nothing, but each family needs to make that decision for themselves.
Pro at sourdough? Psh, far from it, but it does turn out edible every time. I stick to that basic recipe I shared, but add some kneading after the mixer is done. I’d like to experiment a bit more with double rises, but I need to get another batch of starter going first!
You might want to check out soaking white flour. Sally at WAP has said that soaking white flour “does” increase the vitamins.
I am definitely doing sourdough. I find it easier and takes less time but much more planning so I have bread when I need it. I do some soaking and no sprouting. I find routines are so important to develop and then I tend to stay with things.
I completely agree! I have to set aside a day to bake, but it’s easier for me to plan ahead than have to scrounge up for bread at the last minute.
Thank you!!! I am loving baking my own sourdough bread these days. My starter has been bubbling away for several months and it’s going really well! Then I kept reading about soaking grains, but like you, I just CAN’T add anything else. I’m maxed out. Thanks for sharing!
I just recently started using a soaked bread machine recipe. I used the flour we currently had on hand – TJ All purpose Unbleached. You mentioned there is no benefit to soaking white flour. I have to wonder what the All purpose is then because when I soaked with ACV I got a soft wonderfully textured bread. Resulting in a yummy bread. This leads me to belive the soaking did something to the flour.
Hi Heather,
Your soaking may have changed the texture of the flour and even added a delightful flavor, but by definition, AP flour is made up only of the endosperm of the wheat berry. Phytic acid and phytates reside in the bran and germ portions. As a result, there isn’t much (if any) phytic acid or phytates in AP flour. If there are any left, they’ll likely be taken care of during the regular bread making process (i.e. mixing/kneading/rising/baking).
Does that help?
~Tiffany
I wonder if soaking the white flour slightly activated some wild yeast present in the flour and/or the air in the house and changed the bread. I know that if we don’t use filtered water in our dough, we use water that has sat on the counter overnight to get rid of chlorine and that improves the flavor, too, so maybe the soaking allowed all the weird chlorine to dissipate and all the lovely hidden wild yeasts to begin waking.