Sprouted grain bread is your savior if you are a bread addict who wants to get fit.
Replacing your wheat bread or white bread sandwiches with sprouted bread will satisfy your bread craving while helping you lean out or stay lean.
What is sprouted grain bread made of
Soaked and sprouted wheat kernels are the magic behind sprouted grain bread, not wheat flour or grain flour.
It is a flourless bread.
Grain kernels are soaked, which causes them to sprout.
A juicer that can extrude pasta will also form sprouted grain dough out of these kernels.
You can use kernels of wheat, rye, or Spelt, as well as sprouted grains and legumes like beans or lentils.
To get a better understanding of what sprouted bread is, look at how to make a loaf of sprouted grain.
How to make sprouted bread
This easy sprouted bread recipe is courtesy of Everything Homemade youtube channel:
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- Add a cup of whole wheat berries to a large bowl
- Now add water till it is a few inches over the wheat kernels
- Leave overnight for a day
- The next day, check your wheat kernels to see if they have sprouted.
- If not, drain the enlarged berries and add water a second time.
- Let the wheat berries and water sit for another day
- After another 24 hours, you will see the beginning of a root forming on the wheat berry. It looks like a white dot beginning to sprout, and that is where the source of another wheat stalk will start to grow
- When the kernels begin to bud is the best time to turn these sprouted kernels into bread
- For the rest of the process, you can use a juicer to turn these kernels into the paste which will become bread
- A commonly recommended juicer for sprouted bread is a juicer which has an attachment for extruding pasta
- Any juicer that presses pasta will work
- Drain the berries that are just starting to sprout
- Put the sprouted wheat berries through the pasta extruder attachment, shape into a loaf, and bake at 250 degrees for three hours
- Remove and either store whole or in slices in a ziplock bag to keep the crust from getting hard as a rock
Why sprouted is better than flour bread
The main reason is that sprouted bread is more uncomplicated to digest.
This improvement in digestibility happens due to the sprouting process.
The soaking process release enzymes, which predigest the proteins and carbohydrates.
As a result, a sprouted grain bread is a lower glycemic food than conventional wheat bread.
For example, the glycemic index of Ezekiel 4:9 whole grain bread is 36.
Compare Ezekiel to white bread and 100 whole-grain wheat bread, whose glycemic index is on 75 and 74 ¹, respectively, double that of Ezekiel.
Does sprouted grain bread raise your blood sugar?
A bit, but not nearly as much as conventional bread.
Elevated blood sugar levels are why a high glycemic index food like conventional bread makes it more difficult for you to lean out because your body is going to stuff that extra glucose flooding your body into your fat cells.
Now you know why, if you want to get lean, you do not wish to keep conventional white or wheat bread in your diet.
Unfortunately, typical sandwich bread is the most challenging food to avoid because you most likely grew up eating this type of bread with everything.
The next best thing to not eating bread at all then is a sprouted bread.
Additional health benefits
Besides easier digestion, a correlated health benefit is the absorption of nutrients.
Because the bread is more comfortable to digest, your body can better absorb the nutrients in the meal.
The prominent magician here is the soaking process.
By soaking the grains, you will reduce phytic acid.
It is phytic acid which inhibits digestion and prevents the absorption of vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc.²
The way phytic acid blocks absorption of nutrients is why phytic acid is called an anti-nutrient.
Another health benefit is that sprouting the kernels increases the amino acids and thus the amount of protein.
Is sprouted better for you
The answer is yes, because of the following health benefits:
- lower glycemic index than traditional bread
- increased amino acids
- more protein
- soaking reduces phytic acid
- easier to digest
- easier to absorb nutrients
- sprouted grain products made from grains and legumes boast complete protein quality similar to that of milk and eggs
Despite these health benefits of sprouted grains, if you are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, sprouted grain bread is not gluten-free.
What does it taste like
A sprouted whole grain muffin has a mild and nutty flavor, as long as it is toasted.
One way to eat it is toasted and topped with almond butter, and raw salad like cucumber or red pepper works.
Or, you can also use the sprouted grain muffin as a sandwich for any of your favorite vegetables or typical sandwich contents.
Where can you purchase sprouted grain bread
You will either find sprouted bread, muffins, cereal, and even pizza crust in your nearest health food store or the frozen section of a grocery store.
Sprouted grain bread is another tool in your fitness arsenal.
To lose weight and get fit:
- Start by dropping your first 20 pounds.
- Then, add deadlifts and pushups to transform your body dramatically.
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- Start the Day with a Good Morning Breakfast
- 27 Sensational Ways How Deadlifts Change Your Body
- How I (Finally) Got Fit – And How You Can Too
- 15 Spectacular Broccoli Benefits You Need to Know
Footnotes:
¹ Harvard’s glycemic index and glycemic load list of 100 common foods
