Cranberry-Raisin Essene Bread
Soft wheat berries were my first.
Hard wheat berries are more for the yeast breads.
Oat groats are not really in the same league.
Rye never entered the picture.
Like my husband, once the Durum wheat’s distant Egyptian relative sprouted into me life, there were no others.
Essene the grain at the end of the tunnel and its name was Kamut.
I’m certain I’m committing a bit of blasphemy. Casually, chatting on the subject of an ingredient used in the Bible’s Essene Bread. If I am, I beg the powers that be… please forgive.
But really, how can you blame me? It was a close race. Both grains are economical, easily sprout and work well in Essene Bread. But my Kamut is one high protein, vitamin E, magnesium, zinc-packed grain.
Kamut has a much richer and buttery flavor than the sweet wheat berries, which could explain it’s somewhat higher fatty acid content. Oh well, I ramble.
Not that wheat berry is the re-bound boyfriend. It has qualities that make it appealing in its own right. For instance, sprouting wheat berries increases its vitamin C content by 400 percent- not too shabby. Low in calories – works for me. And wheat berries did grind to flour (in my coffee grinder) a bit better than my dear Kamut, which left me with a grainier texture compared to wheat’s fine quality.
No matter which grain you prefer, it’s all good.
Back in the biblical day the sprouted-grain breads were probably baked on hot rocks under the blazing sun. Now, depending on where you live, the sun could be an option, but I’d try a dehydrator first and see how you like that.
There are many good versions of Essene breads on the internet, with the most basic recipe having only one ingredient, sprouted grain.
Adapted from Mother Earth News
Essene Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 In a food processor, grind the grains well. If your processor doesn’t have a powerful motor, use ¼ cup of water to get things going. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the food processor. Blend the mixture until it forms sticky dough.
2 Divide the mixture in half and spread each half on a two Teflex sheets, forming 8 x 8 squares.
3 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 4 hours, flip over and with a pizza cutter, score into nine slices. Dehydrate an additional 6-8 hours or until the bread is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
Alternatively, you can form into small loaves, no more than 1 ½ inches thick. The dehydrating time should be increased by a few hours.
I didn’t have much success with making loaves. The outside was perfect but the inside fermented a bit before completely drying but It had a sour dough taste to it. You would think the dry Colorado air would help a girl out, but I guess you have to live in the deserts of Nevada to get some love. Once you are comfortable with the basic recipe, you can add ingredients to suit your fancy.
Herb Essene Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon Herb Blend*
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 In a food processor, grind the grains well. If your processor doesn’t have a powerful motor, use ¼ cup of water to get things going. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the food processor. Blend the mixture until it forms a sticky dough.
2 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, olive oil, herb blend and sea salt. Combine well.
3 Divide the mixture in half and spread each half on a two Teflex sheets, forming 8 x 8 squares.
4 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6 hours, flip over and with a pizza cutter, score into nine slices. Dehydrate an additional 6-8 hours or until the bread is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
* Herb Blend
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon caraway seed
Combine seasonings in a coffee grinder and grind until fine.
Pizza Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
½ cup soaked Sun-dried tomatoes
½ cup sliced Kalamata olives
½ garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 In a food processor, grind the grains well. If your processor doesn’t have a powerful motor, use ¼ cup of water to get things going. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the food processor. Blend the mixture until it forms a sticky dough. Remove from processor and place in a large bowl.
2 Add sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and olive to processor. Briefly process to make a thick paste.**
3 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, sun-dried tomato paste, olives and sea salt. Combine well.
4 Divide the mixture in half and spread each half on a two Teflex sheets, forming 8 x 8 squares.
5 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6 hours, flip over and with a pizza cutter, score into nine slices. Dehydrate an additional 6-8 hours or until the bread is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
**You may also add the ingredients to the dough without processing into a paste. The paste option produces a tomato-red colored bread.
Raisin Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
½ cup soaked golden raisins
½ cup soaked Thompson raisins
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 In a food processor, grind the grains well. If your processor doesn’t have a powerful motor, use ¼ cup of water to get things going. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the food processor. Blend the mixture until it forms a sticky dough.
2 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, raisins, agave nectar and sea salt. Combine well.
3 Divide the mixture in half and spread each half on a two Teflex sheets, forming 8 x 8 squares.
4 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6 hours, flip over and with a pizza cutter, score into nine slices. Dehydrate an additional 6-8 hours or until the bread is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
5 Serve with honey butter (recipe below).
Cranberry-Raisin Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
½ cup fresh cranberries
½ cup soaked raisins
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 In a food processor, grind the grains well. If your processor doesn’t have a powerful motor, use ¼ cup of water to get things going. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the food processor. Blend the mixture until it forms a sticky dough.
2 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, cranberries, raisins, agave nectar and sea salt. Combine well.
3 Divide the mixture in half and spread each half on a two Teflex sheets, forming 8 x 8 squares.
4 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6 hours, flip over and with a pizza cutter, score into nine slices. Dehydrate an additional 6-8 hours or until the bread is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
5 Serve with honey butter.
Honey Butter
1 tablespoon soft coconut butter
1 tablespoon honey
In small bowl, combine coconut butter and honey.
Final notes: Please keep in mind, the more wet ingredients you add to the basic bread recipe the longer it will take to dehydrate. Also, other factors come into play. The type of dehydrate you have, where you live, your preferences, etc. Use your best judgment on determining the tastes and textures of your bread.
John wrote me last month and asked if I could work on a bread for his family. Essence breads had been in the back of my mind for awhile, but his request jump-started the process. Many thanks to John.
Essene you later!
Terilynn