Comments on: More About Soaking Grains (or not)

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:37:44 +0000

I am thoroughly enjoying reading this blog and comments. I have also been researching the grain issue. I am appalled that we could have become so ignorant so fast! If soaking grains and sourdough are really the best way, it is sad we have lost that so rapidly. I also have asked the same questions about the Bible. My husband is diabetic and grains have been a no-no. So how do I interpret the Bread of Life, that was given to save us? If these ideas are true it opens up something new to me about God. The best way to receive any benefit from Him is through “soaking” in Him, not a quick, fast-food approach. If our walk with Him is like our breadmaking, how we would benefit!

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 04:03:57 +0000

Hi, I read your blog on this with interest. I was in a nice routine of soaking my flour for bread for maybe a year now when I came across this article: http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/phytic-acid-friend-or-foe-the-soaking-of-grains-health-claims-investigated/
After reading it I stopped soaking my bread. Not sure I notice a difference either way with our health or the quality of the bread (but then again, I’m not the most observant). After reading your posts I thought maybe I’d go back to soaking my bread, but not worry about soaking anything else…. ??

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:48:59 +0000

No, you grind and then soak. Yes, it does begin to lose nutrients, but that’s when it’s not in use. Once you’ve ground it and stir it into the buttermilk or other cultured dairy product, it is “in use” and the soaking breaks down the phytates so that the nutrients can then be used better in our bodies!

By: Randi

Randi — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:38:12 +0000

I’m very interested in reading your blog but it won’t allow me on. :(
Please come to my blog and send me a message or email so I can be added to your invited readers.
I recently stopped eating gluten because I believe I have an intolerance to it
but I’ve been thinking of trying soaked grains. Thanks so much! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Randi Kiefer

By: kathy

kathy — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:35:42 +0000

Question: if you grind your own wheat for flour, do you soak the grains before grinding? Does that mess up the nutrimill? I thought once it is grinded you don’t want to expose the flour to air but use immediately for the most nutrients. After 12-24 hours it begins to lose most of the nutrients, isn’t that correct?

By: Tammy

Tammy — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:21:36 +0000

Hi Laura. Great post, great dialogue. I visit your site often. My teenage son likes to send me links for your recipes with a note attached. “Mom, can we try this one?” lol! Thank you.

Here’s what I do. I make sourdough bread…not as often as my family would like, but that’s the only way I will make it. I try to soak when I remember and when I’m in a hurry, I grab some sprouted grains from my freezer (I sprout and dehydrate whole grains a few times a week), grind them fresh and use those in anything I bake or things like pancakes.

I agree that grains should not be cut out of the diet. I think it’s very important to prepare them traditionally though. That’s my two cents. :)

By: Amy @ River Rock Cottage

Amy @ River Rock Cottage — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:34:27 +0000

Laura, I just found this post on a search while looking for answers on whether or not soaking grains is really the way to go. Great dialog! And Sally’s answer really helped me a lot. I’ve been very skeptical about this issue and yet, I wanted to understand why so many people were buying into it. Even after reading Sally’s book and Jordan Rubin’s, Still, I struggled.

The thing that helped me… Sally’s mentioning that they did not have yeast products like we do today and therefore they had to soak them to cause the yeast to grow. Duh! How come I couldn’t get my brain around this before? Funny how one thing can make it all start to click. That said, I’m sure I’ll take the same approach you mentioned and not be legalistic about it. I think grains are great and I believe they were a staple in every diet. Whenever a famine is mentioned, it seems the abundance or lack of bread was the crucial issue for the people. Makes me think they ate plenty of grains! (I didn’t research this, just thinking in my head!).

By: Saul

Saul — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:05:59 +0000

Bacteria doesn’t make bread rise, nor does natural yeast “form the good
bacteria in the air.” Yeast and bacteria are two separate organisms.
Both exist in the ambient environment, as well as on the flour itself.
The yeast converts sugar (that results from the autolysis of flour
starch occurring in the presence of water) to alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The carbon dioxide traps within the water-gluten matrix on the flour,
causing the bread to rise. The bacteria (mostly) produces lactic acid
from sugars. These are the so-called souring organisms. A sourdough
culture consists of a commensurate mixture of these two classes of
organisms. There’s a pretty nice explanation of the processes at the
following website: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10375/lactic-acid-fermentation-sourdough

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:31:16 +0000

You said you like to soak your grains for your breakfast cookie recipe, I read your recipie but it doesn’t go into soaking. Could you expound on that? Thanks!

Sarah

By: David

David — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:34:25 +0000

I have written about the issue of grains from a Christian perspective (which I’ve found is rare!), coming to the conclusion that they are best reduced or eliminated in their modern context. You can read what I have to say here:

http://valetudoprovita.livejournal.com/3211.html