Essene Bread

I have been looking for a sprouted bread recipe ever since leaving the USA, where I could buy it in the grocery. Thanks so much for submitting this nutritious recipe! I knew going in that it would take several days to make, so the time did not bother me, and we have a heavy duty grinding machine, so that was not a problem either. I must say, I eat sprouted bread for the super nutritional value, but this bread tastes great! So sweet, chewy and crispy all at once. I am delighted and it will become a staple in our house... Thanks Holly!

Those who said it tasted like grass let their berries sprout to long. Just let them barely sprout a tiny bit. More than that and you get grass.

I make Essene bread, but my method is a bit different than this recipe. I like to use quart jars for the sprouting. I put 1 cup of wheat berries in each quart jar (I do about 10 jars). Fill jars with cool water, put in a place out of the sunlight and completely cover with a dark, damp towel. Let sit overnight. The next morning, I use a colander with a flat bottom, place it over a jar and tip it over the sink to drain it. Rinse and drain well, but gently. Cover completely with damp towel. Rinse and drain 3 X a day (gently so you don't break the sprouts). Keep towel damp. Don't let the sprouts see light at all. Quart jars will be full when sprouts are ready. Grind or process (in processor, sprouts will begin to form a ball, and don't overfill processor), leave plain, or add nuts, dried fruit, etc. Shape into loaves or spread out on cookie sheet. Bake @ 250 for about 4 hours. Loaves will be crusty on outside, moist on inside. Loaves will spring back when pressed with finger. If sprouts turn green they taste "grassy" and lose their sweetness. Exposure to light will make them green and you don't want that. Always keep covered with a damp, dark towel. If you spread onto a cookie sheet, cut into squares. I like to use the non-stick cookie sheet covers instead of corn meal, etc. Bread is best when aged about a day. Store in fridge, or freeze what you don't use right away. I hope this helps!

I followed the directions given and found the sprouting and grinding easy. I baked the two loaves for 5 hours on low heat with covers over each loaf. They were almost too moist. The taste was very grassy. I have had other sprouted breads which did not have this "grass" flavor. I am not sure what went wrong. This recipe was so easy to make that I would like to try it again, if anyone can suggest what needs to be done to improve the flavor.

I'm in the process of sprouting my berries, but I found a different recipe that bake at 160-250 degrees for 3-4 hours, if anyone had trouble with cooking time, and suggests oiling the pan. figured I'd share.

absolutly wonderful. My signifancant other is on a special caveman diet and this is the only kind of bread he can eat. I added a little honey to the bread,about 1/4 cup and it came out tasting like a sweet cake. Much better and much cheaper that comercial varites!

This bread did not work for me. It seemed to lack flavor. I think I have had this with shredded carrots, raisins and nuts added, which I think would help the taste. I tried this twice without good results. Maybe it is my tecnique.???

It was fun making the sprouts with the kids. It was fun grinding the sprouts by hand with the kids. It was fun entering the baked results in the science fair with the kids. It had the flavor of a huge, wet, whole grain bran cereal conglomerate and the appearance of a lage horse pie. We ate it with brown sugar and milk for breakfast.

what did i do wrong?? i spent days getting this bread ready but when i baked it (for the time and temperature specified) it got all hard and burnt on the bottom.. like burnt sugar.. too hot maybe? i was really looking forward to trying my hard work :(

The recipe was good but I've never had Essene bread before and I think the flavour may take some getting used to. I accidentally let the grain sprout too long and had half inch sprouts, but they weren't green and it didn't taste grassy. I baked it about 4 1/2 hours on 200 and covered it with a metal cake pan because I didn't have anything else. It was VERY moist and crumbly, like too crumbly to spread peanut butter on (which was very tasty, by the way). And it was a lot darker than the picture, like chocolate. I think I need to crush the berries better and kneed it longer next time. Technique just may need refining. Overall, pleased with the result.

I have made this with a mixture of barely sprouted wheat and rye. Add soaked raisins to the mix. Delicious.