Greetings Berlin Natural Bakery Family! 

Welcome on another journey of "things you may or not know about us" and other musings in the mind of Nicole! 

Let's talk about it! Sprouting grains! What is it? What does it mean? How is it done? And why should we consider eating them?

So many questions and thankfully, I've got at least some of the answers! 

I don't know if your kindergarten class had this but I remember pretty vividly how we had a small lesson in sprouting waaaaaay back in the day. We were given a styrophone cup, some soil and I want to say a lima bean and we were to plant that little bean in the soil, water it, set it in the sun and sure enough! My little bean had sprung a little sprout! A tiny green new tendril of life which, from my young and limited experience, was MIRACULOUS! 

That's basically what we're talking about here. We take whole grain Spelt and let it  soak it in water and voila! A little baby sprout. From there the grain gets milled into Sprouted Spelt flour on the premises and that is what we use to bake items such as our Sprouted Spelt and Sprouted Biblical Spelt bread. 

Now that is a very simplified explanation of our Sprouting Process but hey, we've got to keep a little mystery about us! But that is definitely the gist of it. 

In an article I read from Harvard, the nutritional benefits of a whole grain product vs a sprouted whole grain product are different. It looks as though the sprouting process doesn't add to the variety of vitamins and minerals but it does add to the qualities! The sprouting process leads to more folate, iron, vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, and protein. (1) 

Additionally, it has been concluded that sprouted grains contain less starch which may be why people with digestive issues seem to respond better to grain when it has been sprouted. Also, since the sprouting process creates less starch we're also talking about less carbs (2) - a win for people looking to dodge a few extra grams of carbs! 

Beyond increased vitamins and minerals - sprouted grain also contains more fiber, more amino acids and more protein! Interesting, it also contains less phytic acid which may limit the absorption of key vitamins and minerals. (3)

I've already mentioned that the fact that sprouted grains have less starch may have something to do with it being a little more digestively friendly but another key player in that is the enzymes produced by the sprouting process! Specifically phytase and amylase increase essentially making it partially pre-digested. (4) A very huge win for people who need as much digestive support as they can get. 

And finally, we can't end this blog without talking about gluten. Sprouting does not eliminate gluten but studies have shown that it does significantly lower the gluten content of whole grains by nearly 50%! (5) That is remarkable and no doubt adds to a sprouted products digestibility. 

Perhaps as you read this blog, you finally got a couple of mysteries answered as to why our sprouted spelt products work well for you. 

Increased vitamins/minerals + decreased gluten + decreased starch + increased amino acids & protein + increased good enzymes + decreased bad enzymes all make for a ROCKING POWERHOUSE OF A BREAD! 

I could add that we also have a SOURDOUGH Sprouted Spelt bread but I think that may be a blog for another time. Exploring the MAGICAL Sourdough process and its wildly amazing benefits. 

But I believe this is enough information to digest (pardon the pun!) for now! 

If you have any questions, comments or even a personal testimonial you would love to share - we would LOVE to hear it in the comments section below. 

It is always such a pleasure to interact with you all and to hear what's on your hearts and minds. 

As always, thank you for taking the journey with me and my family! 

Until next time, 

Nicole
The 3rd Generation of Berlin Natural Bakery 
the little bakery that could! 🙂

Want to learn more about why sprouting SPELT in particular is incredible. Read here to learn more about why your choice of grain matters!