I have mentioned “soaking grains” frequently here at The Nourishing Gourmet. Many have wondered what in the world I was talking about! Others have wondered why I would add another step into my cooking, when cooking from scratch takes so long already. An explanation is long overdue. Especially because this is a nourishing practice that I consider vital to our health.
Why I soak my whole grains
Most all of us know the nutritional advantages of whole grain food verses refined flours. Whole grains retain vitamins, minerals, and fiber that are vital to our well being. But what if I were to tell you that in all whole grains there are enzyme inhibitors that can interfere with digestion and other natural substances that blocks you from absorbing all of those great minerals and vitamins?
Grains, that are not soaked, equal poor digestive worth, and blocked vitamins and minerals
Unfortunately, it’s true. But there is a solution!
It’s only been in more recent years that we have disregarded traditional methods of sprouting, soaking, and fermenting grains. Not understanding the importance, we slowly forgot these methods of preparation. But we now know better …
Phosphorus in the bran of whole grains is tied up in a substance called phytic acid. Phytic acid combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract, clocking their absorption. Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors that can interfere with digestion. Traditional societies usually soak or ferment their grains before eating them, processes that neutralize phytates and enzyme inhibitors and in effect, predigest grains so that all their nutrients are more available. Sprouting, overnight soaking, and old-fashioned sour leavening can accomplish this important predigestive process in our own kitchens. Many people who are allergic to grains will tolerate them well when they are prepared according to these procedures. Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon, Pg 25
Soaked grains equal better digestive worth and make vitamins and minerals available to absorb
For those who have had digestive trouble when eating whole grains, this could be part of the answer for you. For the rest of us, it will help make sure we don’t develop digestive issues and insure that we are able to fully utilize all of those vitamins and minerals we eat whole grains to get!
How do you do it?
It’s quite simple. You can soak grains like rice, millet, quinoa, wheat, 12 to 24 hours at room temperature in some water with 1-2 tablespoons of whey, lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt, or kefir (this gives it an acidic medium which helps neutralize anti-nutrients). You can then rinse the grains to remove any acidic taste to them, and then cook in fresh water.
Or you can sprout your grains (check out my post about sprouting grains for more directions).
For baked goods, you can soak your flour in buttermilk, yogurt or kefir 12 to 24 hours and then add the rest of the ingredients right before baking. This makes the fluffiest whole wheat pancakes! I have been able to do this method dairy free as well very successfully (like this recipe for soaked pancakes)
Sourdough is also extremely helpful in reducing anti-nutrients as well. Read this post about the benefits of sourdough, and here is an example of a recipe using sourdough to effectively soak your grains.
I will give more specific direction in individual recipes, but those are the basic guidelines. I have personally found that it isn’t harder to add this step in, it just takes forethought! And it’s definitely worth it for our family’s health.
(Wheat flour soaking in buttermilk for buttermilk pancakes the next day)
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Instead of buttermilk, can I use milk that has been soured with vinegar or lemon juice?
Jo
We love raised waffles and no-knead bread. Since the basic recipes use white flour they may not be ideal, but they have such a wonderful flavor and you can use some whole wheat flour; so am I right that they would count as “soaked”?
Oops, I didn’t mention that those recipes rise overnight with yeast. Does that give the same effect?
Do you just use the liquid that the recipe calls for to soak the flour in the pancakes/waffles? Or do you have to have a special recipe to do it that way? If you just use the liquid from the recipe do you use it all or just part of it?
JO,
I not sure…if the milk actually soured enough to become “cultured” than definitely. But sometimes it just makes our milk sour without culturing it, so then it would be a “no”. Good question (even though I don’t have a good answer).
Sarah,
But if you were using whole wheat, like you said, in the recipes, then it could be considered soaked, I assume.
When you are using white flour, you don’t have to worry about whether they are soaked or not.
The only thing I am not positive about is how the yeast interacts in the soaking process, and am curious as to whether Sally Fallon has addressed that in any of her books. For her quick bread recipes, she will have you leave out the salt overnight because that hampers the soaking process. She also has several warnings in her book against yeast, though she does have a soaked, yeasted bread recipe that is a bit of a compromise but shows that she doesn’t think it’s terrible for you.
Good questions, ladies.
Lynn,
I just use the liquid that the recipe calls for. For example, I used one of the pancake recipe over at 101cookbooks.com, and soaked the flours in buttermilk overnight using their measurements, and added the rest of the ingredients in the morning. It turned out great! The soaked flour and buttermilk will have a slightly different texture as you stir things in, but you won’t notice in the end product.
I definitely agree that taking this step to soaking/sprouting doesn’t take more time, just planning.
A friend of mine modified a waffle recipe to use blended, sprouted wheatberries. They are excellent! Maybe by next Tuesday I will get around to typing that up into a post. Better yet, I should make them and post pics. We’ll see how ambitious I get.
Thanks for your blog. It is great to have gentle nudges reminding me to keep putting into practice all that I have learned about nutrition. It is sometimes easy to fall back into some of my old habits. Overall we are way ahead of where we were a year ago, but I don’t want to be content with that and stop moving forward.
Thanks!
~Erin
If I want ti make whole wheat bread using this soaking method, how would I do that? I’m trying to get away from the whites, and this soaking thing really makes a lot of sense. Is there a baking cookbook that uses soaked grains that you recommend. Thanks for your help
Kimi, I have heard from a reliable source that the acidic soaking agent is essential unless you soak for several days, and then it would collect it from the air. It is necessary to break down the phytates.
In my experience for soaking breads, muffins, etc. it is best to include the oil/butter and sweetener into the mix as well in the first step. This makes it wetter and more moist. This is what Sue Gregg recommends. (By the way, her breakfast book is a great resource for a soaking bread book!)
When I have soaked some of my muffins with all the flour and just the liquids called for in the recipe (along with buttermilk/kefir), it has on occasion resulted in small hard clumps from the dough drying out over night (not enough liquids to keep it moist!). Adding the oils and sweeteners solve this problem, then you only have to add the leavenings the next day!
This may be a silly question, but do you cover your grains while they soak with a lid or with plastic wrap? Or do they need air to breathe??
His,
Mrs. U
Sarah,
Sometime soon I hope to do a post about how I make my own sourdough bread (yeastless). We like it a lot. But the best resource I have found for cooking/baking is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I don’t agree with everything, but it has been very helpful by giving a lot of information and a lot of recipes. I have heard good things about Sue Gregg’s Cookbooks. She has changed a lot of her recipes to follow some of Sally Fallon’s principles, such as soaking grains. I can’t vouch for them personally, however, since I don’t own them.
Actually, come to think of it, if you go to her site, she gives some recipes for whole wheat bread that is soaked or sprouted. Check it out! http://www.suegregg.com/
Lindsay,
The only reason I feel that sometimes water is a reliable soaker by itself is that some of my grains will actually sprout in just water in shorter amounts of time. If they sprout, my understanding from NT is, all of the phytic acid and such is gone. It may not work well with all grains, but it seems to work fine with many of them (my buckwheat will sprout in about eight hours sometimes!).
I think, however, what you might be referring too is the yeast that you can gather from the air when soaking over longer periods of time. I don’t have a very strong understanding of this, but Amy was telling me how when you make pancakes, for example, and use buttermilk/kefir all of those organisms and healthy yeast help the final product be lighter. This is where just using water wouldn’t make as good of a product.
Interesting tip about adding in the oil and sweeteners and such, though. I have never done that, though I truthfully have never had any problems with dry spots. But it’s good to know!
Mrs. U,
It’s not a silly question! I do always cover it with plastic wrap or put a plate over the bowl.
Excellent explanation, Kimi! You’ve explained it far better than I’ve even attempted to at this point! I’ll probably end up linking to this post at some point as a further explanation for why soaking grains is important.
As for covering up what you are soaking, I simply use a clean dish towel. So simple, reusable, and keeps it fresh. Just make sure you don’t do what I do and accidentally leave a mixing spoon in it, so that your towel is not draped properly and too much air can get in, as this will (duh, silly me!) dry out your dough.
Hi Ladies- in regards to soaking in just water, I asked that question to Lauri Tauscher (who knows her stuff!) a while back, and this was her reply:
“The soaking accomplishes two things. One it “deactivates” the enzyme inhibitor that makes grain, nut and legume storage possible. This can be accomplished by soaking in just plain water - since this is the most important function of the soaking, it is definitely worth doing. The second function of soaking, using an acidic medium, is to help break down phytic acid, so this is the part that won’t get done by just soaking in water”
Do you leave it in the fridge or on the counter? I’m just wondering about how yogurt or buttermilk sitting out all night will do.
Jo
Amy,
Thanks for the comment! It was helpful. I actually emailed Mrs. Tauscher myself (for those of you who don’t know her, she is kind of our local NT expert and introduced a lot of us to Sally Fallon’s book). She wrote back and said that her opinion was that it was just fine to eat grains just soaked in water, and it was even better if in an acidic base. She also said that if it was sprouted it should be good. So this makes me feel that grains that sprout very quickly, like my buckwheat, should be more than okay in just water. (That’s what I was hoping!)
The reason I don’t always use a “sour” additive is because it makes it to sour (like my oatmeal) and Joel won’t even eat it! Mrs. Tauscher says that she will sometimes just use a teaspoon of lemon/whey in her oatmeal instead of the 2 tablespoons, and cook it with maple syrup added. I am sure that would make a huge difference.
Another lady I know rinses off her hot cereal grains to remove the sour taste. It works, but may? take away some of the nutrients.
Jo,
We do actually leave it out on the counter all night. It kind of weirded most of us out as well, at first! Because it is an “alive” and cultured food, it will just culture away happily without any problems. At least, that has been our experiences! But definitely do using your own discretion.
Wow. This stumps my brain! I wrote a blahg post sharing my “tilt” reaction to this (I don’t want to take over your comment section).
I came across this blog last night after checking out your other one. Thank you so much for this information. I am now in “research mode” and want to soak up (no pun intended but I am smiling nonetheless) as much information as I can.
So, where can I get more information on this. You mentioned a particular book (which I’ll look into getting). What about web resources you might have?
Jo had the same question I did in regards to whether or not to have them soaking in the fridge or on the counter. Thanks, Jo, for asking. 80)
I assume it’s supposed to be the soured stuff (ie: yogurt, buttermilk, etc) and not just regular milk to use (since that would actually go bad?).
Thank you, again, for your info.
80)
Mary Beth
One more question.
Do you know if I cook my soaked oatmeal in the microwave as opposed to on the stove top if that will cause “problems”? Or am I going to need to start being more patient? 80)
80)
Mary Beth
Hi! Thanks for confirming the plain water soaking -I was thinking the same thing; if it starts sprouting, you’re in good shape.
By all means, post about sourdough. I have been making it for twelve years, and love it. Anything you do with yeast you can do with sourdough, and it is as healthy as you can get with your grains. The best! It is not difficult, and you can control how sour (or not!)you want it to be by adjusting temperature and rising times. It’s so worth while. I always think it’s a shame that sourdough is often presented as something for the “experts” -too difficult for the average Jane. Not true!
Krista
What do you all use for straining the small grains (quinoa, teff, amaranth, millet, etc.) once it’s been soaked? Where do you purchase these things? I’d like to find something that works well enough that I can also rinse these grains after soaking them in an acidic base.
This post is very encouraging! I linked to it on my blog today!
Thank you for such a great post!
http://ahighandnoblecalling.blogspot.com/2008/05/ive-been-inspiredfinally.html
I am very confused about this whole discussion of soaking grains. Should I not buy bread from the store anymore? Do I have to soak all the rice and nuts I eat everyday? Thanks for any help on this.
Joe
Joe - most bread at the store is garbage filled w/corn syrup. Look for ezekiel bread or anything organic would be better ‘normal’ store bread.
Do you have to soak your nuts everyday? “P No - but you will be more healthy if you do.
Hi Lynn,
I’m just reading Nourishing Traditions cookbook and found your marvelous blog. My first attempt at soaked yogurt flour has a serious problem– I didn’t have a warm place, and used the crockpot on ‘warm’, intending to leave it on for only 10 mins or so to heat the crock. I got distracted, and the mixture got to probably about 110F or so.
Out of curiosity, I have left the mixture alone since then, about 48 hours ago. We keep our house at about 67F during the winter, so the mix has been kind of chilly. It does not have a bad smell, just smells like grain, but it doesn’t have the kind of ‘lively’ look that it had– just flattened and inert. Can I make it into porridge or something, or is it no longer good food of any kind? I hate to throw out 3 cups of organic spelt flour and 2 of yogurt, but of course if I screwed up bigtime, that is what I will do!
Thanks for any advice on this. It’s funny how tough it is to find a place for things to sit and be warm in our house (except cats, of course). Where I grew up, we had a gas stove with pilot light- now it’s piezo ignition. Or the top of the fridge– but the modern fridge has its coils on the floor, and is recessed into the cabinetry!
best regards,
Strata
http://mybayareagarden.blogspot.com/
http://relentlessinquiry.wordpress.com/
Hi Srata,
Welcome to my site.
If it doesn’t smell bad, it’s probably just fine. We keep our house around 65, but I don’t worry about it too much, but just try to place it in the warmest place I can find. I also usually start with warm water as well. The only thing I would say is that it may be pretty darn sour now! Were you trying to make the cracker recipe or for bread? You could probably still use it for that. If you made it into a hot cereal type thing, it would be very sour! When I make oatmeal, I only use a tablespoon or two of yogurt with water to soak it in, and it’s still sour.
Keep up the experimenting! Before long it will be an old hat to you.
Hi there, Thank you for this site. I am a huge fan of Fallon’s book but full of similar questions about the particularities of soaking grains. For example, I was soaking Teff for the first two times and each time some of the grains floated to the top, some stayed at the bottom. Of the ones that floated, the top layer had several sprouts of mold by morning that freaked me out. I spooned them off and bravely served the rest of the teff porridge to my family (I highly recommend teff; it’s delicious and so good for you). We were all fine, but the mold thing freaked me out!!
Also, I soaked some barley last night but am not using it right away. What do I do? Do you rinse the grains after you soak them? Do you cook them in the water you soaked them in or put them in fresh? I just put it into the fridge instead of letting it sit out another day.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Susan
I am just starting to mill my own flour and bake bread. I want to have the most nutritious food for my family possible but now I am wondering if I should sprout the wheat first the dry it out some how then use it to bake the bread or mill it into flour then soak it. So much to learn! Thanks for all the GREAT info!
Susan,
I would avoid anything that has molded (that’s so funny, that’s never happened to me before, I wonder why?). And yes, you can rinse grains off, I like to as it removes some of the sourness.
jhealthy,
You certainly don’t have to sprout the grains, then soak it. It’s one of those either/or situations.
Feel free to pick which ever method you like the best. 
Hello there! I have recently read Nourishing Traditions and have just found your site. Wonderful site full of great info. A question I have is- is there any benefit to soaking store bought ground flour. I realize this is not ideal and have begun grinding my own flour. However, in the hopes of not wasting all the ingredients that are currently in my cupboard- I was curious if soaking would at least help.
Thank you for the wealth of information- it is much appreciated. Candyce
Hi Candyce,
Welcome to my site!
Thanks for the kind comment.
And, yes, there is definitely value to soaking store brought flour.
Kimi = no one has mentioned oats. I have steel cut oats and am wondering if there is some reason they can’t be soaked>
First time on your site….
I wonder how long is too long to soak something? I have 2 cups quinoa that I kept putting off using and it’s been 6-7 days, no change in water, in a house 68 degrs. The sprouts look happy…. can I rinse and cook or could toxins have developed?
Thanks!!!
Anna
hi there, does anyone have any suggestions on how to soak almond flour (6 cups) when the recipe doesn’t call for any liquid except coconut oil (1/2 cup) and eggs (7)? thanks a bunch.
jj
Hi Kimi!
I’ve been pouring over your website, soaking up (ha ha!) all the information I can. I just recently got my copy of Nourishing Traditions and I’m thrilled!
Soaking is new to me. I don’t even know where to start. I don’t have a grain mill yet, so can I soak regular unbleached flour? Also, for baked goods, can I use buttermilk from the store? I do not have access to raw milk anymore, as my local source moved back to New Hampshire and the other sources listed on realmilk.org are over an hour away.
What are your thoughts?
Thank you! OH! I tried your Gorgonzola, Grape, Walnut & Rice salad last week - heavenly! Gorgonzola is a weakness of mine anyway, but it was fantastic. Thank you!
Regarding the straining of small grains: I’ve recently gotten into regularly making yogurt and yo-chee (yogurt cheese) and found that the best vehicle to drain that product is a jelly-making bag (usually suspended from a frame over a bowl, but works as well set inside a sieve). That seems to me to be the ideal solution to the grain-strain dilemma! And a plus for me is that I’ve now discovered an excellent use for the whey that drains from the yo-chee! I’ve used it in some cooking (e.g., omelettes) and baking, but now I’ve got the perfect acidic medium for grain soaking. Just gotta love the Universality of it all!
Hi, New here… just found your site.
I have been cooking with the Nourishing Traditions cookbook for about a month and a half now and it’s been great. Every recipe has been delicious. I have a question about the soaking flours part. I have been doing it and it tastes great and the texture has been amazing (I usually use buttermilk). My question is, when I uncover my bowl after the flour has been soaking for close to 24 hours, the top portion (that is exposed to air) is dark. Much, much darker than the flour underneath. Does this happen to anyone else? Am I doing something incorrectly?
I have been using it as is and it’s all turned out fine. I just didn’t know if I should be scrapping the dark part off or if it shouldn’t turn dark at all.
Thank you!