Happy New Year from the Fun Food Feed!
This Winter’s featured ingredient is Sprouted Wheat Bread. Sprouted grain breads contain whole grains (a.k.a. kernels or berries) that have been first sprouted, mixed with other ingredients, and then baked into bread. Whole grain includes the bran, germ and endosperm of the grain, providing more fiber and naturally-occurring vitamins and proteins than refined grains. Wheat, millet, barley, oat, lentil and soy are often used to make sprouted grain breads. Bread that is made from grains and legumes can provide a complete set of essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. 1
These multi grain-legume sprouted breads are said to have been first inspired by the passage Ezekiel 4:9 from the Bible: “Take also unto yourself wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make yourself bread of it, according to the number of the days that you shall lie upon your side, three hundred and ninety days shall you eat of it.” 2
A comparison of nutritional analyses shows that sprouted grains contain about 75% the energy (carbohydrates), slightly higher protein and about 40% of the fat when compared to whole grains. Sprouting grains can produce more antioxidants, including vitamin C, and B vitamins. 3
This quarter’s recipe is for Sprouted Wheat French Toast. Growing up, french toast was my family’s favorite Saturday morning breakfast. Our french toast is cut into fingers or nuggets for dipping into our warm Maple Caramel Sauce (recipe below).
Sprouted Wheat French Toast
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 1-2 servings; 6 French Toast Sticks
Ingredients:
3 slices sprouted wheat bread
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon salt
butter for sautéing
Maple Caramel Sauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon butter
Pinch salt
Equipment:
knife
cutting board
baking dish
fork or whisk
measuring spoons
measuring cups
pan
spatula
metal pitcher
Instructions:
1. Cut bread into “sticks” or “nuggets” (halved sticks).
2. Mix remaining ingredients in baking dish.
3. Soak cut bread in “bath.”
4. Bring Maple Caramel Sauce ingredients to a boil in metal pitcher.
5. Saute soaked bread over medium heat in pan until browned on both sides.
6. Serve immediately with warm Maple Caramel Sauce and fresh fruit.
1. Food for Life Ezekiel Bread
2. King James 2000 Bible (copyright 2003)
3. “Nutritive Value of Foods, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72 (HG-72)”. United States Department of Agriculture. 2002. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
