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A handy bread machine recipe for a delicious, conveniently made loaf using soaked flour for much improved nutrition and digestibility.
Homemade bread is making a comeback! The convenience of using a bread machine recipe is part of the reason why as more and more people opt to make their own with quality ingredients they source themselves.
Quality over convenience is an idea whose time has come in the bread department. The general public is awakening to the dangers of white flour, one of the “displacing foods of modern commerce” as described by Dr. Weston A. Price in his nutritional classic Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
This is a radical change from even just a few decades ago.
My Grandmother, like many of her generation, always chose white bread over “brown bread” as she called it. She considered whole wheat bread a sign of poverty because she observed growing up that those who ate white bread were more affluent and educated.
Fortunately, this notion is no longer a popular mindset.
Whole Grain Homemade Bread is Best
Not only is bread made with white flour basically devoid of nutrition, but it also adds to the body’s toxic load with a plethora of additives, chemicals, and unhealthy vegetable oils.
Worse, unlike the white bread even just 10 years ago, store bread frequently contains soy flour. This modern food threatens hormonal health and can trigger digestive problems for those who are sensitive.
Even commercially made sprouted bread masquerading as healthy frequently contains seitan or vital wheat gluten. This additive is nearly impossible to digest when isolated for use by food manufacturers.
Consumers choosing to bake their own bread usually forgo white flour in favor of whole wheat or other whole grains. Popular examples include teff or millet.
While whole grain flour may be fresher when you grind it at home and the bread more nutritious, other problems can emerge.
Modern breadmaking using a bread machine recipe typically employs the use of yeast and high heat. This quickly raises the dough and bakes the bread in a short amount of time.
This contrasts with the slow, natural rise that occurs with fermented dough baked at a lower temperature.
Why Use Soaked Flour?
Science has demonstrated the wisdom of the careful preparation methods of our ancestors. All grains and legumes contain phytic acid, an organic acid that blocks mineral absorption in the intestinal tract.
Powerful anti-nutrients in grain flour are neutralized in as little as 7 hours of soaking in water with small amounts of an acidic medium.
Examples include yogurt, kefir, lemon juice or cider vinegar. Soaking also neutralizes enzyme inhibitors present in the hulls of all grains and adds beneficial enzymes that increase the amount of nutrients present – especially the B vitamins.
For those with gluten intolerance, soaking or fermenting gluten-based grains breaks down this difficult-to-digest plant protein; studies carried out in Italy have found that people with celiac disease can consume genuine sourdough bread without digestive distress or auto-immune symptoms.
I frequently get asked how to make fresh bread at home using the traditional method of soaking flour first combined with the modern convenience of a bread machine.
If you have a breadmaker and would like to transition to a traditional method for making bread while continuing to use this appliance, here’s a bread machine recipe to try.
It is adapted from Healthy4Life by the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Enjoy your fresh-baked loaf courtesy of a blend of modern convenience and Traditional Wisdom!
Bread Machine Recipe using Soaked Flour
A handy bread machine recipe for a delicious conveniently made loaf using the traditional preparation method of soaking flour for much-improved nutrition and digestibility.
Ingredients
- 10 Tbl whole yogurt
- 3/4 cup filtered water
- 4 cups whole grain flour less 3 Tbl, preferably freshly ground
- 2 Tbl butter softened
- 1 Tbl molasses
- 3 Tbl arrowroot powder
- 1 3/4 tsp dried yeast
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Mix yogurt with water and mix with the flour to form a dough. Cover and leave in a warm spot on the kitchen counter for 18-24 hours.
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When it is partway through the kneading section, check that all the ingredients have mixed together and observe the consistency of the dough.
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If it is slimy, add some more arrowroot powder. If it’s too dry, add a few more drops of water, drop by drop.
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Proceed as directed for your particular bread machine model to finish baking your traditional loaf!
Once you’ve made your soaked loaf, be sure to save the crusts because they are perfect for making breadcrumbs!
More Traditional Bread Recipes
Interested in traditional breadmaking? Try these other recipes inspired by ancestral wisdom.
Have you used einkorn wheat with this recipe? Thank!
Can you use tapioca or cornstarch in place of the arrowroot powder?
Hi Sarah
I haven’t been able to find arrowroot powder here in NZ. Can it be replaced with organic cornstarch.
Thanks so much.
I recently found a brand new bread machine at a garage sale for $5. The bargain hunter in me could not pass it up, however, once I got it home I realized that the pan you bake the bread in is non-stick. I went online to find a bread machine with a stainless pan, but found they are almost non-existant and the few that are out there are exorbatantly priced. I sure would love the convenience of a bread machine, but can’t bring myself to use it. Sarah, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks for ALL you do to educate us!!
Chris
I’m seconding AESCJ on the einkorn flour question and I asked earlier but no reply yet. So one more time: please, does anyone know if this will work with einkorn flour as that’s all I’m using these days. Thanks! Elsha.
So I just tried this recipe with Einkorn flour and the loaf was delicious, but very crumbly and the slices just fell apart. With some nice grassfed butter and visitors over with the smell of warm bread, the delicious loaf was eaten before it was even cooled down. Unfortunately, if it would have survived, it would not have made sandwiches because of the crumbliness of the slices.
I was thinking that I may try it with Einkorn again, but with the addition of 2 eggs. I can let you know how that goes.
I am interested in making this recipe but I don’t have a bread machine. Do you know at what temperature the bread is baked and for how long? I love your website and have learned so much.
I make this recipe in my Bosch and bake in the oven at 350. I have left other comments if you would like to scroll up and find them.
This looks delicious, thanks! Also curious if anyone has tried it with einkorn flour?
Thank you so much! So, I am going soaking flour for bread again. I was so tired of trying to ammend the two-stage process for my zojorushi and all the failed attempts that I just gave up. I do, however, have a couple of questions. One, what size loaf is this recipe for? Two, afer leaving for 18 hours and adding the other ingredients, it was really sticky! How much arrowroot do you typically add? Three, could your substitute organic corn starch for the arrowroot? Lastly, if I wanted to bake in the oven instead of in the bread machine, do I have to let it rise and punch it down before transfering to my bread pan? I noticed Terri didn’t seem to have to punch it down for a second rising, but she is using a DLX that might make the second rising unnecessary? Thanks for your help! I am in the middle of trying this recipe as I type. 🙂
So the wholemeal setting on a bread maker is the same thing as the whole wheat setting?