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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Videos / Soaking Flour for Maximum Digestibility (+ VIDEO)

Soaking Flour for Maximum Digestibility (+ VIDEO)

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Jump to Recipe

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • How to Soak Flour+−
    • Dairy-Free
  • Soaking Flour Technique Applies to All Grains
  • Bread Recipes Using Soaked Flour
  • How to Soak Flour

Soaking flour for maximum digestibility is one of the three traditional methods of grain preparation for healthy, nutritious bread as practiced by Ancestral cultures.soaking flour basics

One of the most important baking techniques to learn when implementing a traditional diet is soaked flour. This ancestral method of grain preparation enhances digestibility and improves the metabolism of nutrients.

This technique also reduces anti-nutrients such as phytic acid in the grain flour. These substances block mineral absorption and can aggravate inflammation of the intestinal tract. Gluten-free grains also contain these anti-nutrients.

Other methods for reducing anti-nutrients in grains and improving metabolism include sour leavening (sourdough) and sprouting.

How to Soak Flour

Soaking flour is simple. Simply mix grain flour with yogurt, kefir, or clabbered milk, cover with a dishtowel, and let sit on the counter overnight. Freshly ground flour produces the best results. After the allotted soaking time, blend in the remaining ingredients and bake or cook as usual.

Non-grain based flours such as cassava and coconut flour do not need soaking. Others such as almond flour and chickpea flour are best soaked before grinding rather than after.

Dairy-Free

For those with milk allergies, substitute 1 cup of filtered water per cup of flour plus 2 TBL of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and soak as usual for at least 8 hours or overnight.

For those with more extreme wheat sensitivities, the soaking time can be increased up to 24 hours to further breakdown gluten and other anti-nutrients.

Soaking any longer than 24 hours risks the development of mold.

Soaking Flour Technique Applies to All Grains

The principle of soaking can be applied to whole grains as well, such as your morning oatmeal. It was common to soak oats overnight before cooking back before WWII. This step was apparently even suggested on the Quaker oatmeal box!

It seems with the modern preference for speed in food preparation, this essential step has been lost. Hardly anyone under the age of 80 even remembers it anymore.

Try soaking your oatmeal the night before and see how much more filling it is after you cook and eat it the next morning.

Instead of being hungry again at 10 am, you will likely be full right through until lunch!  To soak oatmeal, use 1 cup of warm filtered water per cup of oats plus 2 TBL whey, yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk. Stir together in the pot you will cook them in, cover with the lid, and leave overnight.

Cook, as usual, the next morning.

Bread Recipes Using Soaked Flour

Try this soaked bread recipe with your soaked flour. You can also try making a soaked loaf in a bread machine.

The video in the recipe tutorial below demonstrates visually the simple process of soaking flour. Try it with your next flour-based recipe!

Soaking Flour for Maximum Digestibility (+ VIDEO)
4.8 from 15 votes
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How to Soak Flour

How to soak flour of all kinds before making the batter to improve digestibility and nutritional benefits of bread and other baked goods.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Soaking time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes
Servings 1 batch
Calories 1200 kcal
Author Sarah Pope

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour preferably freshly ground and organic
  • 2 cups whole milk yogurt

Instructions

  1. Mix flour and yogurt in a large bowl.

  2. Cover with a clean dishcloth and secure with a large rubber band.

  3. Leave on the counter overnight or for 8 hours.

  4. Uncover, mix in remaining ingredients for whatever recipe you wish to make and bake as usual.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Clabbered milk or plain kefir may be substituted for yogurt.

If there is a dairy allergy, 2 cups of water plus 2 Tbl lemon juice may be substituted. This reduces the calories to 910 for one batch.

Nutrition Facts
How to Soak Flour
Amount Per Serving (1 batch)
Calories 1200 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 9g45%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 5g
Cholesterol 54mg18%
Sodium 196mg8%
Potassium 912mg26%
Carbohydrates 209g70%
Fiber 7g28%
Protein 40g80%
Iron 11mg61%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Category: DIY, Grain Recipes, Traditional Preparation of Grains, Videos
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (126)

  1. Brook Wise

    Dec 10, 2022 at 4:53 am

    5 stars
    I am very interested in soaking my flour on yogurt just as you recommended. I have been baking with my sourdough culture for a while but I have never soak the flour that I use right before baking when adding it to the culture. Would this method work with the recipes? My question is it ok to use greek yogurt to soak my flour, will the yogurt go bad by no being in the refrigerator while is being soak in the flour?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope

      Dec 10, 2022 at 8:44 am

      Greek yogurt should not be used for soaking as it doesn’t have enough whey to have the proper acidity.

    • Brook Wise

      Dec 18, 2022 at 9:12 am

      5 stars
      What type of yogurt would you recommend? I live in Colorado.

  2. Hélène

    Nov 2, 2022 at 9:24 pm

    5 stars
    Why use yogurt or kefir?
    Once u bake them, the cultures are dead. Why not use whey or vinegar? Or a couple tbsps yogurt in water?

    Reply
  3. Marie

    May 31, 2022 at 9:43 am

    5 stars
    I hope this is not a silly question but can you soak the flour you would used to bake a cake? For example, if the cake requires 1 cup of milk can I soak the flour in the milk the night before then add the remaining ingredients the next day?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope

      May 31, 2022 at 10:53 am

      This typically won’t work as soaking the flour alters the recipe considerably. You need to use a cake recipe that is specifically developed using soaked flour OR use sprouted flour in place of the regular flour. Then, no soaking is necessary.

      This is my soaked cake recipe. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/devils-food-cake/

  4. Linda

    Apr 20, 2022 at 10:41 am

    5 stars
    Hi Sarah.
    I am grateful to you for all of your information. I am aware that soaking nuts will help remove cross contamination from them and I can eat nuts that I soak at home. I was wondering if soaking flour that is cross contaminated with SOY or Peanuts will do the same?
    I am learning to do all of my own food preparation, but I find that some of the flours I purchase are still cross contaminated and I am super sensitive. Particularly are Gluten Free Mixes that are processed on equipment that shares with Soy etc.

    Reply
  5. amir rasouli

    Jan 12, 2021 at 5:57 pm

    What happens if you soak almond flour after, not before? Does it still work? I bought a big bag of almond flour, then found out I need to soak…

    Reply
    • Erica Turner

      Feb 27, 2023 at 8:28 pm

      5 stars
      I have the same question about almond flour. I bought some and just learned this process! I also bought teff flour and am hoping to soak the flours first. Thank you!

  6. Brenda Alarco

    Sep 2, 2020 at 1:06 pm

    Hello, thank you for your knowledge and expertise you share to us all.
    My question is… I’m currently fighting a cavity by eliminating grains, sugars (I do have fruit) beans, nuts and seeds. Is it best to stay away from flour all together or soaked flour would be ok? Any other recommendations is appreciated. I take cod liver oil with ghee and homemade liver pills daily.
    Thank you!!!

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Sep 3, 2020 at 7:39 am

      I recommend the book Cure Tooth Decay as it outlines the optimal diet for remineralizing a tooth.

  7. Catia

    Mar 2, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    Hi Sarah,
    Would it be worth soaking store-bought wheat flour? Whole grain and white whole wheat flour? I am very interested in preparing grains using the Traditional Method, but want to see if I can use up what I already have in my pantry. I’ve already made the soaked oats, then oatmeal with success twice using ACV. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Mar 3, 2020 at 11:50 am

      Yes you can soak store bought flour.

  8. Karen

    Sep 1, 2019 at 11:35 pm

    Hi Sarah,
    You replied to Steph that “store bought buckwheat is very bitter. You should really grind buckwheat fresh yourself.” Yet I saw in your recipe for buckwheat porridge that you use the store-bought Pocono brand of Cream of Buckwheat. Is this particular brand less bitter?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Sep 2, 2019 at 5:18 pm

      Cream of buckwheat is not the same as buckwheat flour.

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