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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 โœ”

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Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • How to Soak Flour+−
    • Dairy-Free
  • Soaking Flour Technique Applies to All Grains
  • Bread Recipes Using Soaked 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! ย 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 20 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: Amazon #1 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 (132)

  1. Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist

    Apr 27, 2010 at 12:03 am

    Here's a good recipe for a soaked loaf bread: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/kefir-soaked-sandwich-loaf/
    I actually buy my loaf bread from the store: Berlin Bakery's Sourdough Spelt. I use soaking flour method in my kitchen more for specialty breads like banana bread, pancakes, waffles, that sort of thing.

    Am planning to do the Video Thursday this week on sprouting wheat so stay tuned!

    Reply
    • anna

      May 17, 2012 at 10:17 pm

      Hi Sarah your website is wounderful i wish i discovered it mush sooner. I have an autistic son and determent to do evrething i can for him……anyway i am a bit confused on the amount of ingridients i need to use if i am soking the flower?also this link/recepie has yeast in it, how do i go to do it with out yeast? if you can help i would really appresiate it. thank you, anna

  2. Delta7

    Apr 26, 2010 at 11:52 pm

    Hi Sarah! I too am new to your blog and am mildly addicted! I have been feeling for a while that I have a grain intolerance, so I am absolutely going to try this method out. I also grind my flour/make bread but with a mixer/loaf pans vs. bread machine. Do you soak your flour before making traditional loaf bread?

    Oh, one more thing…..where can I find the info you mentioned about sprouting grains?

    Sorry so many questions and thanks again for your time!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    Apr 24, 2010 at 3:44 am

    Thank you so much for your posts. These videos are so extremely helpful. I can't wait to see the others on traditional methods of preparing grains. I'd love to have a segment on grinding your wheat. (Maybe you've already done that and I missed it?)
    Teresa Zeller

    Reply
  4. aprilbcollins

    Apr 23, 2010 at 11:12 pm

    I am new to all of this. I guess "instant gratification" is my new nemesis. I love that I do not have to "re-pioneer" all of this information. Thanks so much Sarah for being there presenting this information to those of us who want the best for ourselves and our families.

    Reply
  5. Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist

    Apr 22, 2010 at 5:59 pm

    Hi Dorsey, I wrote an article a few years back for Wise Traditions magazine on uses for raw milk that has soured and is no longer drinkable but still highly usable. Here a link to the article:
    https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/food-features/learning-to-maximize-the-use-of-your-real-milk-and-cream/

    Reply
  6. Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist

    Apr 22, 2010 at 8:26 pm

    Breadmaking machines are really designed to make bread the modern way using yeast .. not for traditionally prepared breads which is why they do not work particularly well for a soaked bread. Better to use a glass loafpan for a soaked bread. The liquid used for soaking the oatmeal overnight is all absorbed by the time you are ready to cook, so no need to pour anything off, just add additional liquid as necessary and cook.

    Reply
  7. Patricia

    Apr 22, 2010 at 8:13 pm

    Can you make bread in a breadmaker with soaked flour? What would the measurements be? Would I just skip the soaking liquid and continue with the recipe? Very new to this, and also wonder what I do with the liquid if I soaked oatmeal for breakfast the night before, do I drain it or cook the oatmeal in the liquid? Sorry for so many questions but this is so new to me.

    Reply
  8. Dorsey

    Apr 22, 2010 at 1:21 pm

    Duh Dorsey! I have been soaking my flour but my knowledge is very limited. Thanks so much for showing various ways to accomplish this. I had always done the kefir and water soak but loved the idea of using my soured milk.I never even thought of that. I have always been a bit stressed when my milk goes sour as I don't know the many ways it can be used. Now I see I can just start some flour soaking! Thanks big time.
    Also…..maybe some video Thursday you can show us newbies some of the other ways to use raw milk that is past its prime. I would love to see that.

    Reply
  9. Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist

    Apr 22, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    Fantastic, Rebecca. We really need to reach these young Moms the most. Please send it out to whomever you feel you benefit from the information.

    Reply
  10. Rebecca Pitre

    Apr 22, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    Hey Sarah,
    Great video this morning. I sent it out to all of my nieces as they are all young, stay at home mom's with a desire to feed their families well. I have been thinking recently about getting this type of info to 4-H and youth groups. This would be a good little video to shoot their way!

    Reply
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