Sprouting Wheat Berries and Making Sprouted Flour

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If you have been wondering how you can start sprouting wheat berries and using them to make your own flour, this is the post for you!

I'm always trying to work on new ways to make healthier food for our family. I've you have been wondering how you can start sprouting wheat berries and using them to make your own flour, this is the post for you! #sproutedgrains #sproutedflour #diysproutedflour #wheatflour #healthy

Sprouting Wheat Berries

Since I got a grain mill I’ve been researching a lot about sprouting wheat berries and grinding my own flour. I’ve discovered that sprouting grains creates more vitamins and makes them easier to digest. I started grinding my own wheat berries so that I am able to preserve the nutrients in freshly ground wheat.

Through further research, I’ve been reading about phytic acids in unsprouted grains and how to remove them by sprouting the grains. There is a lot of debate and detail on this topic and I’d encourage you to do your own research. From reading. I’ve discovered that by removing the phytic acid it helps take out the inhibitor in the grains and that helps your body to be able to digest them better.

You can sprout your grains and still make them into flour and use them as you normally would use wheat flour, no difference except better nutrients and vitamins! Sprouting and drying the grains is time-consuming but takes very little actual hands-on work. Depending on your grain used it should take about 2 days or 48 hours to fully sprout, dry, and mill your grains.

— Want to learn how to sprout your own seeds? Check out this post to learn How to Easily Begin Sprouting Seeds 

sprouting wheat berries

How to Sprout Grains

Start by measuring 5 cups of wheat berries (or another whole grain) into a gallon glass jar. You don’t really want to fill up more than 1/3 of the jar because the grains will expand. Then rinse the grains once and drain them, then fill the jar up again with water. Let this sit and soak for at least 8 to 12 hours. Make sure you cover the top of the jar with some kind of screen. I used cheesecloth secured with a rubber band.

sprouting wheat berries

After you have let the grains soak, drain the water.

sprouting wheat berries

Then rinse the grains and pour out any excess water.

sprouting wheat berries

Tip the jar up and let any excess water drip out. You will want to rinse and drain the grains about once every 2 to 3 hours until they sprout.

sprouting wheat berries

I used soft white wheat for this sprouting and it took them about 12 hours to sprout after I started the rinsing/draining process. Once they have short little tails, they are done!

sprouting wheat berries

Much more than we started out with! I gave the sprouted wheat berries one final rinse before I started the drying process.

–Do you have animals? You can use a similar process to make your own fodder.

sprouting wheat berries

How to Dry Sprouted Grains

Before we can use our yummy sprouted grains for flour or other purposes, we need to dry them.

To dry them, first, pour the grains into your dehydrator trays. You may need to get extra screens or so the grains don’t fall through depending on which dehydrator you have and the size of the grains you have sprouted. Mine came with screens and the grains didn’t fall through so I was good to go!

sprouting wheat berries

Set your dehydrator at 145F. It will take between 12 and 24 hours to dry the grains depending on what kind they are and how humid your home is. You can also do this in your oven if the temp goes below 150F. Anything higher than that will destroy the good enzymes that you just helped to create!

sprouting wheat berries

This is what the grains looked like after they were done drying. These only took about 12 hours, I used soft white wheat berries. You can use your berries just like this if you’d like. Just make sure they are fully dry and store them in an airtight container. You can use them for a little extra crunch on salads, or in your granola, etc.

How to Make Flour with Sprouted Grains

Before you start grinding your sprouted wheat berries, make sure that your grains are very, very dry so that you don’t clog up your machine.

sprouting wheat berries

Set up your grain mill. As I’ve mentioned before, I just love my WonderMill! One thing I always double-check is that the canister is good and attached to the mill, otherwise, you might just make a mess. (Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything….)

sprouting wheat berries

Add the grains to the grain mill. I did this on the bread setting.

sprouting wheat berries

Unless you plan on using it right away, store your freshly milled flour in the freezer so it will preserve the nutrients.

—Now that you’ve got some fresh flour, you can get started baking some delicious breads!

Just as a note, freshly milled sprouted flour smells more earthy than regularly milled flour. This is because instead of milling a seed you are milling a plant. Like I said above, this is more time consuming than just milling flour but you will have to decide for you and your family if the benefits out-weight the time spent.

Here are some more flours or flour blends you can make at home:

Making and Using Rice Flour

Making and Using Bean Flour; Recipes Using Bean Flour

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

How to Make Almond Flour and Homemade Almond Milk

How to Make Self Rising Flour

Do you sprout your own grains? 

My Bio

This post on Sprouting Wheat Berries was originally published on Little House Living in July 2012. It has been updated as of March 2020.

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13 Comments

  1. Be sure and save the water and use it to water houseplants or needy parts of your vegetable garden,The water is vitamin candy for plants!

  2. I don’t know if you can help me on this, but I ADORE sprouted grain bread and would like to make it myself. (I already lacto ferment, culture, and preserve a lot of food). Do you know where online to buy the grain that is reputable, yet affordable? I don’t really want to join a coop because I am still trying to get my husband on board with me for this bread. I think if I make it some he may grow on it. Thanks

    1. You know, I don’t know. Maybe someone else has ordered online? I get my wheat berries from my coop, Azure Standard. You might want to just check around your town too if you have any health foods stores, they might carry them.

    2. You can buy grains that are already sprouted and ground, ready for use. Google TO YOUR HEALTH SPROUTED FLOUR COMPANY. I have never bought from them before (yet) but they have a really good resource link for grain mills too. (Restel grain mill)….

  3. Hi…
    Many years ago, I lived out in the woods with no electricy. I had a grain mill and baked all our bread. Yes, it was alot of work; sometimes the men helped with the grinding.
    On a whim, I decided to sprout the wheat (for the same reasons as yourself, sprouted changes the chemistry of the grain). Rather than dry the sprouted wheat, I threw it in the mill, and was surrised when it emerged feeling like a bread dough, with just the right texture, ready to bake!
    I had no book to reference. I decided to make chappatis, which are Indian tortillas. I don’t recall adding anything, I just flattened themng some flour to prevent sticking, and a rolling pin, then threw them on a preheated cast iron griddle.
    They were so delicious, with a surprising natural sweet taste. All we did was put on some butter. They were gobbled up in no time.
    Later I found in a cook book that sprouted wheat chappatis are a delicacy in India, and they serve them with ghee (clarified butter)….they were wonderful, and no need around my house to clarify anything!
    Just thought you might want to know…
    Katie
    PS I also found that just barely sprouting beans before I cooked them were wonderful also, didn’t change the flavor, and were less gassy.

    1. Katie, yeah, that’s the way I do it. I bought a cookbook in Israel — The Garden of Spices by Shoshanna Harrari, and that’s the way she says to do it.

  4. I have been interested in grinding my own wheat but haven’t known where to start. Do you have a post on this process? I get a bit overwhelmed with all the details. For instance what berries would I buy? Ideally organic to avoid pesticides. Can you direct me or offer any more advice?

  5. Will a high speed blender, ie vitamix, work for grinding the sprouted grains? I already grind flax seeds to make flax flour.

    1. Depending on your recipe, a high speed blender might not be able to grind them finely enough. I have the Wonder Junior Manual Grain Mill for all my flour grinding.

  6. I have read that it’s important to weigh your original wheat berries before you start the sprouting process. Then , when you dehydrate them, make sure the final weight matches. Doing this ensures that you have removed all the moisture.

  7. Hello, I just wanted to mention that if you sprout your grains and grind them in a NutriMill miller, it will void your warranty.