How to Make Sprouted Grain Bread: Essene Bread Recipe

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by AdobeStock/chamillew

Learn how to make sprouted grain bread, including an ancient Essene bread recipe.

Of all the known breads, the simplest and possibly the most nutritious is Essene whole grain bread. An ancient recipe for this unusual loaf appears in the first century Aramaic manuscript entitled The Essene Gospel of Peace (from which the bread derives its name). It dates back to prehistoric days when wafers made from a grain and water paste were cooked on sun-heated stones.

There’s not much difference between the baking technique used by the monastic brotherhood 2,000 years ago and our modern method. Both result in a round, flattened loaf — rather like a sweet, moist dessert bread or cake — containing all of the virtues of unadulterated sprouted grain, its sole ingredient. The recipe offered below is adapted from Uprisings: The Whole Grain Bakers’ Book, a compilation of bakers’ recipes inspired by the Cooperative Whole Grain Educational Association Conference of 1980.

Sprouting Wheat Grains

To sprout your grain, you’ll need a wide-mouthed glass jar (or a large plastic tub or soup pot) that has a screw-on lid with holes punched in it or a piece of fine screening, cheesecloth, or netting secured to the top with a strong rubber band. A meat grinder (or a food processor or hand-cranked grain mill), a cookie sheet, and an oven will take care of the rest.

  • Updated on Jan 4, 2022
  • Originally Published on Jan 1, 1984
Tagged with: bread recipe, recipe, sprouted grain, sprouted grains, whole grain
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