Focaccia with Kalamata Olives and Rosemary

Its been awhile since I posted a recipe. I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my third daughter, but I figure that I better get something up here before she shows up because it might be the last in awhile. . . That said, I have been baking and cooking alot in the last weeks so I have plenty of material.

What can I say about focaccia bread? I have had wonderfully moist and delicious non-gf focaccia bread, and I have had dry, crumbly and overall non-appetizing non-gf focaccia bread. As always my goal is to create something that though its gluten-free, closely resembles its non-gf counterpart, hopefully on the wonderful end of the flavor and texture spectrum.

This focaccia is light and airy, a little chewy and very flavorful. You can top it with just about anything you like, from herbs to vegies. We did kalamata olives, garlic and rosemary on one half and tomato, red onions, basil and garlic on the other half. This is a fun recipe to get creative with and and let the kids help pick the toppings. It goes great with any Italian food and is one of the easier breads to make. I use a French bread/flat bread mix that I make up in bulk and keep in the pantry so throwing it together is pretty easy. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.

French bread/Flat bread mix:

• 3 1/2 cups rice flour
• 2 1/2 cups tapioca starch
• 2 Tbsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a gallon-sized zip top bag or other large air-tight container. Mix thoroughly by shaking or with a wire whisk.

Focaccia Bread with Kalamata Olives and Rosemary

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups French Bread/Flat Bread Mix
• 3 Tbsp almond meal (optional - it just gives a softer texture and a bit more flavor)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp dry yeast
• 2 eggs or substitute
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 to 2/3 cups warm water
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped or you can leave it in 4-5 leaf sprigs
• grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• coarse sea salt
• Olive oil spray for pan
• egg wash for top of bread (optional - it just gives the bread a lovely golden color - 1 egg + 1 tbsp water, whisked together)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray 9x13 inch baking pan with olive oil spray and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment combine French Bread/Flat Bread Mix, almond meal if using, salt, and yeast. With the mixer on low speed, add eggs or substitute, vinegar and olive oil. Mix for about 1 minute. Add water, starting with 1/2 cup. Increase mixer speed to medium high and mix for at least 3 minutes. The dough should be pretty loose - it won't hold its shape and should slide off the paddle when the mixer stops. If the dough is more stiff, add water 1 Tbsp at a time until it is almost pourable. Note: Getting the "feel" for the dough textures in gluten-free baking can take some practice as it is totally different from conventional baking. You want the dough to be wet enough to be moist, but dry enough to hold its cell structure when its baked.

Scrape dough into prepared pan and spread out with a spatula. Spray the top of the dough with olive oil spray and use a piece of plastic wrap to finish spreading the dough so it reaches the edges of the pan. Use your fingertips to make dents or holes in the top of the bread. Remove plastic wrap. Note: I don't like waste and because plastic wrap factors so heavily in forming pretty loaves of bread with very sticky dough, I reuse mine. I simply fold it up, oily sides together and store it in the freezer between uses. I have been using the same pieces of plastic wrap for at least 6 months now. If using egg wash, brush the top of the bread with egg wash. Add kalamata olives and rosemary to top of bread and sea salt and Parmesan if using.


Let bread rise until double. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!

More to come with Love!

Gluten-Free Stout Chocolate Cake

I love random holidays, especially ones that have traditional foods associated with them. My goal is always to create a memorable meal that no one would know is gluten-free. This year I went all out for St. Patrick's Day, brining my own corned beef (I highly recommend it as you can avoid the nitrates and nitrites in the commercially produced varieties), and making traditional (or not) Irish Soda Bread.  I was especially fortunate because my wonderfully creative husband had just bottled a batch of gluten-free Russian Imperial-Style Stout beer. Just a quick side note about his beer: He's been brewing GF beer for about 3 years now and hopes to market and distribute his delicious creations under the name Roots and Shoots Gluten-Free Brewery, both in our future bakery and throughout the Northwest. Anyway, I always see recipes for stout chocolate cakes made with Guinness in magazines around this time of year and I really wanted to make a gluten-free one. The cake is incredibly moist with just a hint of the delicious stout flavor. With a mocha buttercream frosting, this cake is the perfect conclusion to the traditional St. Patty's Feast feast of corned beef and cabbage. If your husband isn't a gluten-free home brewer, I would recommend Green's Explorer Stout, which is available at many natural-foods stores. If you can't find a gluten-free dark beer, you can try substituting any gluten-free beer, like Redbridge or Bard's Tale.
Yield: 2 8" round layers or one 8" layer and 12 cupcakes or 24 cupcakes

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, or substitute
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 6 tbsp molasses
• 1- 12oz bottle gluten-free stout (dark) beer
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 cups gluten-free flour mix
• 14 Tbsp (1/2 cup plus 6 Tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• parchment paper circles for bottoms of cake pans
• butter or oil spray for sides of cake pans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter or spray sides of 8" round cake pans with olive oil spray. Cut parchment circles to size, place in bottom of pans and set pans aside. Or, if making cupcakes, line cupcake tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugars and molasses and mix until well combined. You can use an electric mixer or do it by hand. Add vanilla, beer and melted butter and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together gluten-free flour mix, baking soda, sea salt and xanthan gum. Add to wet ingredients, alternating with yogurt, in 3 additions: Add some flour mix, stir, add some yogurt, stir, add more flour mix, stir, add remaining yogurt, stir, add remaining flour mix. Mix until no lumps are present. Note: Due to the lack of gluten, you don't have to worry about "over mixing" this cake. Pour into prepared cake pans or cupcake tins.

Bake cupcakes for about 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Bake round cakes for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and frost with Mocha Buttercream (recipe follows) Enjoy!

Mocha Buttercream Ingredients:
3 cups confectioners sugar
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp coffee extract
4 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream or half&half

Directions:
Beat butter, confectioners sugar and cocoa powder on high speed in the bowl or a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until combined. Add vanilla and coffee extract and beat on high till combined. Slowly add cream or half & half, one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

More to come with Love!

Moroccan-Style Shepherd's Pie (Vegeterian Option)

I fell in love with sweet potatoes about 10 years ago, before they were really big in mainstream cuisine (at least where I lived). I tried to shove them into so many recipes. This recipe is inspired by both my love for sweet potatoes and a recipe in Cuisine at Home Magazine for a Moroccan-style chicken dish that is full of warm spices, briny olives and a hint of lemon. I grew up eating hearty shepherds pie, usually made with elk or venison (beef was expensive and hard to come by in rural Montana). I wanted to make a shepherds pie with sweet potatoes and I thought the Moroccan flavors would lend themselves to the potatoes sweetness. I served it with a big dollop of plain yogurt and fresh lemon wedges. Big hit in my house! Even my 4 and 5 year olds gobbled up seconds of this one.

Yield: About 6-8 servings, depending on how hungry you are

Ingredients:

• 3 - 4 medium sweet potatoes (actually, I used garnet yams), peeled and diced in 1 inch cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 portabella mushroom caps (or equivalent), diced in 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 small or 1/2 medium onion, finely diced (or use 1/2 lb ground beef or lamb)
• 1 medium carrot, finely diced
• 1 rib celery, finely diced
• 3 (or 10) cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved
• 1 can (1 1/2 cups) garbanzo beans, drained
• 2 cups mushroom broth (or beef broth if using meat)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp paprika (smoked or sweet, whatever you prefer)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp each fresh cilantro and parsley
• lemon wedges
• plain yogurt to serve

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover sweet potatoes in cool water, bring to a boil and simmer until tender. Drain and add 1 tsp salt. Mash to desired consistency. Note: You can add more sweet potatoes or leave some out, depending on how thick you like the topping.

In a large saute pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat till it shimmers. Saute mushrooms onion, carrot, celery and garlic till soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more. Add lemon juice, broth, paprika, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, ginger and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer till liquid is reduced to about half. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp each cilantro and parsley. Transfer mixture to 8x8 square casserole dish. Spread mashed sweet potatoes on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the edges are bubbly. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with yogurt and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and parsley. Enjoy!

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Corn Dogs

Corn dogs became a birthday tradition for my girls a few years ago, when I discovered that I could, in fact, make them gluten-free! We had a big birthday party for my oldest daughter's 3rd birthday and I wanted to make something that would be fun for the kids to eat as well as the adults. Since we are the only gluten-free family that was at the party, I wanted to make them taste good enough that no one would know the difference, other than that they were homemade. I started with my regular cornbread batter, dipped the skewered, uncured hot dogs in the batter and fried them. Its really easy and who makes corn dogs at home? Everyone was impressed and no one knew they were gluten-free. We only have them two times per year, on each of my daughters' birthdays. Without fail, each time I ask the girls what they want to eat on their special day, they enthusiastically reply, "Corn dogs!!". I hope your family enjoys the recipe as much as ours does.

Yield: 8 - 12 corn dogs

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 packages gluten-free hot dogs. I use uncured hot dogs because we don't like nitrates or nitrites. I have even used uncured cocktail smokies for cute little corn dogs.
• 1 cup gluten-free flour mix
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup honey or sugar
• 1/4 cup oil (your choice) or melted butter
• 1 cup milk or water
• rice flour for dusting hot dogs
• oil for frying -  you can use any high-heat oil, just remember to use one without a strong flavor
• 8 - 12 wooden corn dog sticks - available at most supermarkets (you can also use bamboo kabob skewers, cut in half)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a cookie sheet with a wire rack on top of it in the oven. Heat oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit on the stove top in a heavy bottomed pot. You want to fry the corn-dogs at about 350 degrees, but the temperature will drop as soon as you put the first batch in, so its good to start a little higher.

Insert wooden sticks at least two-thirds of the way into hot dogs. Set aside.

Put gluten-free flour mix, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add egg, honey or sugar, oil or butter, and milk and mix until there are no lumps. Transfer batter to a tall container to make dipping the hot dogs easier. I used a quart yogurt container.

Put rice flour in a rectangular baking dish big enough to fit the skewered hot dogs end to end. Coat each skewered hot dog in rice flour. This helps the batter stick to the hot dogs. Dip each hot dog into cornbread batter and swirl to make sure the whole thing is covered in a layer of batter. Fry in batches for about 3 minutes or until golden brown, making sure the oil temperature remains at around 350 degrees. If the temperature goes below 350, wait for it to heat back up before frying another batch. Transfer finished corn dogs to the rack in the oven. Serve with your favorite condiments and enjoy!

Note: These freeze really well. Just put them in a bag in the freezer and when you want to reheat them, pop them into a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

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English Muffins

Mmmm. . . English muffins. Wrapped around eggs and cheese or simply toasted with butter and jam, light and airy English muffins are a craveable snack. As with just about anything, homemade, made from scratch English muffins are tastier and more nutritious than store-bought. These gluten-free English muffins will satisfy all your cravings, from eggs benedict to breakfast sandwiches. They do require a little specialized equipment in the form of English muffin rings. You can either buy rings at a specialty kitchen store or on Amazon.com (they run about $5 for 4 rings and you need a dozen for this recipe), or you can improvise with sheets of aluminum foil folded into 1" strips and stapled into a circle, which is what I did.


Yield: 12 - 3" English muffins


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice flour (try substituting my Multigrain Mix here)
• 1 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 tsp potato flour (not potato starch)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp almond meal
• 2 Tbsp honey or sugar, divided
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp (one packet) active dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or whatever oil you like, I have used flax oil too)
• about 1/4 cup cornmeal
• olive oil spray
• 12 English muffin rings, or equivalent
• 12 - 3 1/2" squares of waxed paper or tin foil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and place a cookie sheet inside the heating oven. Space waxed paper squares (they need to be individual squares so you can pick them up individually to pan-fry them) on a 12x18 half-sheet baking pan. Arrange English muffin rings on squares, sprinkle about 1 tsp cornmeal inside each ring and spray insides with oil spray.

Combine warm water, 1 tsp honey or sugar and yeast in a glass measuring cup and set aside to bloom.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine rice flour, tapioca starch, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, potato flour, salt and almond meal. With mixer on low speed, add egg, vinegar, remaining honey or sugar and oil and mix on low for 1 minute until well combined. Add yeast mixture and continue mixing on low for 30 seconds. Increase mixer speed to high and mix for 3 minutes, until dough (more like a batter) is smooth and free of any lumps.

Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter into each ring. I use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop to portion but you can eyeball it too. Spray the tops of the muffins with oil spray and use a sheet of plastic wrap or a spatula to smooth out the tops. Note: You will notice that in many of my recipes, especially bread recipes, that I use plastic wrap to cover the dough for rising or to smooth out the tops for a uniform look. I don't like to waste anything so I simply fold up the plastic wrap after I am done with it and put it in the freezer to use again and again. I have been using the same pieces of plastic wrap for several months. Set the muffins in warm place to rise for about 20 to 30 minutes. You don't want them to rise too high because they will continue to rise when you fry them.

When the muffins are just about done rising, preheat a frying pan over medium heat. If you aren't using seasoned cast iron or a non-stick pan, spray the pan with olive oil. Working quickly and carefully, pick up a waxed paper square with the risen muffin dough and flip over onto the heated pan. Carefully remove the paper and repeat with as many as will comfortably fit in your pan. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until bottom is golden brown, and flip over and cook 1 minute longer and remove rings. Transfer to cookie sheet in oven and repeat with remaining muffins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

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Gingerbread People and Houses

                                                                                                                                                                      

Yield: about 6 dozen cookies or 2 small houses and 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups molasses
• rice flour for rolling

Directions

Cream butter and sugar until well-combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. With mixer on low speed, add gluten-free flour mix, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, and beat until combined. Divide dough into 3 discs, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a generously floured piece of parchment, roll dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour. Slide dough and parchment onto baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.

Cut out desired shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.

Bake cookies for 6 minutes. Remove sheets from oven, and tap them firmly on counter to flatten cookies. Return to oven, rotating sheets, and bake until crisp but not darkened, 6 to 8 minutes more. Cool sheets on wire racks.

Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain round tip or just use a zip-top bag and snip the very tip off for piping. Pipe designs on cookies and use icing as "glue" to hold house pieces together. Let cookies stand at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours (preferably overnight). Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers for up to 1 week. Enjoy!

Royal Icing (for decorating)

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 egg whites, beaten or meringue powder equivalent

Directions:
Combine ingredients in mixer. Beat on high till smooth and holds its shape.

More to come with Love!

Vegan Sprouted Grain Bread

From soaking to sprouting to grinding to mixing to baking, sprouted bread is a labor of love. While you can find many kinds of gluten-free bread at your local supermarket, I have not yet seen a gluten-free sprouted bread. Its well worth every step as the result is a hearty, toothsome bread with a very complex flavor profile. Its dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan. I couldn't make enough of it for the Farmers Market and sold out every week. For tips on sprouting the various grains and where to obtain them check out my Adventures in Sprouting post.

Note: I began using a 3.75"x6.375" bread pan last year for my breads because it was a more comparable size to what you can find in the store, and the smaller pan helped me achieve a more consistent final product. You can certainly use the standard 9"x5" loaf pan if you prefer a larger loaf. If you would like to try a smaller pan, here is where I buy mine: http://cooksdream.com/store/fdbp5641.html

Yield: 1 large loaf, or 2 smaller loaves

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup ground, sprouted gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cup ground, sprouted millet
• 1/2 cup ground, sprouted buckwheat
• 1/3cup ground, sprouted teff
• 1/3 cup ground, sprouted amaranth
• 1/3 cup ground, sprouted quinoa
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 2/3 cup tapioca four
• 1 Tbsp potato flour
• 1 Tbsp xanthan gum
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp ground flax meal
• 9 Tbsp warm water
• Olive oil spray for bread pans

Directions:
Note: I use the wet ground sprouts in this recipe. You can use equal amounts of ground dried sprouts, but will need to add approximately 3/4 to 1 cup of water to the recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray bread pans with olive oil spray and set aside.
Combine flax meal and water in a small bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sprouted oats, millet, buckwheat, teff, amaranth, and quinoa on low speed. Add sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato flour, xanghan gum, yeast and salt. Mix on low until all ingredients are incorporated. Add olive oil, agave nectar, vinegar and flax meal/water mixture. Continue mixing on low until ingredients are well incorporated, then increase mixer speed to high and mix for 3 minutes longer, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
Transfer dough to one large or two small prepared bread pans. Spray top of dough with olive oil and use plastic wrap to form the top of the dough into a gentle mound shape. Lift plastic wrap so it is not resting on top of dough and allow bread to rise in a warm place until about double in volume.
Bake for 45 minutes. Remove bread from pans and allow to cool on a wire rack under a clean tea towel. Enjoy!

  

More to come with Love!

Adventures in Sprouting

Sprouted Gluten-Free Oats

We have all seen the sprouted bread in the grocery store- its usually right next to the gluten-free bread in the freezer section. But did you know that nutritious sprouted breads and baked goods are not only for non-celiacs? Yes, you too can sprout your own gluten-free grains and have a toothsome and nourishing gluten-free bread.

Why Sprout
Sprouted grains offer a wide variety of benefits over non-sprouted, processed grain flours. Not only does sprouting grains before using them create a living food, it increases vitamin content, neutralizes antinutrients like phytic acid (basically, phytic acid is a substance found in grains that blocks your body's ability to absorb nutrients from food), and allows your body to more efficiently and effectively break down amino acids for better digestion of the whole grain. Plus, they're versatile and delicious!

What to Sprout

Clockwise from top left: Teff, Amaranth, Quinoa, Red Quinoa, Millet, Buckwheat, Gluten-free Oats, Sorghum (center).

There are many types of grains in the world, and believe it or not, more of them are gluten-free than not! Gluten-free grains include:

• Amaranth
• Buckwheat (ok, its not really a grain, but the fruit of a plant in the dock family, nutritious and delicious nonetheless)
• Corn
• Millet
• Oats (only if they are grown and processed in dedicated fields and facilities)
• Quinoa
• Rice (only short-grain brown rice will sprout)
• Sorghum (DO NOT sprout sorghum! The sprouts contain toxic levels of cyanide that must be removed prior to consumption, which is a very tedious process)
• Teff (the smallest grain in the world)

Grains that are NOT gluten-free include:

• Wheat
• Rye
• Barley
• Spelt
• Kamut
• Farro
• Triticale

Sprouting Methods
There are basically two methods for sprouting grains (and seeds): The jar method and the tray method. I have had great success with both methods and which method you use just depends on the equipment and amount of space you have to do it. I have used both methods and they work equally well.


Jar Method:
You need one large (quart or half-gallon), wide-mouth glass jars and some plastic mesh and lids. You can also get special sprouting lids from just about any natural food store. Note: For sprouting teff and amaranth you will need an extremely fine mesh. I used squares cut from a tea towel and a jar ring.
This method is pretty simple:

1. Put the grain/seed in the jar and cover with soaking water. Note: Teff and amaranth will need to stirred or shaken after the water is added because the water tends to "float" on top of these tiny grains.
2. When the soaking time is over, drain water from the grains/seeds and rinse a second time.
3. Prop the jars, upside down, at a 45 degree angle in a place where they can drain (I put them in bowls) out of direct sunlight.
4. Rinse the grains/seeds at least 2 times, but preferably 3 times per day, allowing to drain upside down in between rinses, until you see little sprout "tails" start to form.
5. When the sprouts are the desired length (this depends entirely on your taste but I let mine go about 24 hours after the sprouts first appear)
6. Process sprouts according to desired method.

Cloth and Tray Method:
For this you will need a water spray bottle, flat, low sided trays, like half-sheet cookie sheets and clean cotton tea towels or pieces of cotton muslin cut to the appropriate size. I use the trays of my food dehydrator and pieces of muslin. I found that the stacking of the dehydrator trays helps retain the moisture during the process.

1. Soak grains/seeds for appropriate time(s).
2. Drain grains/seeds and rinse a second time. Note: An easy way to drain the soaked grains is to line a colander with tea towels or cotton muslin you will use and pour the grains into the cloth. Rinse and squeeze excess moisture from cloth.
3. Spread cloth with grains inside over cookie sheet or dehydrator tray. Spread grains evenly over the surface of the cloth.
4. Dampen a second cloth and place on top of grains.
5. Store out of direct sunlight and keep grains moist using the water spray bottle until sprouts are the desired size. You do not want them to be wet, but moist. I found that just spraying the top cloth with the water bottle several times per day kept them properly moist.
6. Process according to desired method.

Using Your Sprouts
Now that you have coaxed the little grains or seeds to sprout, you get to eat them! You can steam them or eat them raw in salads. If you want to use them in baking, you can either dry them in the oven and grind the dried sprouts into flour (I have never done it this way) or just throw the fresh sprouts into the food processor and grind them into a kind of paste, which is how I make my Vegan Sprouted Bread. Then you can sprout extra and store the excess sprout paste in the freezer for future use!

Soaking Times

• Amaranth - 2 to 4 hours
• Buckwheat - 15 to 20 minutes - if you soak it longer than 20 minutes, it will kill the grain
• Corn - 12 to 14 hours - I have never sprouted corn but give it a try, you might like it!
• Millet - 8 to 14 hours
• Oats - 8 to 14 hours - only use certified gluten-free raw oat groats
• Quinoa - 2 to 4 hours
• Rice - 12 to 18 hours
• Teff - 2 to 4 hours