How to Convert any Baked Good Recipe to a "Soaked" Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to use soaked flour? ›

The basic technique is the same no matter what grain you're working with: simply combine the flour and the liquid called for in the recipe and let this soak overnight before continuing with the recipe. Some people advocate adding a tablespoon of an acidic ingredient like lemon juice or yogurt per cup of liquid.

Soaking/sourdough not only neutralizes the phytic acid, it also does some predigestion so that the bread is easier for your body to digest. I've read stories of some people's gluten intolerance going away once they started to eat exclusively sprouted/soaked/sourdough products.

Oats, rye, barley, wheat and quinoa should always be soaked (or fermented). Buckwheat, rice, spelt and millet can be soaked less frequently. Whole Rice and whole millet contain even less phytates so it's not necessary to always soak.

Soaking flours and grains is a shortened version of fermentation. It is usually done for 12 to 24 hours and it is often recommended to introduce an acidic medium to the process, mimicking the acids that are naturally produced during the souring process.

When flour and water are mixed together, water molecules hydrate the gluten-forming proteins gliadin and glutenin, as well as damaged starch and the other ingredients. The hydration process is achieved when protein and starch molecules create hydrogen bonds and hydrophilic interactions with the water molecules.

No, you do not need to soak white flour, which is flour where the bran and the germ have been sifted out. Examples of white flour include all-purpose flour or bread flour. You want to soak whole grains or whole grain flour to deactivate some of the anti-nutrient phytic acid contained in the whole grains.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

Lots of baking sites disagree about how to turn all-purpose flour into bread flour. Some people recommend adding just 1 teaspoon of vital wheat gluten per cup of all-purpose, while others recommend 1 to 3 tablespoons per recipe. I guess the variation depends on the baker's preferences and budget.

Five kinds of grains are prohibited: wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt. Why? Because these grains begin to ferment and rise when they come into contact with water for 18 minutes. In Hebrew, that rising grain is called chametz.

Oats are a great example of this. Take rolled oats: they are oat groats that have been steamed and flattened. Rolled oats cook in 5-10 minutes, a far cry from the 60+ minutes intact oat groats take to cook! Parboiled brown rice is another very popular example of a quick-cooking whole grain product.

Can I use flour after 2 years? ›

The rule of thumb here is the more protein, the lower the shelf life. For low-protein types of flour, like all-purpose or cake flour, you have about a year from the date of purchase to use it. For higher protein varieties, like bread flour, the clock runs out quicker; you'll get about nine months.

Mixing flour with boiling water essentially cooks it. Starch gelatinizes at a temperature above 65C (150F). During this process liquid is absorbed by the starch which makes it swell up. The swollen starch can hold more water and it holds on to water a lot better.

One thing to do with a bag of wet flour is to make dough with it all right away. Just add more water, a little yeast and about 3/4 tsp of salt per pound of dough, in batches small enough to knead. You might have to go by feel for how much water to add, since weighing damp flour won't give you a dry flour weight.

If flour is exposed to air and moisture, it can attract bacteria, mould and insects. Baking with flour that's gone bad is unlikely to cause you any serious harm – but it can damage the quality of your bakes.

Phytic acid can be neutralized in as little as 7 hours when soaked in water with the addition of a small amount of an acidic medium such as vinegar or lemon juice. Soaking also helps to break down gluten, a hard-to-digest protein found in grains such as wheat, spelt, rye and barley.

By soaking your grains in an acid medium, such as yogurt, buttermilk or watered-down lemon juice, the phytic acid is neutralized. Soaking also helps to break down complex starches and proteins, including gluten.