Sprouted Buckwheat Country Bread

As we begin our foray into sprouted and cracked grains at the bakery, we thought we would take a moment to discuss the important role that these incorporated grains (and, in the case of buckwheat, pseudo-grains!) can play in both flavor development and in producing ever more nutritious breads. We thought the book Tartine No. 3 by Chad Robertson put it best:

"Sprouting grains is a way to make the grain edible and more digestible without cooking. Inherent nutrients, vitamins, and minerals stored to nourish the plant typically increase at germination, and are rendered more accessible and easy to absorb for us. When we eat sprouts at this point, we are digesting them more as a vegetable rather than a grain."

For our Sprouted Buckwheat Groat Loaf, we included organically-grown buckwheat groats from Anson Mills in South Carolina alongside a healthy dose of freshly milled buckwheat flour. Combining these with our usual blend of stone-milled high-extraction and whole grain flours results in a loaf with unique texture and stunning flavor.