Ezekiel Bread Recipe with Sprouted Grains

Building the Perfect Ezekiel Bread Recipe

The aroma of freshly baked bread usually brings back memories of my grandmother's Tennessee kitchen, where the oven stayed warm all winter long. But this isn't your average white loaf. This bread is a powerhouse of nutrition, rooted in a tradition that's older than the hills themselves.

I remember the first time I tried to make a "living bread." I expected something heavy and dry, like a brick, but what I got was a revelation of texture and flavor. It's a bread that actually feels like food, not just a fluffy filler.

Following this specific ezekiel bread recipe yields incredible results.

Most folks are used to buying those frozen loaves from the health food store. They're fine in a pinch, but they lack that soul satisfying warmth that comes from your own oven. When you bake this yourself, you control the hydration and the sprout, ensuring every slice is moist rather than crumbly.

We're talking about a loaf that stands up to a thick layer of salted butter or a heavy smear of avocado without falling apart. Successfully executing this ezekiel bread recipe means you control the quality.

In my experience, the secret lies in the balance of the legumes and the grains. You're essentially creating a complete protein in a single slice. It's old-fashioned wisdom meeting modern kitchen needs.

Whether you're looking for a better way to fuel your morning or just want to master a loaf that's truly good for you, this process is worth every minute. It’s a slow food staple that has earned its place on my counter every single week, thanks to the robust nature of the ezekiel bread recipe.

Why This Recipe Works

• Enzymatic Activation: Sprouting the grains (or using a warm mash) triggers amylase, which converts complex starches into simpler sugars for better digestion.
• Complete Protein Profile: Combining 2.5 cups Hard Red Wheat Berries with lentils and beans creates a full amino acid chain, unlike traditional wheat bread. This is why the ezekiel bread recipe is nutritionally superior.
• Optimal Hydration: Using 4 cups Filtered Water at 110°F ensures the dense grain fibers soften completely, preventing a gritty or sandy mouthfeel, crucial for this type of ezekiel bread recipe.
• Natural Leavening Support: The Raw Honey provides immediate fuel for the Active Dry Yeast, overcoming the "heavy" nature of the legumes to ensure a steady rise, which is the key to a successful ezekiel bread recipe.

Selecting Your Elements

Essential Kitchen Tools Needed

To get this right, you'll need more than just a bowl and a spoon. I highly recommend using a KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer equipped with a sturdy dough hook. This dough is heavy.

Trying to knead 1.5 cups Spelt Berries and the wheat blend by hand is a workout that even my grandma would find daunting. The machine ensures the gluten is developed enough to trap the gases from the yeast, necessary for a proper rise in the ezekiel bread recipe.

For the bake, skip the thin aluminum pans. A Lodge Cast Iron Loaf Pan is my go-to because it holds heat like a champion. It helps create that "shatter" crust we're looking for while keeping the middle velvety. You’ll also need an instant read thermometer to check the water temperature.

If the water is over 115°F, you'll kill the yeast, and your bread will be as flat as a pancake a common failure when attempting the ezekiel bread recipe without precision.

Mastering the Baking Process

Developing the Living Mash

1. Grind the Hard Red Wheat Berries, Spelt, Barley, Millet, Lentils, and beans into a coarse meal. Note: This creates the "living flour" base for the ezekiel bread recipe.
2. Heat the 4 cups Filtered Water to exactly 110°F until it feels like lukewarm bath water.
3. Whisk the 1 cup Raw Honey and 0.5 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil into the warm water until the honey fully dissolves and no streaks remain.
4. Stir in 2 packets Active Dry Yeast and let sit for 10 minutes until a thick, creamy foam forms on the surface.
5. Combine the liquid mixture with the ground grain meal and 1 tbsp Sea Salt in your mixer bowl.
6. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes until a shaggy, wet dough starts to pull away from the sides.
7. Increase to medium speed and knead for 8 minutes until the dough is smooth, tacky, and bounces back when poked.
8. Transfer dough to two greased loaf pans, filling them about two-thirds full.
9. Proof in a warm, draft free spot for 45 minutes until the dough has risen to the rim of the pans.
10. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes until the tops are deep mahogany colored and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Chef's Tip: To get a truly artisanal crust, place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven. The steam delays crust formation (starch gelatinization), allowing the bread to expand fully before the exterior sets, yielding the ideal ezekiel bread recipe crust.

Solving Common Baking Failures

If your bread comes out a bit wonky, don't worry. This is a complex loaf. Most issues come down to temperature or timing. When I started, I didn't realize how much the altitude and humidity in Tennessee affected my rise times.

If your kitchen is cold, that 45 minute proofing might need to be an hour for the best ezekiel bread recipe outcome.

Why Your Bread Sinks

When a loaf rises beautifully but then collapses in the center, it's usually a sign of over proofing. The yeast produced too much gas for the gluten structure to hold, causing the "bubbles" to pop. This often happens if the dough gets too warm during the rise.

Mastering the proofing stage is essential when baking with whole grains in the ezekiel bread recipe.

Proportional Adjustments

Scaling Down (Makes 1 Loaf) To make just one loaf, cut the ingredients exactly in half. For the yeast, use 1 packet (7g). Since smaller masses lose heat faster, check your rise progress 10 minutes earlier than the full recipe suggests for your smaller ezekiel bread recipe.

Kitchen Wisdom and Myths

Myth: Sprouted bread must be kept frozen at all times. Truth: While it has no preservatives, a fresh loaf of this ezekiel bread recipe stays perfectly soft on the counter for 3 days if wrapped in beeswax wrap. Freezing is only for long term storage (up to 3 months).

Myth: You can't use a bread machine for this recipe. Truth: You can, but you must use the "Whole Wheat" or "Grain" setting. The extra kneading and longer rise times are essential for the beans and lentils to soften properly in the bread machine version of this ezekiel bread recipe.

Storage and Zero Waste

Storage: Store sliced bread in the fridge for up to 7 days or freeze for 3 months. I like to pre-slice the loaf before freezing so I can pop a single piece into the toaster.

Zero Waste: If you have end pieces that have gone a bit stale, don't toss them! Transform: Pulse them in a food processor to create high protein breadcrumbs. These are incredible for coating chicken or topping a Shepherd s Pie Recipe. The earthy grains add a layer of flavor that plain white breadcrumbs just can't touch when using remnants of your ezekiel bread recipe.

Perfect Toppings and Pairings

This bread is a meal in itself, but it truly shines when paired with savory liquids. A toasted slice is the perfect vehicle for soaking up the remains of a Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe. The acidity of the tomatoes cuts right through the dense, nutty flavors of the millet and spelt found in a perfect ezekiel bread recipe.

If you're looking for a hearty breakfast, try it with a ladle of Homemade Gravy Recipe. The stratified grains in the bread provide a sturdy base that won't turn into mush under the weight of the gravy. It's the kind of stick-to-your ribs meal that kept folks working in the fields all day, often fueled by the dense calories in a slice of ezekiel bread recipe.

Answers to Common Questions

Can I use canned beans instead of dry?

It's not recommended. The dry beans and lentils provide the necessary starch structure when ground into meal. Canned beans contain too much moisture and will turn your dough into a gummy mess that won't rise when following this ezekiel bread recipe.

What if I don't have a grain mill?

You can use a high powered blender like a Vitamix. Work in small batches (about 1 cup at a time) and use the pulse setting to avoid overheating the grains, which can damage the enzymes necessary for a great ezekiel bread recipe.

How do I know when the sprouts are ready?

If you choose to sprout the grains before milling, wait until the "tail" is just barely visible, about the size of the grain itself. If they grow too long, the bread will become overly sweet and won't hold its shape as intended for the ezekiel bread recipe.

Is this bread gluten-free?

No. Hard Red Wheat and Spelt both contain gluten. While the sprouting process can make the gluten easier for some people to digest, it is not safe for those with Celiac disease. This is a key nutritional note for anyone interested in the ezekiel bread recipe.

Why is my crust so hard?

You likely overbaked it or your oven is running hot. For a softer crust, brush the top of the loaf with Extra Virgin Olive Oil immediately after taking it out of the oven and cover it with a clean kitchen towel while it cools. This traps the steam and softens the exterior of your ezekiel bread recipe.

Can I skip the honey?

The honey is functional here. It feeds the yeast to ensure a rise in a very heavy dough. If you must skip it, replace it with agave or 3/4 cup of maple syrup, but the rise may be slightly less vigorous when making this particular ezekiel bread recipe.