I’ve mentioned a number of times that I soak most of my grains and flours in order to reduce the phytic acid level. The reason for that is when the phytic acid is present in a food, it binds with the nutrients and minerals and sucks it out of your body. Which in turn means that regardless of how healthy you think the ingredients you’re eating are, the actual nutrition your body can use is much less than it technically would seem ‘on paper’.
I was recently asked once again for alternatives to soaking grains that don’t require whey. I often use yogurt or kefir, but that doesn’t work for those who prefer not to use dairy. Raw apple cider vinegar and lemon juice are other options I’ve tried, which work fine but I’ve been less than thrilled with the taste. I recently learned about another option from Stephan Guyanet and after trying it out, thought I’d share it here with you. He suggested it specifically for brown rice but I don’t see why it shouldn’t work for any grains and I’ve used it so far for brown rice and barley.
The basic idea of this soaking method is that you’re ‘growing’ your own acidic medium, and the process reminds me of how you grow your own sourdough starter. The main difference is you’re soaking whole grains rather than flour, but the process is essentially the same. Though it sounds kind of tedious it’s really not; it’s just a couple of extra steps in the beginning and then you have your acidic medium to soak your grains in from then on.
First of all, put the grain you’ll be using in a bowl and fill it with water (ideally unchlorinated – if you don’t have a filter, you can let it sit overnight to let the chlorine evaporate). Let the soaking grain sit in a warm place for about 24 hours. In the past I’ve always left it at room temperature, but since in the winter our house is cooler than in warmer seasons (obviously!) and warmth is important when soaking grains , I put it on the lowest temp in my dehydrator for a while and then let it sit overnight in the dehydrator after I turned it off.
When you pour off the soaking liquid, reserve about a cup of the liquid and put it in a jar in your fridge (this is your ‘starter’). Now cook your grain in fresh water.
The next time you’re going to make prepare grains, soak it the same way as before, but this time add the water you reserved. This liquid has the beginnings of good microorganisms growing, and they will hasten the growth of more microrganisms in this second batch. These bacteria secrete phytase, which are essential in breaking down phytic acid. Again, siphon some of this liquid off after the grain has soaked for 24 hours, before draining it and cooking the grain in fresh water.
Every time you soak your grain, add some of this reserved liquid. And each time you finish the soaking process, save some liquid for the next time. Each time you do this process the liquid becomes more potent, and Stephan wrote that after doing this a few times, eventually your homemade acidic medium will break down 96% of the phytic acid in your grain (after 24 hours of soaking). In case you haven’t read the percentage of phytic acid that is generally left in grains even after soaking (and I’m assuming most people aren’t like me and don’t read those things for fun :)), it’s a surprisingly high amount. So this soaking process will result in a dramatic increase in nutritive value.
You can keep this soaking water in your fridge for a long time. Basically you’ll use it similarly to how you use any other acidic medium, just by adding a small amount to the liquid you use for soaking. I’ve been cultivating my ‘liquid starter’ for three batches so far, and the grain doesn’t have the sour taste you tend to associate with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I expect that it will get more tart with increased bacterial growth, though, so I’ll have to see if/ how much the flavor changes with time.
(This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays.)
Avivah
Leave a Reply