marita...my understanding of what you should receive when you purchase the grains online is a dried product that takes approx 7 days to fully rejuvenate. There are exact inst. on the net for how to reconstitute dry grains. I haven't heard of anyone sending out wet/slime grains :) There are no grains per se in my kefir since the weather has gotten cooler. But...today just to help out with your research I let a jar of kefir set out in a warmer place and it has indeed formed a large mass of grains floating on a bunch of clear whey. So it is indeed temp related. I had another jar of fresh milk and 2 tsp of grains sitting in a cool place in the kitchen since this AM and it has become my usual jar of soft yogurty type stuff with no separation and it is ready to go into the fridge to be used in a smoothy in the AM. All temp and time related. As I said...at cool temps it is highly unlikely that you are going to get any distinct grains/curds. It will all be soft cheesy stuff. If I were to put mine in a strainer most of it would stay in the strainer just as yogurt does. When it was hotter weather it drained out a lot of white and clear together and left drier distinct curds...again it is all temp related. I would not give up on what you have. It tastes pleasant...it smells pleasant. When the temps change so will your kefir. I hope you cont. to enjoy. I have now shared my grains and they are living in Montgomery AL and Lexington VA !! It is a wondrous process. c Oh..ps about resting the grains. I take 2 tsp every AM of the current kefir that I am going to eat and place it in a jar of fresh cold 2 % milk and leave it in a cool place for 12 hrs and then place it in the fridge over night...Next AM take out 2 tsp and place in cold milk and leave out....then in fridge and repeat. As far as rest...well they are in new milk every day and they are at a pretty cool temp and the source has been in the fridge all night fully fermented but very cool and waiting /resting. As my grains seem so happy I am not going to change anything. If your grains are happy and taste good I would say " yes" to the process you are following.

I'll have to disagree with Linda on this one - but she's at a bit of a disadvantage not having the entire recipe. The recipe is designed for dry wheat berries and the amount of hydration is designed for that in order to give the kernels of wheat a chance to absorb water during the 24-hour rest in the refrigerator. What you could do instead is to sprout, then completely dry the wheat before adding it to the recipe. I don't think sprouting will be necessary or will contribute all that much because the fermentation during the 24-hour rest in the refrigerator will accomplish much the same thing. Be sure to let us know how this recipe works out. I may need to flake some rye and give it a try myself. Ironically, I just stirred up a 1/2 recipe of "Whole Grain Rye" from the same book and I added a little whey from my homemade kefir. The lactic acid and lactobacilli from the whey will help break down complex starches, irritating tannins and difficult-to-digest proteins found in whole grain and whole grain flour. PLUS, the soaking (during refrigeration) increases vitamin content and makes all the nutrients in the whole grains and whole grain flours more available. About adding apricots.... Vollkornbrot traditionally doesn't include dried fruit, not saying it couldn't be added.... A recipe for Hutzelbrot would be a better choice for that. -Grainlady

WOW!!! What's old is new again..... ;-) dian57, your recipe looks great! I have a new-and-improved add-in choice since this thread - it's High-Maize Resistant Starch. High-Maize would be a good substitute for wheat germ (measure-for-measure) in the Cornell Bread Recipe. Wheat germ is unnecessary in the Cornell Bread Recipe IF you use at least a portion of freshly-milled whole wheat flour in the recipe to begin with...fresh wheat germ is already available in whole wheat flour. Milling your own flour will also assure the highest amount of nutrients from the wheat. This is why I find it amazing the Cornell Recipe didn't use whole wheat flour in the first place. The nutrients in freshly-milled whole wheat flour begin to degrade within 3-hours of milling, and the wheat germ oil oxidizes quickly. You will find wheat germ purchased as an individual ingredient is basically a rancid product - which means it's a free-radical, which is destructive to the body. The rancidity in the wheat germ purchased commercially is covered by the toasting they do to the raw germ. Rancid oils don't have to smell rancid to BE rancid. If they smell rancid, then they have been rancid for a VERY long time. If you want to add wheat germ to a recipe, add freshly-milled whole wheat flour - it's in there... I add High-Maize Resistant Starch to all my recipes for baked goods anymore. Here's a bit of information from King Arthur Flour: -Natural dietary fiber is derived from corn. It's an easy solution for adding fiber to your gluten-free diet. -One serving of Hi-maize (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) contains 6g of non-soluble dietary fiber: about 20% to 25% of your suggested daily requirement. -Substitute for up to 1/4 to 1/3 the flour in your baked goods; adjust up or down to taste. -Add to soups, sauces, and smoothies. -Wheat-free, soy-free, nut-free blend is packed in a dedicated gluten-free facility. King Arthur - 12-ounces for $6.95. I buy High-Maize 5-in-1 Fiber from Honeyville Grain. $18.49 for 5-pounds. http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/hi-maize5-in-1-fiber.aspx Here's what Honeyville Grain has to say about Hi-Maize: Hi-maize has some real health benefits. Hi-maize is lower in calories than the flour it replaces. Hi-maize delivers between 2-l kilocalories/gram while flour delivers 4 kilocalories/gram. Hi-maize also helps your body burn more fat and may lead to lower fat accumulation. Hi-maize helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels in healthy individuals because Hi-maize increases insulin sensitivity in healthy people. Hi-maize helps balance your energy in the hours following a meal. It has a lower impact in blood sugar and blood insulin than the flour it replaces. For individuals following a "carbohydrate-control" diet, it lowers the "net" or digestible carbohydrates in foods. Hi-maize promotes digestive health. The fiber in Hi-maize is fermented within the large intestine and encourages the growth of friendly bacteria (a "prebiotic" fiber). It reduces harmful compounds such as ammonia, while producing beneficial compounds such as short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, the preferred fuel for colon cells. Hi-maize is ideal for use in a gluten-free diet. Hi-maize is well tolerated. It is slowly fermented and does not produce the uncomfortable digestive side effects sometimes found with fiber. I add a heaping tablespoon to my morning smoothie (homemade kefir, 100% fruit juice, flaxmeal, High-Maize and a nutritional supplement. I also substitute up to 15-20 percent of the flour in a recipe with High-Maize. Another good substitute for wheat germ in the Cornell recipe is amaranth (I believe I mentioned it above in an earlier post). You could add whole amaranth seeds or amaranth flour (amaranth is so tiny it needs to be milled in a seed mill or in a coffee/spice mill). The seeds look like golden poppy seeds and I like to add amaranth seeds to quick breads. Amaranth flour is high in protein, and protein is why wheat germ is used in the recipe. The fiber content of amaranth is three times that of wheat, plus good amounts of iron and calcium. Amaranth also contains vitamin E (also found in wheat germ). Amaranth is easy to digest. The Cornell Bread Recipe was a good start to improving nutrition, fiber and protein in bread, but there are a lot of other things you can add to your recipes way BEYOND what was used in this "old science" recipe. -Grainlady

With that small amount of flour and the other supporting ingredients, you can easily choose from a number of things. I'd suggest you give it a try with 1/2 a recipe to see if you like one more than another, but whatever you use, you will get pancakes, so try something you already have at home. I would use almond flour, buckwheat flour or oat flour - and I bet even quick oatmeal would work just fine. Any of the all-purpose gluten-free flour mixtures would also work, but they aren't my go-to choice. Personally, I carefully watch the amount of high-glycemic g-f flours I use, especially rice flour, which also comes with an arsenic component as another reason I give high consideration, and rice flour is in nearly everything that is commercially sold as gluten-free. So that's why I make my own g-f food at home. Coconut flour is another choice you can use, but it will only take a small amount - maybe a tablespoon (if making the whole recipe), because coconut flour absorbs so much moisture. I would also let the batter set a few minutes after adding the coconut flour because it will be completely different thickness after it has time to absorb the moisture in the batter. I occasionally use a mixture of hi-maize resistant starch and unflavored whey protein isolate for small amounts of wheat flour. The hi-maize starch adds a lot of fiber and the whey adds more protein for us carb-watchers. This is what I often use when I need a Bisquick substitute: (yield: 1-cup) 1/2 c. almond flour 1/2 c. hi-maize resistant starch 1-1/2 t. baking powder (gluten-free) 1/4 t. salt 1 T. coconut oil (or your favorite fat or oil) Blend together. The article at this link may help you out even more. http://www.glutenfreeandmore.com/resources/food-allergy-substitutions.html -Grainlady