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

Carol- You can make naturally-fermented bread with kefir - no sourdough starter necessary (you'll find a recipe at the link below. Maybe use half kefir and half warm water. It will help tenderize the crumb. Check the recipes for using kefir at the link below for more choices for you. I just finished fermenting a quart of kefir today and one yesterday so I was looking at these recipes for some inspiration. Perhaps it was our day to have a "deep psychic kefir bond". ;-) Happy Independence Day back at ya! -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Kefir Recipes

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

I'll dry any kind of tomato I happen to be growing, but I generally only grow small varieties of tomatoes. The more "meaty" varieties of tomatoes are preferred for drying. You can dry both ripe or green tomatoes. Rehydrate those green tomato slices in boiling water, dredge them and fry in melted butter in skillet. Fried Green Tomatoes for New Year's Day along with those Black-eyed Peas. ;-) It's amazing how many dried tomatoes you can stuff into a quart jar. You can also remove the skin and seeds and blend the tomatoes in a blender, add a little Fruit Fresh, and dry it on the Fruit Leather Sheets. Cut the sheets into squares and you'll find they add a lot of flavor to soups and stews as they incorporate into the liquid. You can also make tomato paste or tomato sauce by adding the tomato leather to hot water. Make a quick pasta sauce. How to: Peel tomatoes by dipping in boiling water for 1-minute, then in cold water for 1 minute. Slip off skins and cut out cores, or just the stem end - your choice. Cut into 1/8-inch slices, the seeds will generally fall out during drying. I also cut them into 1/4-inch cubes to dry. Drain them well before drying. It will help cut drying time down. I'll give the tomato cubes a gentle spin in my salad spinner to extract both moisture and seeds. I dry tomatoes in a dehydrator. It gets too humid here for good drying outdoors. Make sure your "old window screen" ISN'T galvanized, which is coated with cadmium or zinc. These metals can oxidize and leave harmful residue on the food. Also avoid copper and aluminum screening. Copper destroys vitamin C and increases oxidation. Aluminum tends to discolor and corrode. Use stainless steel, teflon-coated fiberglass and plastic screening. Sun drying isn't recommended for vegetables (other than vine-dried beans). Vegetables are low in sugar and acid, which increases the risks for food spoilage. Favorable conditions for drying outdoors - minimum temperature of 85-degrees F (with higher temperatures being better) and humidity below 60%. Be sure to bring them in overnight. The cooler night temperatures can cause condensation and add moisture back into the food and slow the drying process. This can contribute to bacteria growth (Salmonella and E. Coli). Raise the screens off the ground (saw horses) and place them over concrete when possible (or over a sheet of aluminum - the reflection of the sun on the metal increases the drying temperature). Screens placed close to the ground can actually cause the food to absorb moisture from the grass and ground. Add a fan if possible. This will help keep insects off the food, and air circulation is as important as the temperature. Food dried outdoors also has an increased chance for insects. All food dried outdoors needs to be pasteurized and cooled to room temperature before placing it into storage. To pasteurize the food, place it in a preheated 160-degree F oven for 30-minutes. An alternative is to freeze the food for 48-hours to kill any eggs from possible insect contamination. TWO screens are suggested for drying food outdoors. One screen holds the food and the other one to protect the food from "critters". Home dehydrated foods are not considered "long-storage" foods. You can extend the storage time by placing it in canning jars and vacuum-sealing the jars with a FoodSaver, or adding an oxygen absorber. You can also freeze the dehydrated food for longer storage. Recommended storage times for home dehydrated foods range from 4-months to 1-year. The food quality is affected by heat, light and storage temperature. Most dried fruits can be stored for one year at 60-degrees F, six months at 80-degrees F. Vegetables have about half the shelf-life of fruits. Vacuum-seal fruits or vegetables and keep it in the dark in a cool storage temperature and you can double the shelf-life. Remember to package your dehydrated food in small containers. Each time you open a container of food, it will draw moisture in from the air and that can cause the food to rehydrate and even mold. I package slices of dried apples in small snack-size storage bags, then place them in a 1/2-gallon jar and vacuum-seal it for storage. When it's moved from storage to the pantry, I replace the canning lid with a Universal Lid (which is easy to open and re-close). Now when I want sliced apples for a snack or for adding to muffins, I can quickly get one or two packets without the moisture getting to the entire contents of the jar. Not all foods dry properly at one temperature, that's why an electric dehydrator with a thermostat and a fan is a better choice for home dehydrating. You'll have a safer product than using the sun. The link below has a LOT of great information. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: New Home Drying Recommendations