Sprouted Wheat (or Spelt) and Honey Bread for One

2 cups sprouted wheat or spelt flour
1 scant tsp instant yeast (or 1/2 packet)
1 cup water
1 Tbsp honey or other sweetener of choice
1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, butter, or olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
optional: 1 tsp butter or coconut oil, melted (not included in nutrition calculation, and not used for photographed bread)

Sprouted grain flour is made from grains that have been allowed to sprout, dehydrated and ground into flour. Sprouting is said to eliminate certain substances that make grains more difficult to digest, thus increasing their nutritional value. Some people with gluten sensitivity (NOT celiac disease!) can tolerate sprouted flours, so give it a try if you're going crazy and are willing to risk a reaction. As with conventional wheat/spelt flours, different brands vary in moisture content and fineness of grind, so you may need a little more flour or a little more water to get the right texture. I used One Degree Organics flour.

Instant yeast likes warmer liquids than conventional yeast and is mixed with dry ingredients rather than being "proofed" in liquid; follow directions on your yeast.

Timing is for mini loaves; for larger loaf, maybe 45 minutes? Best to use an instant read thermometer. They cost less than $10, last for years, and can literally save your life. You can also divide dough into six equal balls and bake in a muffin tin for rolls, or bake free-form on a cookie sheet or baking stone. (I suggest using parchment under loaf with a stone.)

Stir yeast into flour in a medium bowl. Combine remaining ingredients except for optional butter/oil and warm to 120-130F. Make a well in the middle of the flour and dump in the liquid. Stir together until it forms a sticky dough. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes to allow flour to take up some of the water (this makes a difference).

Oil your hands a little and dump the dough out onto kneading surface. Knead dough until it is smooth but quite tacky, very stretchy, and forms a silky, "baby-butt" surface if stretched into a ball by tucking sides under to the middle. Try not to add much if any flour or the loaf will be dry - you may have to use a bench scraper or spatula in your non-dominant hand to scrape the dough off the counter while kneading with your dominant hand. (Or, if you're using a stand mixer, do initial mixing with paddle, switch to dough hook and knead on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. Dough should slap sides of bowl, not just get pushed around. Stretch dough into a smooth-surfaced ball as above.) Drop smooth-side-down into a lightly oiled bowl and turn over so top is oily. Cover and allow to stand at room temperature (68-70F) 60-90 minutes until doubled in size - the slower rise allows greater absorption of moisture by flour and a better development of flavor. If you have the time, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in the refrigerator 8 hours. Bring dough back toward room temperature with a half hour or so on the counter before continuing.

While dough is rising, grease two 3x6" mini loaf pans.

Gently push big air bubbles out of dough, don't "punch it down"; cut it in half and form two small loaves by pressing dough out into a rough rectangle about 6" square, folding two opposite edges to the center and pressing together to make an oblong roughly 3x6". Place, seam side down, into pans, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise until about 1/2" above top of pan. Preheat oven while loaves rise - you want the oven properly hot, which means the metal interior is thoroughly heated, not just the air inside, which can take the average home oven well over 30 minutes.

Brush tops of loaves with melted butter/oil (if using) and slash tops lengthwise with a very sharp knife - this keeps the loaf from splitting along the sides during baking. Place loaves gently in the middle of the oven and bake 30-35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when gently thumped or (much better) registers 195-200F on an instant read thermometer inserted into center of bread from one corner.

Allow loaves to "set up" in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool. When completely cold, wrap one loaf in cling wrap and then in foil and freeze up to 1 month.

Serving Size: makes 2 3x6" mini loaves (or 1 9x5 loaf), 8 servings