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This recipe requires time and patience, but delivers one of the healthiest versions of bread using sprouted whole grains and lentils. It’s high in protein too!

For a long time, my family has enjoyed Ezikiel bread. We used it for croutons, hummus sandwiches, avocado toast, you name it. It was such a household staple, it made sense to make our own home made Ezekiel bread. A good amount of time was spent researching recipes, as there are many. Also equipment came into play, and I realized I needed either a grain mill or a dry vitamix container. Although this is one of the most labor intensive recipes on the blog, I would definitely make it again. I would just make larger batches of sprouted grains and legumes. Sprouting takes the longest time, and having these already made on hand would help us make quicker loaves.

Sprouting grains and legumes for homemade Ezekiel bread

First, there are so many recipes online for home-made Ezikiel bread. One isn’t necessarily better than the other. The goal for sprouted bread is, of course, in the sprouting. This happens to be the longest part of the recipe, however, but it is worth it. Otherwise, we would just be making regular bread, right? The whole point is to sprout. There are loads of recipes that just use straight flour (for instance, I found an easy recipe online ) but I wanted start with sprouted ingredients and make my own, so I skipped this one.

Tips on sprouting grains and legumes

For sprouted bread, you have to factor in the few days that are required for the grains and beans to grow tails (sprout) which is about 3 days total. You then have to allow another day or two to dehydrate them (they can only be ground into a flour when dry). The good news is that after sprouting and dehydrating, the bread comes together pretty quickly.

Grain mill vs. vitamix container

Additionally, it’s best if you have a grain mill OR as I did, get a dry grain vitamix container (different than the regular container ( feel free to search on the vitamix site here ~ note this is an affiliate link). This will pulverize dry beans and grains needed for the recipe very quickly. Yes, you can buy already sprouted flour but you lose a lot of the vital nutrients as the flour is stored in a bag on a shelf for some time, and the oils in the grain are prone to oxidize. Best bet is to allow some time, do the process (sprout and grind) yourself, and you will get the most nutrition from the grains and beans.

Final recipe for Home Made Ezekiel Bread

After looking and looking for recipes, I predominantly followed the proportions and methods of this recipe. I did make some significant edits which include:

We used sprouted ingredients (see recipe)
I omitted the egg, dough enhancer, nuts, seeds, fruit.
Also I reduced the honey to 1/2 cup. I did make this recipe a few times. The first time I used 1 cup honey, then 1/2 cup, and lastly 1/4 cup. I didn’t want to use any gluten, so the honey was really the only binder. The 1 cup honey recipe was a bit sweet. The version with 1/2 cup honey was more crumbly but had a better sweetness. The last version with 1/4 cup honey was the most crumbly but was the best tasting. Until I find a better binder, I will leave this recipe to include 1/2 cup honey.
One very important note: measure the grains/beans again after you dry them. When you sprout a grain and dehydrate it, you will be left with more than you started with. This is because the grain was soaked in water and grew a bit. Basically, just use what the recipe calls for, and store any you have left over for a future recipe. This was fine for me, since I made another batch soon after this one, and all the grains/beans were used.
It’s a very loose batter when you put it in the pans, this will not form a ball – that’s ok. Just test the middle when it comes out and make sure it’s completely done. The bread itself is VERY soft, almost the texture of banana bread, not dense like regular bread.

Cutting and processing home made Ezekiel bread

The bread loaves came out beautifully! The bread cuts best when cooled. You could also cut and freeze to use for toast at a later date, since it does make two loaves.

Pairs Well With

Roasted red pepper hummus

As a base for spring radish toasts

Any of these soups!

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Homemade Sprouted Ezekiel Bread

This recipe, although involved, delivers one of the healthiest versions of bread using sprouted whole grains and lentils. It's high in protein too!

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Equipment

Vitamix dry container (for grains) or a food mill

Ingredients

2.5 cups hard wheat berries
1.5 cups spelt berries
1/2 cup hulled barley
1/4 cup millet
1/4 cup dry green lentils
6 tbsp pinto beans (or a mixture of pinto, kidney, cannellini)
4 cups water, about 100 degrees
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or coconut)
2 tsp salt
2 pouches active dry yeast

Instructions

Sprouting and dehydrating the main ingredients

Sprout the wheat, spelt ,millet, lentils, and beans (the barley doesn't get sprouted since the hull is removed) Do this by soaking them separately in water about 8 hours, then rinse and drain. Leave in a sprouter or a mesh collander and rinse and drain daily, to avoid any build up. In about 4 days or so, you should have a small tail emerging, which is the sprout.
The millet usually sprouts first. At about day 3 or 4, I rinse and drain once more, then I place the millet on a dehydrator sheet lined with parchment or teflex sheet and dehydrate at 112 degrees overnight or until the grains have dried completely. Set aside.
I do the same with the remaining sprouts. They will all sprout at diffrent times, but I try to aim for a sprout that's 1/2 inch long. The wheat and spelt is probably next, so rinse, drain, dehydrate as above.
Follow the same instructions for the beans. These may take the longest to dehydrate.
When everything is thoroughly dried, proceed with the following steps.

Measure again

Once you've sprouted a grain, it will grow in volume and you may reach more than 2.5 cups of wheat, say for instance. You'll need to measure the spelt, wheat, millet, lentils and beans again to make sure you have the original quantities in the ingredients list. This was fine for us becuase we keep making the bread and I don't mind having a littel extra of a few ingredients that I can use in another loaf. Otherwise, use the leftovers in a soup, chili, porridge, etc. They won't go to waste.

Make the batter

Take all of the sprouted material and feed through a feed mill (beans may have to be done separately). Add the barley at this time also. I don't have a mill, so I used a dry container meant for grinding grains (Vitamix makes them). Make all of these sprouts into a fine powder. Set the powders aside.
In a bowl, combine the water, honey, oil, salt, yeast.
Combine the powders with the liquid and knead (either using a spoon in a bowl or a stand up mixer) for about 10 minutes. This will not form a ball, as it's a wet batter.
Pour the batter into 2 greased bread pans.
Cover with a towel and let rise until the batter is 1/2 inch from the top.
Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely before cutting.

Notes

Update: if you feel adventurous and want to try the 1/4 honey, feel free. At the last stage of mixing, just add 2 tablespoons ground flax and 2 tablespoons chia. This should help it bind better.

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