Essene bread help needed

[veganman]

Hi everyone -

I am trying to make Essene bread, with the hope that it will taste like the Nature's Path kind you buy in the store (am I aching for disappointment?). I tried once with quinoa and another time with amaranth, dehydrated both at 95 degrees, and they tasted fermented and really tried out. I know that the ones in the store are cooked, but is there a way to to these so they taste good, have a crust of some sort on the outside and are breadlike on the inside?
How long should I soak, how long should I sprout, how much wheat should I use, how should they be shaped, what temp, and for how long should I dehydrate?

Any help is much appreciated.

[RawTruth]

Hi veganman!

Here are recipes for raw essene bread. I hope they help you. Be sure to report back how they came out!!

http://www.rawtimes.com/r-essenebread.html

Be well!

[rawfigure]

Is there a sub for the sunflower seeds ? I like the sprouted rye in the bagels I made but do not like the taste of sunflower , any ideas ?

[RawTruth]

You can try pumpkin seeds and see how that tastes to you. To me, pumpkin seeds have a stronger taste than sunflower seeds, but it might work out well ... keep us posted!!

[veganman]

RawTruth -

thanks for the recipes. Do you know if they come out kind of sticky like the packaged kind? Also, any way to cut down on that fermentedness that is mentioned?

[RawTruth]

Nope, I don't know -- I haven't tried them myself. Sorry! Now, YOU get to be the one who reports back on it!

[Jadrien24]

I don't know about the sticky bottom part (I have wondered about that too) but I think this should help keep it from fermenting:
"Cousen states: Recent research by The Excalibur Dehydrator Company suggests that it is actually better to begin the dehydration process at 145 degrees for the initial stage of the drying process. The reason is that as the food is dehydrating, it literally "sweats out" the moisture it contains. This moisture inside the dehydrator reduces the food temperature as much as 20-25 degrees. This information changes how we think about the entire process of food dehydration. It means that the safest way to dehydrate is to begin drying at 145 degrees F for a maximum of 3 hours for foods with a high water content. After this the temperature is set in the "normal" range of 110-115 degress through the completion of the drying process. By doing this we are inhibiting bacterial growth by reducing the time the food spends in the dehydrator. The longer that a food is in the dehydrator, the more potential exists for the enzymes to be destroyed, even at lower temperatures."

[rawpriestess]

I agree with Jadrien24, use that method and your breads will not ferment.

[veganman]

I will try it this weekend. I am sprouting some wheat right now and will do 3 hours at 145 and the rest at 115. I have been doing everything at 90 because I didn't want to destroy enzymes. If the dehydrator is 145, that doesn't mean the food is 145, right? I picked up a food thermometer and will check it as it goes....

Thanks everyone for the help! I will let you know how it goes.

[veganman]

Okay - I have an update.

I made some today, but was worried about doing it at 145, so I did it at 115 for about 8 hours. The outside smells good, but the inside is fermented smelling again :( .

I will taste them tomorrow (had fresh coconut for the first time tonight and don't want to combine that with the wheat) to see how they are, but the smell isn't too appetizing.

I poked a thermomenter in one of them and the temperature was 100 degrees. If I go up to 145, I am thinking the temperature inside will probably be over 115. Won't that kill the enzymes?

[rawpriestess]

Well, I think you answered your own question, if the temp on your dehydrator was 115, and the inside of the bread was 100, but that was after 8 hours, then if you take it up to 145, for a while, like the 2 or 3 hours suggested, the inside STILL won't be too high, and I say, just check that thermometer often, this is how I make my breads,and they don't ferment, and they come out fine.

good luck on the next batch.

[veganman]

I think I have success. I tried the method described....145 for 2 hours. Then I did 105 for 1 hour. No fermentation.

One question still lingers.....wouldn't the enzymes on the exterior of the bread (where it might get up to 145 degrees) be killed?

I know I am being quite detailed-oriented here (both a strength and weakness!), but I am just trying to get this straight. Thanks!

[CAdreamer]

I gave up making essene bread in a loaf a long time ago. To avoid the fermentation and 'stickiness' that seems to occur with the thicker breads, I always roll it out to a desirable thickness....1/4"....score it in about 3x3 pieces or larger, and then dehydrate. I regularly make about 6 different breads this way. My husband can make sandwiches out of them or eat them openfaced with nut butter or other spreads. It saves a lot of irritation, watching, guessing, and waste of good product. Any bread mix will work this way. Obviously, the more moisture, the longer to dehydrate.

[fuzzywater]

That's a really good idea CAdreamer! Who said you have to make bread in loaves instead of slices? I'll have to try that myself one of these days. :D

[exurb]

I think it's basic physics that food in a dehydrator at 145 for 3 hours will not stay under 105 throughout. If I remember from when I read Cousens book years ago, he does say that you will get some enzyme loss.

[Kris]

Yes, exurb, I think you're right -- you will get some enzyme loss. But, frankly, you probably get enzyme loss in anything that you dehydrate, regardless of the temperature. Or any fruit that you slice in the morning but eat at lunchtime. Or any greens that are a bit wilted but that you still blend up in a smoothie. I could go on and on...

I think it is generally agreed upon (correct me if I'm wrong, please) that dehydrated foods are primarily transitional foods for aspiring raw foodists. Everything I have heard or read from long-term (meaning many years) raw foodists says that, as time goes on, we will naturally simplify our eating to the point that nearly everything we consume is fresh and ripe and minimally processed.

As such, I choose not to worry about these details and just go with what feels right. I know how cooked bread makes me feel (blech!), but currently I have no adverse reaction to essene bread dehydrated at 145 degrees. At some point in my raw journey, though, I suspect that I will, as my body becomes cleaner and more particular. At that point, will know it's time to make a change.

If you are at the point that your body is telling you to pay attention to these details, I congratulate you on your progress down the raw path. But if not, why obsess about it? Life's too short. :)

[veganman]

Exurb and Kris -

good points. Well taken. Thank you!