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Sprouted grains - how to turn grains into veggies (...kinda)

1/30/2017

A grain, like any seed, will grow into a plant if it’s given the chance. The process is called sprouting - or germination - and it’s a lot like you might imagine. Give a dormant grain a little water and care and before long a small shoot will emerge: a sprout!

Incidentally, during this process a host of vibrant flavours emerge from their dormancy, too. What’s more, the sprouting process conveniently transforms dry, tooth-cracking grains into lovely, crunchy edibles. All this is to say that sprouted grains are ideal for maximizing flavour in bread, which, of course, is made up of thousands of individual grains.

This post is about how to sprout grains at home. I'll share tips for baking with whole sprouted grains, too, and show you one recipe I've developed: Sprouted Rye-Sunflower Bread with Coriander & Honey.

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Rye spice - the secret to great tasting rye bread

1/21/2017

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“It’s good. But it’s missing a little … oomf.” They say everyone’s a critic; but I would add, especially Germans, when it comes to rye bread.

This post is about adding a little spice to your rye. The secret, it turns out, to getting that missing "oomf". I’ll tell you which spices to use and in order to make exceptional tasting rye bread.

My friend’s German mother become the de facto taste tester during several rye bread trials. On one particular day she suggested I make up for “flat flavour” by adding spices. At first I was appalled by her remark. Why hide the subtle and nuanced flavour of fermented grains!? That’s precisely the joy of bread - isn’t it? But then she showed me a small bag of rye spice she had picked up on her latest trip to Germany (see side image). One smell of this spice mix and I was convinced: this is what was missing from my loaf.

The Germans are serious about their rye. Here's a bag of German rye bread spice mix.

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Partridgeberries - sweet life on the frozen barrens

1/4/2017

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January on the coastal barrens of Newfoundland. It's freezing and blowing to gale. The perfect time for picking partridgeberries!

These little red berries get sweeter with every frost and at this time of year they’re practically bursting with flavour. And because in Newfoundland they grow exclusively on the windswept barrens, they are rarely buried under more than an inch or two of snow. Picking them is like a magic trick: brush away the snow from some rocky outcrop seemingly devoid of life only to uncover bright red little orbs staring back at you - delicious partridgeberries. Sweet life clinging to most remote and desolate of places.

So get your hand warmers and hit the barrens! This post is about partridgeberries - what they are and where to find them. I'll share some inspiration for the kitchen, too. (Even though your best bet is probably just giving them to your nan.)

Partridgeberries and caribou lichen: treats of the barrens. (For the keen observer, yes, there are some cranberries mixed in here, too!)

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Author

I'm Erik, the Burnt Chef. I'm a Finnish-born Newfoundlander living in Norway. I have a passion for cooking and a deep fascination for the culinary history of the North. Simplicity guides my cooking. Time, place, and history guide my storytelling. This is my personal blog about food.

burnt chef

Sprouted grains - how to turn grains into veggies (...kinda)

Rye spice - the secret to great tasting rye bread

Partridgeberries - sweet life on the frozen barrens

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burnt chef

﻿Sprouted grains - how to turn grains into veggies (...kinda)

Rye spice - the secret to great tasting rye bread

Partridgeberries - sweet life on the frozen barrens

Author

Archives

Categories

Sprouted grains - how to turn grains into veggies (...kinda)