Here’s a video clip showing the consistency of dough in my Easy Artisan Bread with Sprouted Grains. I know it will be super exciting for you to watch more than a minute of me stirring. 
But I think it will be helpful for you to see the consistency.
Nice little video!
Thank you.
Hi, Wardeh:
I followed your recipe and watched the video, but I had to add a lot more water (almost 2 cups!) to get mine to this consistency and not be too stiff to stir! Not sure what else I might have gotten wrong. . . .
Sonya
Sonya Hemmings´s last blog post… Water: Logged
Sonya – What flour were you using?
Wardeh:
I used 6 1/2 cups of sprouted spelt flour. Even after I added the extra water, I don’t feel like the dough was wet enough. I went ahead and baked the loaves (they’re in the oven now). The dough did rise some before I put it into the pans, but it doesn’t look like they’ll puff up too much in the oven.
I’m looking through the actual book, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and your flour-to-water ratio makes sense according to the recipes in the book. Hmmmm. Still trying to figure out what the issue could be.
Sonya
Sonya Hemmings´s last blog post… Water: Logged
Sonya – I’m baffled, although I know that everytime I do the recipe (haven’t in awhile though) it acts a little different. The humidity in the air, the amount of water the flour absorbs, etc. I am sorry not to be able to guide you more. Perhaps when you do this again, you will have a better sense of what works for your flour and your area. Please let me know how the loaves turn out when they come out of the oven. I’m sorry I’m not more help.
Wardeh:
Well, I took the loaves out of the oven after 45 minutes of baking at 375 degrees, and the exterior was nice and crusty, but the interior was too moist–somewhat gooey, even–as I noticed when I sliced the end off of one loaf. I put them back in the oven for 10 more minutes, but the interior is still gooey. We tasted some pieces, and they are tasty, but I know they shouldn’t turn out this way. So, I will sprout some more flour and try it again. I’m almost certain I measured everything correctly, but I WAS helping my son with a math paper while I measured the flour, so it’s possible that I added an extra cup and thus felt the need as I stirred to add more water.
I actually hope that’s the case and that I am able to make a more successful loaf next time. Good thing I have something else to share in your Tuesday Twister tomorrow! 
Love,
Sonya
Sonya Hemmings´s last blog post… Water: Logged
Sonya – Thank the Lord you have something to share tomorrow! What you told me makes me think that even though you thought you should add more water, you should have held back. Even though I did that video, it is hard for it show the true consistency. Maybe your original consistency was closer than you thought. I hope you’re not too discouraged to try again!
Wardeh:
I guess I felt like I needed more water because the dough without it was so stiff that my mixer even had trouble mixing it. I’m certain it was not moist enough. From your video and from the text of the book, I got the notion that the dough needed to be wet enough to spread out and conform to the shape of the mixing bowl. Also, the wetter the better for a good rise. No, I’m not too discouraged to try again! Just wish it wasn’t going to be a couple days until I have enough grain sprouted again!
Love,
Sonya
Sonya Hemmings´s last blog post… Water: Logged
Sonya – I wish you didn’t have to wait to try again, either. If your mixer had a hard time, then yes, it wasn’t wet enough. You’re probably going to start with less flour next time? I don’t think I’ll offer any more advice, because I’m clearly not helping.
Wardeh:
I’ll take your advice any day! And, in fact, I think that is a perfect suggestion to start with less flour and just keep adding it until the consistency looks right. You’re more help than you know!
Love,
Sonya
Sonya Hemmings´s last blog post… Water: Logged
The people that wrote that 5-minute bread book are coming out with a whole grain one. I was wondering if the dough being stored in the fridge is kind of like soaking it? Also, can I make sprouted flour myself with a Vita-Mix (without the grain container, I heard this doesn’t work all that great)? If you sprout flour, it is alright to skip the soaking step, do I have that right? I looked over Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Bread which does a kind of soaking sourdough technique, but it read like a text book to me and even though I was reading every page, I couldn’t seem to retain it. I just want easy recipes that I feel like will be healthy and easy to digest for my family without feeling like I am reading a college textbook! Any suggestions?
Hi, Kelli! I’ve wanted to read that book. Does our library have it? I haven’t gotten around to checking.
The dough being stored in the fridge does count as a kind of soaking, it is just that those recipes are heavily yeast dependent. I kind of wish I’d never gotten into this bread because I now know that quick-yeasted breads are new-fangled and sourdough (wild yeasted) breads are nutritionally superior and traditional. I’m gearing up to do some sourdough soon. Here’s a sourdough recipe by someone who converted the 5-minute artisan bread over completely to sourdough: http://macmama.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/easy-no-knead-sourdough-bread/ Maybe it will help – it doesn’t read like a textbook.
I wouldn’t recommend the wet container for grinding grains. The dry container has special cutting blades that are better suited.
If you sprout, you can skip soaking. Sprouting accomplishes the soaking and more.
Have you looked through the comments here?
http://gnowfglins.com/2009/07/17/foray-into-sourdough-brea/comment-page-1/#comment-23376