Essene bread

It was a couple of weeks ago now, but I said I would share my first attempt at making essene bread.
From my small amount of research on the internet on this subject I found some interesting facts on this ancient bread. There are many variations of Essene bread by adding extra nuts or fruit to the mix, but I chose to keep my batch true to its origins and just use grain, water and air as described in this passage, an extract from the 'Essene Gospel of peace'.    

'How should we cook our daily bread without fire, Master?' asked some with great astonishment. 'Let the angels of God prepare your bread. Moisten your wheat, that the angel of water may enter it. then set it in the air, that the angel of air also may embrace it. And leave it from morning to evening beneath the sun, that the angel of sunshine may descend upon it. And the blessing of the three angels will soon make the germ of life to sprout in your wheat. Then crush your grain, and make thin wafers, as did your forefathers when they departed out of Egypt, the house of bondage. Put them back again beneath the sun from its appearing, and when it is risen to its highest in the heavens, turn them over on the other side that they be embraced there also by the angel of sunshine, and leave them there until the sun be set. For the angels of water, of air, and of sunshine fed and ripened the wheat in the field, and they, likewise, must prepare also your bread. And the same sun which, with the fire of life, made the wheat to grow and ripen, must cook your bread with the same fire. For the fire of the sun gives life to the wheat, to the bread, and to the body. But the fire of death kills the wheat, the bread, and the body.

Essene bread:

The process to making Essene bread takes a few days. I started by soaking 2 cups of organic Kamut grain in filtered water for 12 hours. I then rinsed the grain and let sit in a seive on the sink, rinsing and draining regularly as I awaited the first tiny shoots to emerge.

By the 2nd day, they appeared.

By the 3rd day, the shoots were as long as the seed itself, so it was then I began the next process.











After giving the seeds a final rinse, I pushed the sprouted grain into my juicer with the solid plate to form a dough. The kids really enjoyed this part.

With some of the dough, we rolled into little buns and plaited rolls.

With the remainder of of the dough, we made bread sticks which was simple as this was how the dough formed when it protruded from the juicer. I simply grabbed the long strands as they emerged and lay them flat on the dehyrdator trays. Having wet fingertips made this easier.

I dehydrated our creations for about 24 hours

The final product was interesting. The breadsticks were great as they dried entirely and were a great addition to dipping in raw soups.

Whereas the bread rolls did not get a great response. They may be something that will take awhile to get use to. The inside of each small roll remained doughy and raw, while the outside was dried to a hard crust. The inside was slightly sour as the grain warmed and femented. I served my roll covered in avocado and salt to hide the unusual flavour and the kids just spat theirs out. Something to work on, but the breadsticks were worth it and stored well for a long time.