Give Yourself Time to Sprout: Cybros Bread #Giveaway

  Patience is a virtue. Especially if you're a new food blogger.

The moment you hit PUBLISH on that first post, the waiting game begins.  You wonder if anyone is reading. You check the stats on your blog obsessively. You pump your content out on Facebook and Twitter and Stumbleupon. And you wait.... and... silence.

Like a seed sprouting in a garden, building an audience takes time. Most bloggers don't become overnight sensations. In fact, many bloggers (ourselves included) have been blogging for years without hitting pay dirt.

And that's OK. Because good things take time. And great things are worth waiting for.

It's a little bit like baking bread.  And even moreso like baking bread with sprouted grains.

These days, sprouted grains are all the rage. Known for their superior nutritional content and advanced digestibility, you'll see them in products on shelves, not only at health food stores, but also large corporate retailers. If you didn't know better, you'd think sprouted grains were something new.

But, a Milwaukee-area wholesale bakery called Cybros - The Sprouted Bakehouse has been specializing in breads made with good-for-you sprouted grain since 1969. In fact, it's the only sprouted grain bakery in the Midwest. 

We had the opportunity to visit Cybros this year and chat with the owners, Jenny and James Marino.  They walked us through the sprouted grain process and, in the meantime, taught us a lot about the role of patience.

Flour, by nature, is a dry, flavorless substance. Most healthy breads made from regular flour require significant amounts of fat, sugar and salt in order to make them palatable. But, not sprouted grain products.

During the sprouting process, the complex carbohydrates in grains break down into simple sugars, and the proteins break down into amino acids; both are easier for the body to process. Sprouting neutralizes phytic acid – a substance present in grains – that inhibits absorption of nutrients. In addition, the sprouted grains have the advantage of being higher in protein and fiber, and lower in both carbohydrates and calories.

Cybros uses house-sprouted red wheat berries as a processed flour substitute. Because they're made from whole-wheat kernels, sprouted grain breads are an excellent source of whole grains. The process, along with the fact that Cybros bread contains no unrefined sugars, fats or preservatives, gives the product a natural advantage over breads made with traditionally milled flour.

An even bigger difference is apparent when it comes to flavor. Unlike their traditional whole grain counterparts, Cybros sprouted grain breads are surprisingly soft, with a flavor that is both earthy and nutty. And, unlike their West Coast competitors, Cybros packages and sells its products fresh, rather than frozen.

"The biggest challenge in using freshly ground sprouted grains to make our products comes in forecasting orders," Marino says. "We don't have the luxury of opening bags of flour when orders are surprisingly high. The die is cast days in advance when we determine how much grain to set."

In other words, patience is a virtue.
__________________________________________
You've been pretty patient yourself, reading all the way to the end of this post.  But, we're happy to say that there's a pretty nice pay-off. It just so happens that this is the fifth of five... make that seven 5th Burp!-Day giveaways taking place on the blog during the month of June. So come back often, and come hungry!

This time, ONE lucky reader will win an assortment of Cybros bread products, along with 2 Cybros t-shirts and matching water bottles.

To enter, just leave us a comment telling us whether you've ever tried Cybros breads before.  For bonus entries, give @healthybakery a follow on Twitter or a LIKE on their Facebook page.  Be sure to leave us a comment letting us know you did just that.

You'll have until NOON on June 30, 2012 to enter.  Winners will be chosen at random and notified by email, so please leave your email addy with your comment if it's not included with your Blogger profile. Entries from the U.S. only, please.

As an added bonus, since June is Dairy Month, all entrants will ALSO be entered to win a grand prize assortment of hand-selected Wisconsin cheeses.

Full Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by Cybros - The Sprouted Bakehouse. They provided us with the product for our giveaway. However, all opinions expressed in this post are our own.

©BURP! Where Food Happens