Sprouted Wheat Sandwich Bread

1/4 cup wheat berries, sprouted, or about 3/4 cup sprouted wheat berries
1 cup lukewarm water
3 Tbs orange juice
4 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
2 Tbs honey
2 1/2 cups traditional whole wheat flour
2/3 cup unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast

Process the sprouts, water and orange juice in a blender or food processor until the sprouts are chopped and the mixture is milky white. Don't be tempted to leave the sprouts whole; though they're soft when you put them into the dough, baking turns them unpleasantly hard and crunchy.

Combine all the ingredients, including the water-sprout mixture, and mix and knead them--by hand, mixer, or bread machine--until you have a soft, smooth dough. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it's puffy and nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly grease an 9x5-inch loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough and shape it into an 9-inch log. Place it in the prepared pan. Cover it gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise till it's crowned about 1 inch over the rim of the pan, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Near the end of the bread's rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Uncover and bake the bread for about 40 minutes, tenting it with foil after 20 minutes. The bread is done when it's golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190 degrees. Remove it from the oven, and after a minute or so turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread for 30 minutes before slicing.

~King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking