Last week I continued my baking jag, thanks to my friend Don who gave me five pounds of einkorn wheat and a cookbook titled “Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat”. The baked goods I made were so delicious that even though the grain is obscure, I wanted to write about it.
Einkorn is the world’s oldest wheat and traces back to the end of the Stone Age, about 12,000 years ago. All modern day wheat descends from wild einkorn. The wheat isn’t grown on a large scale which is why you probably haven’t heard of it. The grain has less gluten, more nutrients and definitely more flavor than regular wheat.
Don also gave me a basic bread recipe (from the Ancient Baker on YouTube) that looked quite simple so I tried it. And I have an embarrassing confession; I made it twice and each time I made mistakes. The first time I inadvertently added too much water and the second time, I forgot the oil. Then I had to add the oil in after the bread had been mixed. But the bread forgave me was still delicious. This makes me think this recipe is foolproof and would be great for beginners and children who want to make bread. The loaf has a crumbly, cake-like texture so it’s perfect for toast that’s covered with butter and jam and eaten with a fork.
Einkorn Bread
1 cup warm water
2 tsp yeast
¼ cup honey (or, ⅛ cup honey and ⅛ cup molasses)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups einkorn flour (400 grams)
1 tsp salt
In a bowl, combine boiling water with cold water until a thermometer reads 120⁰. Keep one cup, add the sweeteners and the yeast. The yeast will get foamy; when the foam completely covers the surface of the bowl, add the olive oil. Pour the liquid into the flour and salt. Mix with a big rubber spatula. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about an hour. Put into an oiled loaf pan and let it rise again. Bake at 375⁰ for 30 minutes.
I was puzzled because I weighed the flour and 400 grams was four cups, not three which goes to show you how much variation there is in flour. If you can, weigh the flour. You want the mixture to be a thick batter. You may need to add more flour or water. I used a cat heating pad to speed up the rise.
Obscure as the grain is, it can be found at health food stores and of course, on Amazon. I love its robust and nutty flavor! Thank you, Don, for the introduction.