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Naturally Leavened Einkorn Bread
Einkorn is likely the oldest wheat on earth. Unlike other wheat varieties, it has not been hybridized, and its nutrient profile and dough-feel are quite different from modern wheat. Einkorn has the most protein of any wheat and it’s often better tolerated by people sensitive to gluten, though it’s not gluten free. Click here for more nutritional information.
In developing this recipe, I was striving for the optimal shape, texture, flavor and crumb in an easy to make bread. The first two qualities are fairly objective–people generally want a toastable shape and a texture that isn’t crumbly. This was relatively easy to achieve by using a loaf pan and keeping the dough wet. Einkorn dough actually feels surprisingly wet even at the conservative 70% hydration that I went with (420g liquid for 600g flour).
Optimal flavor and crumb are a little more subjective, so I created some variations on this recipe that allow for more or less of the grassy richness of einkorn to come through, and more or less of a honeycomb structure. The flavor variation is through using water, milk and honey vs. only water in the dough. Everyone in my family enjoyed both recipes, and over the course of five test bakes, the bread accompanied our soups and stews, was made into sandwiches, and was consumed as buttered toast, avocado toast and more.
The crumb variation comes from the length of the fermentation time, with a more open crumb when you push the proof further. This pushes the sourness a bit as well and the loaf stays flat when baking rather than doming up, so that should be factored into your recipe selection. The photo galleries below show fermentation and proofing before and after photos to give you an idea of what I mean by proofing further.
Finally, I noted I was aiming for an “easy to make bread.” This recipe doesn’t require any gluten development strategies. Nor is there guesswork on the length of the bulk and final proofing because the fermentation can be measured in the bowl and loaf pan. The only element of the recipe that might be a little challenging is maneuvering the sticky-not-stretchy dough around your countertop and then into the loaf pan.
Flour your counter and tools, stay calm, and work with a light touch. Also remember perfection is the enemy of good, and you will be smoothing the loaf out with a wet spatula once it’s in the pan anyway. In the further proofed variation, I actually skip the countertop and preshape altogether, and have you scrape the dough from the bulk proofing bowl directly into the loaf pan.
Note on the Einkorn Sourdough Starter
I worked with an einkorn starter in order to have conditions similar to bakers who might be completely avoiding other wheat varieties. To convert my all purpose flour starter, I fed it home-milled whole grain einkorn flour, then I harvested a small amount of that hybrid, and re-fed that a lot more einkorn flour before using it for the first test bake. Of note, that first loaf actually had some bloom in the score, which I believe was due to the minuscule amount of all purpose flour in it. All subsequent bakes, where the all purpose flour was essentially gone, did not open a score regardless of how much or little I proofed the dough, the oven temp or the steaming techniques I chose.
I also observed that 100% hydration einkorn starter feels wet and fragile compared with other whole grain wheat starters I’ve worked with. A quick stir and it collapses, and it washes off your hands or utensils easily. Also, after a few days in the refrigerator, the top of the starter turns a little grey, but this is not mold nor a problem.
Materials
This bread is scaled for a 9″ x 5″ x 2.75″ loaf pan and you will also need aluminum foil for the steaming method I settled on as most beneficial. You can use your preferred method: lava rocks, a drip pan at the base of your oven, or something else.
Naturally Leavened Einkorn Bread
Whole grain einkorn bread is packed with flavor and nutrition, especially protein and carotenoids. This ancient wheat is known for its digestibility by people with gluten sensitivity, but it's also loved by bread enthusiasts for its unique characteristics.
Ingredients
Lean Variation
Enriched Variation
Additional Ingredients
Instructions
Shopping List
Moderate Proofing Variation
Further Proofing Variation
Naturally Leavened Einkorn Bread