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Sourdough Breads with Einkorn Flour
Einkorn is believed to be the first wheat ever domesticated, about 10,000 years ago. It’s mild in flavor; nutty, slightly sweet, and quite delicious. The grains are usually small and golden-brown, though there are variations in its appearance and baking properties due to it being a landrace grain, locally adapted to different growing environments.
Einkorn is about as different from modern wheat as you can get (and still be wheat). It has low gluten strength, is not very absorbent, and makes a sticky dough; but bread made from it can still be quite aerated, even when it’s the only flour used in the dough, such as in this naturally leavened einkorn bread.
Whole grain einkorn sourdough pan loaf
In addition to enjoying the all-einkorn pan loaf, I also love to pair einkorn with other flours, and here I explore different percentages and pairings to make a freestanding whole grain bread and to find a sweet spot of bread slice pliability and einkorn flavor.
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Einkorn wheat berries
The first two formulas I worked with were 50:50 whole grain einkorn flour with whole grain yecora rojo flour in one dough and white bread flour in the other. For the 100% whole grain bread, I liked the idea of marrying a 10,000-year-old wheat with a wheat developed by agricultural scientists only 50 years ago (yecora rojo).
50:50 einkorn and yecora rojo whole grain sourdough bread on left | 50:50 einkorn and bread flour sourdough on the right
I enjoyed the flavor (and appearance) of these breads. The soft nuttiness of einkorn came through in both, with an added wheat note in the yecora rojo loaf. The 100% whole grain flour dough was a little stiffer and easier to shape than the one with bread flour, and it baked up a little more dense.
Einkorn : Yecora Rojo on left | Einkorn : Bread Flour on right
The bread slices from both worked well for sandwiches, but I decided to do another einkorn bake to see if more bread flour would make a more “bendy” slice.
In my next formula, I used a ratio of 30:70 einkorn to bread flour, and the results were more like a classic modern bread: chewy and airy, but still with einkorn flavor.
30:70 einkorn and bread flour sourdough bread
You can’t go wrong in picking any one of these formulas to try; preferences for crumb style and fiber content can be your guide. You might also simply use the formulas as a guide to help you create your own variation: perhaps a more hydrated yecora rojo and einkorn dough or a 40:60 einkorn and bread flour dough.
See the galleries after the recipes for process photos of all three breads.
Learn more about einkorn variations and terroir in this fascinating letter from ancient grain farmer René Featherstone; and about the terms heritage, heirloom, ancient, and landrace in this “Bread Magazine” article by renowned baker François Thibeault.
Sourdough Breads with Einkorn Flour
Here are three options for using einkorn wheat, a delicious ancient grain, in artisan-style freestanding sourdough breads. Try the whole grain bread recipe or one of the two recipes with refined flour, or give your own variation a try.
Ingredients
Whole Grain Einkorn and Yecora Rojo Wheat Flours
Whole Grain Einkorn and Bread Flours 50:50
Whole Grain Einkorn and Bread Flours 30:70
Instructions
50:50 Bakes Photo Gallery
30:70 Bake Photo Gallery
Shopping List
Einkorn Wheat Berries
Einkorn Whole Grain Flour
Yecora Rojo Hard Red Spring Wheat Berries
Yecora Rojo Whole Grain Flour
High Protein Bread Flour
Mockmill 100 Grain Mill
Sourdough Starter (Live)
Breadtopia’s Choice Kitchen Scale
$18.00Danish Dough Whisk — Large
Dough and Storage Bucket w/Lid – 2 qt. Square
Bowl Covers (5 pcs)
Oval Rattan Proofing Basket
Round Rattan Proofing Basket
Breadtopia Clay Baker — Batard
Breadtopia Cloche Bread Baker — Round
Bread Lame
Tiered Cooling Rack
Sourdough Breads with Einkorn Flour