Have you heard of Einkorn? It’s an ancient form of wheat, the one our ancestors first cultivated approximately 10,000 years ago. It’s considered a “relic grain,” one that produces much lower yields than modern hybridized wheat. Recently, however, interest in Einkorn has increased, because several of its qualities make it an attractive alternative to modern wheat. Here are 7 things to know about baking with Einkorn flour:
- Einkorn contains 2 sets of chromosomes. Modern wheat, which has undergone repeated hybridization over the past 50 years, contains 6 sets of chromosomes. Hybridization isn’t bad – it creates qualities that improve plant health and increase yield. But some research suggests that hybridization has introduced genes (and the proteins they produce) that have increased rates of allergy and sensitivity to wheat.
- Einkorn has less gluten and a different gluten ratio than modern wheat. Einkorn does contain gluten, and it isn’t recommended for people with celiac disease or gluten allergy. However, it has significantly less gluten, and a higher ratio of gliadin to glutenin (2 gluten proteins) than modern wheat, which may result in a lower level of gluten “toxicity.” Some people who are sensitive to wheat or gluten find that they are less sensitive to Einkorn. That’s the reason I use it; I experience mild digestive problems after eating regular wheat that I don’t experience after eating Einkorn.
- Einkorn is high in lutein and other nutrients. Einkorn contains significant levels of lutein, a plant pigment in the same family as beta-carotene that gives dough and bread made with Einkorn flour a lovely pale yellow color. It’s also a good source of thiamin and other B vitamins and trace minerals. Some research suggests that Einkorn retains its nutrients better after baking or cooking than other forms of wheat.
- Einkorn is grown primarily on family farms that use organic growing methods. People who are interested in restoring ancient grains are also interested in growing them in the safest, most healthful way possible. The Einkorn flour and pasta I use, from Jovial Foods, is grown on one organic farm in Italy. (This is not a sponsored post for Jovial. I’m just sharing information about a product I use and like.) Other companies, likeTropical Traditions and Einkorn.com, also sell organic Einkorn products.
- Bread and pasta made with Einkorn are delicious. Bread made with Einkorn flour tastes fabulous. The pasta is wonderful; even the whole wheat pasta, which is not usually a favorite with my family, is very good.
- Baking with Einkorn is easy. Because it contains less gluten than modern flour, I was afraid Einkorn dough wouldn’t rise, or that bread made with it would be heavy and dense.
Fortunately, I was wrong on both counts. Einkorn dough rises beautifully, although not quite as quickly or as high as dough made with modern flour, and it shapes or rolls out easily. It’s a bit stickier than regular dough, so I oil my hands, bowl and surfaces well. My basic recipe for bread, pizza and flatbread, using just a tiny bit less water, works great with Einkorn flour. - It’s expensive. There’s no getting around this – Einkorn flour and pasta are expensive, compared to flour and pasta made with regular flour. If you’re baking bread and serving up big pots of pasta for a family, it’s going to cost a lot to serve Einkorn products. (But see my money-saving tip below.) So if you or someone in your family is sensitive to wheat (again, it’s not recommended for people with celiac disease or those who are allergic to wheat or gluten), try it for a short period of time and see if it makes a difference. I’m the only one in my family who is sensitive to wheat, so in order to keep the cost down I usually avoid regular wheat products and only eat bread, pizza or pasta made with Einkorn about once a week. My family is always thrilled to see a bowl of Einkorn dough on the counter, especially if it’s going to be turned into pizza or flatbread! And if you do give it a try, here’s the money-saving tip – every time I have ordered from Jovial, using the coupon code ‘realfood’ has given me free shipping on my entire order. In addition, some Jovial products on Amazon qualify for free shipping.
Have you ever tried baking with Einkorn flour or cooking Einkorn pasta? Please share your experiences in the Comments – I would love to hear from you. Gaye
Tracy Jamieson says
We made the cake using Einkhorn flour and coconut oil to grease the skillet. The texture was light and moist. Topped it with a compote made of frozen berries and no added sugar, and whipped cream. Wonderful! I want to try making it with olive oil next time instead of butter, just to see what it’s like. Thank you for sharing this simple recipe that is all you need for a satisfying treat.
Jessica says
I was wondering if you know the dofference between the whole grain einkorn flour and all purpose einkorn flour.
GC says
Hi Jessica – I think that the whole grain is like whole wheat flour, in that it includes all parts of the wheat grain. I think that all-purpose Einkorn has the bran and possibly the germ removed, much like all-purpose regular flour, so it is a “lighter” flour.
Gaye
Lorri says
I found that I am gluten intolerant and have been mostly gluten free for 3 years. About 4 months ago I heard about einkorn and on a trip to Houston found some. I was excited to try it! So far so good, although thus far I haven’t used 100% einkorn flour in my scones. I’ve been doing about 50 50 with my own recipe for oat flour blend. I just got in 15 pounds of the einkorn wheat berries. Excited to try some bread! It really is wonderful that I’m tolerating it well
GC says
Hi Lorri – I’m so happy to hear that Einkorn is working out for you. I have wondered if people who were gluten intolerant could tolerate it better because of the lower gluten levels. It really makes sense that they would be able to. And it makes such delicious bread and everything else!
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Gaye
Cori says
This is interesting! I recently found out that I am sensitive to white flour and even some types of whole wheat flours. I have to have 100% unbleached whole wheat if I want to eat anything made from wheat. I recently tried some cookies from Jovial and found that I could eat them no problem. I’m glad to hear that cooking einkorn flour isnt too difficult! I’ve already experienced some difficulty with whole wheat, its times like these when I have to remember, cooking IS a science 🙂
GC says
Hi Cori – I’m glad that you didn’t have problems with the Einkorn cookies. If you like to bake, I think you will like baking with Einkorn. It does require a bit of a learning curve, but I’ve never made anything with Einkorn that didn’t taste good. Also, I think that Jovial is beginning to put more recipes and baking tips on its web site.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Gaye
rebecca says
hi- when you said that your regular bread recipe works well with einkorn, do you use 1/2 einkorn and 1/2 another flour (like the recipe says to mix 2 flours), or you use entirely einkorn flour?
GC says
Hi Rebecca – Sorry for the confusion. I use all einkorn flour when I bake with einkorn. I think you could probably use 1/2 regular einkorn and 1/2 whole wheat einkorn, but I haven’t tried that yet.
Gaye
BeautyTipToday says
Hi Gaye:
I LOVE bread. And I had never heard about Einkorn flour until I saw your post here. I learned a lot. I would like to try baking with it one of these days!
GC says
Hi Tania – Thanks so much. I hope you enjoy Einkorn if you give it a try. It makes delicious bread.
Gaye
Deborah Smith says
I have used Einkorn to make bread and it is very good. My husband likes the typical light, fluffy sandwich style bread, so he doesn’t like it. I have bought the Einkorn berries through my food co-op and ground them with my grain grinder attachment I bought for my kitchen aid mixer. I have yet to experiment with it beyond bread, partly because it is so expensive. Too many flops would be an expensive mistake. I will have to try your recipes. Thanks for sharing!
GC says
Hi Deborah – I have ground Einkorn berries too, but I found that it made dough that was pretty heavy. Lately I have been using white Einkorn flour (so it’s not whole wheat) and it makes much lighter bread. I also made delicious pancakes with it last weekend. You’re right – it’s too expensive to “mess up” when using it.
Thanks for stopping by.
Gaye
Dawn Eichers says
I use the jovial all purpose flour it works well with my zucchini bread recipe , and I’ve made tortillas.
GC says
Hi Dawn – That’s good to know. Oh, I bet that tortillas made with it are fantastic!
Gaye
Nancy W says
I’ve heard of Einkorn but haven’t cooked with it yet, thanks for sharing your post on the HomeAcre Hop, hope to see you again tomorrow! – Nancy
The Home Acre Hop
GC says
Thanks Nancy.
Gaye
Audrey @ Gluten-Free Vegan Love says
Hi Gaye. I never heard of Einkorn wheat before, but it sounds comparable to spelt and kamut, which is interesting. I once spoke with a nutritionist who was very gluten-intolerant, but she said there is one particular brand of bread that she can buy that contains gluten that she can actually eat, and which she preferred to any other gluten-free bread alternative. She explained that it’s because they use a form of ancient wheat that contains much less gluten and that is much more belly and auto-immune friendly. I tried out that brand to see what happens, and sadly I still reacted to it adversely (I’m gluten-intolerant), but surprisingly the reaction was very very mild compared to any other glutenous product I’ve ever tried, so I think there’s something to it. I might give it a try again when my body is more ready for it. But I might give Einkorn wheat a try at that point as well 🙂 . Sounds like a good option for people with mild gluten-sensitivities, and as a general healthier wheat alternative.
GC says
Hi Audrey – I haven’t tried spelt or kamut, so I need to check them out. I do like the lower gluten and less complex structure of Einkorn. For me it seems easier to tolerate. I wonder sometimes if our bodies haven’t been able to “catch up” with the changes to modern wheat, since they happened so rapidly.
Thanks for stopping by.
Gaye
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
I have never heard of Einkorn! I was so sad that they don’t ship to Canada. I would love to try their flour. I’m going to look at out health food market and see if they carry it. I have a sensitive stomach when it comes to wheat but I love me some good hearty carbs every once in a while.
Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo
GC says
Hi Jennifer – I wonder if you could order it through Amazon and have it shipped to Canada? I have seen it on Amazon in the US. I’m with you – I need a nice hearty dose of carbs (preferably bread) every now and then!
Gaye
dishofdailylife says
I have not heard of Einkorn. It sounds like a great option for baking.
nmburk says
I’ve heard of Einkorn, but never eaten it. Thanks for such an informative post!
GC says
Thanks Nicole!
Gaye
Nicky says
I haven’t heard of Einkorn before. I have heard that many with wheat sensitivities can tolerate flour made with hard red wheat berries. There is something different in this variety as well. I buy flour from a local farm with hard white and hard red wheat berries. It tastes different than the commercial flours available. It’s nice to have options.
GC says
Hi Nicky – I didn’t know that about hard red wheat berries. That’s good to know.
Gaye
Nicole Neverman says
What a great write up! Thanks so much for the information. I have never used Einkorn before but I will absolutely give it a try now 🙂
GC says
Thanks Nicole. I hope you like it.
Gaye
jugglingrealfoodandreallife says
I have never heard of Einkorn, but I am very curious to explore ancient grains. How the heck did you ever even find out about it? Certainly something I need to explore more…………You know how I have to know everything I can about food.
GC says
Hi Christina – I first heard about Einkorn when I read the book “Wheat Belly.” Then I began to do some research on it, because I wondered if the digestive issues (minor) I was having could be due to wheat. (The author of the book thinks that just about every health problem is caused by wheat!) I love baking with Einkorn flour – it makes the most beautiful dough. And I love that it’s an old form of wheat, grown organically on small farms.
Gaye