Einkorn Recipes
From cookies and cakes to pizza and bread, these einkorn recipes are a pleasure to bake. They're easy, fun, and a great way to use one of nature's oldest grains.
Jump to Recipes | What is it? | Benefits | Tips
What is it?
Einkorn is an ancient variety of wheat, that is surging in popularity. That's because it has good flavor and a rich nutritional profile. Further, many people find it easier to digest than modern varieties of wheat. It has a nutty flavor undercut and a creamy yellow color owing to its high level of beta carotene.
Unlike modern wheat, einkorn has never been hybridized. It is also richer in protein and various micronutrients, such as beta carotene and vitamin B6, than modern wheat. This means that even when you make pastries and sweets using all-purpose einkorn flour, you're getting more micronutrients than if you had used regular flour. It's all the more nutrient-dense if you then use whole grain einkorn flour, too.
What are the benefits?
While many people find einkorn to be easy to digest, remember it is still a type of wheat. That means that while most einkorn recipes are safe and appropriate for many people who are sensitive to modern varieties of wheat, people who have celiac disease should still avoid them. Einkorn is also more nutritious than modern wheat, containing less starch and more protein as well as a rich array of micronutrients.
What can you do with einkorn?
You can make just about anything with einkorn that you can make with regular whole wheat or all-purpose flour. Einkorn is similar to soft wheat and is perfect for pastries, cookies, and quick bread. In addition, you can make naturally leavened bread with einkorn as the slow, gentle rise that a sourdough starter gives your bread works well with einkorn's sensitive and light gluten structure.
Tips for Cooking with Einkorn
Making einkorn recipes is pretty straightforward, and it makes an excellent substitute for wheat flour. However, as one of the oldest grains, there's a bit of a learning curve to baking with it.
Einkorn tends to make a very sticky dough, and you need to use less water and less fat than you would if you were baking with a modern variety of wheat. If it's your first time baking with it, you'll want to use a recipe developed specifically for einkorn. After a few times, you may wish to adapt your favorite recipes for use with einkorn flour. To do this, first both cut the fat and liquid in the recipe by about 25% and then adjust that percentage as you continue to tweak the recipe each time you make it.
If you're cooking with einkorn berries, you can use them at a 1:1 ratio for wheat or rye berries in pilafs and salads or milled into your favorite bread recipe. Remember that einkorn berries tend to be small and fragile, and they typically need about 15% less cook time than hard wheat or rye.
Additionally, einkorn has such a weak gluten structure that it doesn't benefit from kneading. That is, it's perfect for no-knead bread and pastries. And there's never a risk of overworking the dough.
Einkorn Recipes
These einkorn recipes are simple and easy to make and were developed using einkorn wheat and flour. There's no need to adjust them.
