Cooking with Einkorn 101

Introduction

The whole grain of the month in this series on whole (and pseudo) grains is einkorn wheat.

The name einkorn comes from the German ein (one) korn (grain) because each einkorn wheat spikelet contains just one grain in contrast to more recent wheat varieties.

In Italy, einkorn is referred to as farro piccolo (small grain) while emmer is called farro medio (medium grain) and spelt is called farro grande (large grain).

Note that in the United States, farro frequently refers to emmer and not einkorn.

Einkorn History

Einkorn wheat is considered the original cultivated cereal grass and the ancestor of all other wheats.

Einkorn is believed to have been cultivated as far back as 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent.

Cultivated einkorn is a descendant of wild einkorn. 

The main difference between the cultivated and wild variety being that the cultivated seedhead does not drop as easily as the wild variety. 

As a result, the seeds can be more easily harvested and processed.

There are a large number of beautiful einkorn varietals which typically are grouped by color (i.e. blonde, brown, black) as can be seen here and here.

Einkorn Family Tree

Einkorn has 14 chromosomes, which is the lowest number among all the wheat species.

According to Eli Rogosa in her book Restoring Heritage Grains, wheat species with the same number of chromosomes are more closely related to each other.

The various known cultivated wheat species are believed to be a result of crosses with wild goat grasses.

Below is a chart of better known cultivated wheat species based on their chromosome count and what is believed to be their relationship to each other.

For simplification purposes, the wild goat grass parents are not included.

Nutritional Benefits of Einkorn

Einkorn is typically the highest in protein of all the wheat varieties, averaging around 19% protein according to one study.

The gluten protein composition in einkorn is different than that of modern wheat and it appears to be better tolerated by many individuals with gluten intolerance.

 A Belgian comparative study of ancient grains found einkorn to be 36% higher in protein than modern wheat and 10% lower in starch.

Not only does it have less starch, but einkorn contains more slow to digest starch which helps with feelings of fullness and in reducing glycemic spikes.

For this reason, sourdough einkorn bread has been dubbed “skinny bread” – though obviously that always depends on the quantities consumed.

Einkorn contains  potassium,  phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, phenol antioxidants as well as vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and E.

Einkorn is particularly high in lutein which is known to be important for eye and brain health.

Einkorn Culinary Uses

Einkorn can be used whole, cracked or ground into flour.

Below is an overview of the many culinary uses of einkorn.

Toasted Einkorn

Einkorn is a small grain that toasts well, similar to the way you would toast sesame seeds.

1. Heat up a skillet to medium high heat.
2. Pour einkorn grains onto the skillet, not more than one layer deep.
3. The grains should be jostled around frequently and it is best to stay close by to prevent the grains from burning.
4. Grains are usually ready within about two minutes when they generate a toasted aroma and darken slightly.

Toasted Einkorn works great as a topping on salads and porridges or included in trail mixes.

Sprouted Einkorn

Einkorn grains can be sprouted and used in different food preparations or grown further into wheat grass.

If sprouting to consume as einkorn sprouts or make sprouted einkorn flour then it is best to use hulled einkorn.

If you plan on growing it into einkorn wheat grass or make einkorn malt, typically unhulled einkorn is recommended.

To sprout einkorn grains:

1. Soak the grains for about 6 hours or overnight in at least twice their volume of filtered water.
2. Drain water and place grains in a jar with a meshed lid, held at a 45 degree angle.
3. Rinse twice a day.
4. Grains will be ready when the sprout has just popped out of the bran (when using for sprouted einkorn flour) or is as long as the length of the seed ( when using in salads or to make einkorn malt )

Sprouted einkorn can be added as is to salads or combined with plant milk of choice as a breakfast cereal.

Wet sprouted einkorn can be added to bread dough as is or ground up using a food processor.

Sprouted Einkorn Flour

Sprouted einkorn can be dehydrated and ground into sprouted einkorn flour.

Sprouted einkorn can be air dried in the sun with a fine mesh over the grains to protect them from bugs and birds.

Using a mesh drying rack is ideal though it may take a couple of days for the grains to fully dry.

An electric dehydrator set at 112° F will take at least 12 hours to dry the sprouted grains.

At this temperature the enzymes are preserved and fermentation will be faster when using in bread recipes.

To grind into flour, a high speed blender or grain mill can be used as discussed in detail in this post.

Einkorn Malt

Sprouted einkorn can be turned into diastatic malt when dehydrated below 130° F.

Diastitic einkorn malt preserves the enzymes and accelerates fermentation when used in baking.

Non diastatic einkorn malt is made when sprouted einkorn is roasted typically in the range of 150° F to 300° F.

Non diastatic malt is also used in baking to add flavor without speeding up fermentation.

Typically small quantities of malt are added to bread recipes therefore a cup or two of malted einkorn grains should last you quite a long time.

To make einkorn malt:

1. Start will unhulled einkorn grains and sprout the grains as instructed here until the sprout is as long as the length of the grain.

To convert to diastatic malt:

1. Dehydrate grains outdoors using a mesh drying rack until fully dry (can take a couple of days) or use a dehydrator at 112° F for about 12 hours.

To convert to non diastatic malt:

1. Roast grains in the oven 1 ½ hours at 150° F and then 30 minutes at 300° F for an extra toasted flavor, stirring every 30 minutes to ensure full drying.

Einkorn Wheatgrass

Einkorn sprouts can be grown into einkorn wheatgrass.

Using a growing medium  with good drainage will result in more nutritious sprouts and decreased likelihood of mold

1. Place the sprouts in a well ventilated area and keep the soil moist.
2. Harvest with scissors close to the soil level when grass is around 7 inches – within 6 to 10 days depending on external temperatures (warmer will cause sprouts to grow faster)

Add einkorn wheatgrass to smoothies or juice it into shots of high chlorophyll wheat juice. 

Boiled Whole Einkorn

Whole grain einkorn can be boiled in a manner similar to whole grain rice.

To boil einkorn grains:

1. Use a 2 to 1 ratio of water to einkorn with a pinch of salt.
2. Bring water to a boil and simmer for about 35 minutes until tender.

Variations

Prior to boiling, einkorn can be presoaked overnight in water with an optional tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (or other acidic liquid) per half gallon of water.

In that case, water cooking ratio should be 1 part water to 1 part einkorn grain and simmer time can be reduced to 25 minutes.

For an extra nutty flavor, einkorn can be dry toasted a few minutes prior to boiling and in that case simmer time can also be reduced to 25 minutes.

Pressure cooking whole einkorn in an Instant Pot can be done for 15 minutes at high pressure followed by a minimum of 20 minutes of natural release – no soaking is needed.

Boiled einkorn works well as a rice substitute and in grain bowls.

It has a mellow flavor and is slightly chewier than rice.

Boiled Cracked Einkorn

If you have a spice grinder, blender or stone mill, you can crack einkorn berries at home.

Cracking the berries reduces the cooking time.

You can cook cracked einkorn in the same way you would cook cracked Kamut as detailed in this recipe.

Alternatively, you can turn cracked einkorn into a porridge by using a ratio of 3 parts liquid to one part cracked einkorn.

You will want to cook for about 30 minutes and stir frequently.

A recipe for a cracked einkorn porridge can be found here.

Einkorn Rejuvelac

Einkorn can be made into rejuvelac using the detailed steps outlined in this recipe.

The resulting liquid has a less cheesy flavor than modern wheat and it is more on the lemony side, closer to a rye rejuvelac.

Einkorn Flour

Grinding einkorn berries into flour opens up a whole other world of possibilities.

This post contains an in depth discussion on grinding wheat berries into flour.

Tips for Baking with Einkorn Flour

Einkorn whole grain flour is stickier than modern wheat flour and takes longer to absorb liquids.

When substituting einkorn flour for whole wheat flour, some experts recommend reducing the liquid by as much as 15%  to 20% but this very much depends on the recipe.

Therefore, the best way to proceed when adjusting a recipe is to mix your ingredients with less liquid, wait at least 10 minutes for the liquid to absorb and then add more liquid if necessary.

Because it has a weaker type of gluten than modern wheat, einkorn is better suited for no knead and hand kneaded bread recipes.

Einkorn is well suited for sourdough bread recipes with overnight rise.

I tried my 100% whole wheat sourdough bread recipe using einkorn flour and had great results without making any water adjustments.

I also tried making my two-ingredient whole grain pasta recipe using eikorn flour and likewise did not need to make any adjustments though I did make sure to flour generously when rolling out my pasta dough.

Books about Einkorn

Because einkorn has become so popular in recent years, there are a number of cookbooks focused strictly on einkorn which contain some whole grain einkorn recipes.

These cookbooks are not plant-based therefore if you are plant-based, you will want to make your own additional substitutions.

Some of the most popular books on einkorn are:

• Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat: A Cookbook by Carla Bartolucci
• The Einkorn Cookbook by Shanna and Tim Mallon
• Everyday Einkorn by Zsuzsanna Anderson

The book that introduced me to einkorn grains and the value of ancient grains is Restoring Heritage Grains by Eli Rogosa. While it has a cooking section, it is much more than a cookbook as it provides an in depth history of wheat.

Though not specifically about einkorn, Peter Reinhart’s Bread Revolution is a popular cookbook on baking with sprouted flours and heirloom grains which can be helpful when working with sprouted whole grain einkorn flour.

Where to Buy Einkorn

Einkorn is typically more expensive to purchase than other wheat varieties because of its lower yield and popularity with gluten sensitive individuals.

Buying einkorn in bulk makes it a lot more cost effective.

Since shipping to your home can often double the price of bulk grains, purchasing einkorn from an online vendor closer to the state you live in will typically give you the best price.

Online Vendors

This post on where to buy whole grains contains 25 online sources of einkorn wheat berries and/or einkorn flour.

Vendors with Drop Off Locations

If there is an Azure Standard drop off location near you, their price for organic einkorn berries is among the lowest I am aware of due to the drastically lower shipping costs.

Azure Standard is particularly competitive if you have many heavy organic bulk items to purchase and I am happy to count them as an affiliate partner.

Another online affiliate partner with some drop off locations and competitive pricing is Country Life Natural Foods.

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Einkorn Seed Sellers

Unhulled einkorn grains can be purchased to grow into wheatgrass, make malt or for a home harvest.

Unhulled einkorn can be purchased from Azure Standard and Trueleaf Market.

There are some particularly beautiful einkorn varieties which you may want to have in your home garden as ornamentals and to have a better connection and understanding of the grains you consume.

Rare einkorn varieties can be purchased from Cornville Seed, Prairie Garden Seeds and the Heritage Grain Conservancy.

Storing Einkorn

Once you have purchased your quality einkorn grains, you will want to store them well to optimize their freshness.

This post on storing whole grains provides various options depending on the quantity and length of storage time you have in mind.

Conclusion

Einkorn wheat is a wonderful, healthy ancient grain that many people with gluten allergies are able to digest.

It is my hope that this overview of einkorn wheat gets you started in incorporating einkorn in your cooking and baking.

If you have any suggestions or tips about einkorn that I have not included in this post, please be sure to comment below.

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