Cracked Kamut

Introduction

Recently, I was thinking of making a favorite summertime salad, tabbouleh, but I had run out of whole wheat couscous, a product of durum wheat. 

Since I had some Kamut on hand, I wondered whether I could make my own couscous from scratch at home.

A little bit of internet research taught me that the process to make couscous is somewhat intricate as the grain is ground up and then sifted into different sizes. 

The finest size of the grain is manually worked on with some water to create the couscous granules which is a time consuming process.

I was looking for a more hands off approach so I looked into how bulgur, another similar durum wheat product, is made and I came across a very good recipe on the Alphafoodie site.

The bulgur recipe was a little more hands off and it had the advantage that the final bulgur product can be ready to eat simply by letting it soak in boiled water.

Looking at how bulgur is made had me wondering about cracked wheat and how that is made.

Most recipes I found for cracked wheat limited its use to a breakfast porridge.

I was hoping for more defined and chewy grains as a final product, not mush.

Finally, I did find an Indian website which referred to cracked wheat as broken wheat and this was my inspiration for the current recipe.

Benefits of Using Cracked Kamut

Kamut is a delicious, protein rich, large golden colored grain which is considered a close relative of the smaller sized durum wheat.

When cooked as a whole grain, it is best to soak it overnight and boiling it can take over an hour. 

The final boiled Kamut can still be quite chewy – more so than many people might enjoy.

Hence, the benefit of using cracked Kamut.

Coarsely grinding Kamut reduces its chewiness and allows it to cook more quickly than in its whole form – in about the same amount of time as brown rice.

This recipe calls for toasting the cracked Kamut which makes it more digestible, gives it a nutty flavor and speeds up the total cooking time as well.

Just like bulgur, cracked Kamut can be considered a whole grain as the cracked pieces still contain all parts of the grain: bran, germ and endosperm.

In contrast to bulgur which can be stored in its processed state for a long time, when you grind the Kamut on demand, you are insuring you get the freshest, most nourishing product.

Cracked Kamut is a healthy, higher protein alternative to brown rice.

Grinding Kamut Berries

Kamut can be cracked in a high speed blender, a stone mill or a manual cast iron grain mill. ( For an in depth discussion on milling, please see this post. )

You are aiming for a very coarse grind.

A micronizer mill will not work as it will grind the grain too finely.

The coarse grind needs to be sifted from the fine grind if you are aiming for well separated grains as is detailed in the recipe.

Where to Buy Kamut Wheat Berries

If you want to try Kamut in small quantities, the Bob’s Red Mill brand is likely to be available at your local supermarket.

It can also be found online at Amazon.

While using Kamut is ideal because of its larger size, this recipe will also work with durum wheat.

If you are interested in purchasing in bulk, this post includes a FREE pdf file download which lists more than 15 online sources of Kamut and durum wheat berries.

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