Have you heard of this ancient wheat variety called Einkorn? Yeah, I hadn’t either until a few months ago. Now, I cannot even remember where I read about it. It was certainly in the context of gluten intolerance which has been everywhere lately.
Einkorn was domesticated about 7500 BC. That’s 1500 years before pottery. The berries are tiny compared with today’s hybridized wheat. Einkorn has 14 chromosomes, modern wheat has 42, so that changes the gluten structure. It’s also higher in protein, essential fatty acids, phosphorous, potassium, pyridoxine, and beta-carotene. Some claim it’s much easier to digest and may be tolerated way better than modern wheat by gluten sensitive people.
At the Berkeley Bowl last week I saw this flour available in the Jovial brand and thought I’d give it a try. It’s quite expensive as flour goes, but well worth trying. I used the Il Fornaio Bread Cookbook’s Pagnotta recipe as a guide.
Having now made two loaves, it does make a nutty flavorful, yellowish loaf. It toasts up nice and crunchy. It also holds well without molding. I really like the bread it makes, but it’s not so far superior as to induce me to switch from the really wonderful Central Milling Organic Artisan Bakers Craft Flour I get at Costco. If you have a gluten sensitivity, give it a try.
I was not compensated for this post. It’s just my opinion.