Einkorn Bread

Einkorn is one of the earliest cultivated wheats and what’s referred to as an ancient grain, like spelt, rye, khorasan, and emmer, among others. It was commonly used to make bread in parts of northern Europe for several hundred years, and remains a popular ingredient in German bakeries today.

This is a lower-gluten bread, which has some caveats, so be sure to read through all of the notes and instructions beginning. If you’re used to baking with white flour it’s a rather different process and end result.

The resulting 100% einkorn bread is, of course, delicious and flavourful. The crumb is slightly denser than spelt – more similar to rye bread – and makes a good toast.

This is adapted from my simple spelt bread recipe. All of the bread recipes on OE are made exclusively with ancient grains.

Why You Should Try This Recipe

There’s much to be said for baking with alternative flours. They have a great taste on their own with no need for additions like seeds or long ferment times, it’s generally easier to digest, and fun to experiment with.

• You might have an easier time with einkorn: I have some digestive trouble with standard wheat flour but find other grains like einkorn (and my go-to- spelt) don’t cause any problems.
• It’s a good basic bread: this makes an excellent standard sandwich or toast loaf with just a bit of a flavour boost.
• It’s made with whole grains: while you can use sifted flour, this recipe is specifically made with all whole-grain einkorn for extra fibre and protein.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Flour: as mentioned, this is made with whole grain flour. Sifted should be fine in the same quantities but I haven’t tested with it.
• Honey: sub maple syrup for a fully vegan bread if needed.
• Oil: I usually use olive oil, but any oil that’s liquid at room temperature will work.

Step by Step

1. Mix wet ingredients: whisk the yeast, oil, and honey into the water.
2. Add part of the flour: stir in about a third of the flour. This makes it easier to mix.

3. Mix the dough: stir in the remaining flour and the salt to make a shaggy dough.
4. Knead: let the dough rest for a few minutes before kneading into a smooth ball.
5. Rise: place the dough back into the mixing bowl and rise until doubled. (Pictured is slightly over-proved).
6. Shape: press the dough into a rectangle, then roll into a spiral and place in a bread tin.

7. Rise again: set the bread aside to rise again until puffy.
8. Bake: until golden brown, about 40 minutes. This bread is quite dark after baking.

If you can’t see the video in the post, please watch it on YouTube instead.

Recipe Notes

You can probably use a bread machine for this recipe, but I’ve never tried. My only concern would be that the automatic settings would result in a too long kneading time for the lower-gluten flour.

This may be a slightly stickier dough than you’re used to, but resist adding too much more flour. I really recommend using weight measurements for bread baking unless you can go by feel, but even then, note that the dough is a bit sticky even after kneading.

Don’t worry about some slight tearing at the top of the loaf after it rises (pre-bake). Even if you’re an expert shaper, this dough has a tendency to break slightly either during rising or baking.

My dough over-proved slightly as there was a strong sun the day I did the process shots, but the bread still turned out well – just less smooth on the top. My kitchen temperature was about 28°C that day, and the rising time should be reduced by about a quarter when it’s so warm.

You might see a bubble or two near the top of the loaf after baking. This is normal for this type of whole grain bread.

How to Store

Storage: keep the cool loaf in a sealed container (I use a heavy lidded pot) for the best results. It will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature but, like most yeast breads, is best fresh.

Freezing: this freezes well either in individual slices or the full loaf. Slices can be toasted directly from the freezer but to thaw a whole loaf I recommend wrapping in a tea towel until thawed to avoid soggy bread.

Expert Tips

• Don’t over-knead: the kneading time is always shorter with ancient grain breads due to the lower gluten content. Over-kneading will result in a cake-like crumb.
• Check your yeast: if you’re not sure if the yeast you’re using is still active, wait about 15 minutes after step one. If the mixture hasn’t bubbled up, you need new yeast.
• Refrigerate yeast: on the same note, dry yeast should be stored in the refrigerator for the longest shelf life. Don’t store it in the pantry, as it can get too warm and won’t be active enough for bread baking.

More Ancient Grain Bread Recipes

Honey Oat Bread
Sourdough Rye Bread
Spelt Pretzels
Spelt Sourdough Bread

If you make this Einkorn Bread or any other bread recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.

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