I’m addicted to this grain. Or obsessed. Whatever, it’s worth an addiction by anyone who loves bread. With various names in the world, enkir, piccolo farro, petite épautre, it’s known as one the worlds first domesticated plants. It has multiple nutritious benefits, including higher protein than modern wheat varieties.  

Transformed into a flour, einkorn is something I try to perfect. It does present challenges, both in demanding mixing as well as long fermentation. Recently I decided to incorporate it within a formula using a firm sourdough and an overall hydration in final dough of approximately 80-percent. Feeling lazy, I went for my mechanical mixer rather than toiling through hand mixing, then some folds amid a four-hour bulk fermentation. I then shaped and retarded it for a bit more then twelve-hours, till finally baking it, wading through the last of a late-June global heat wave. And though the it seemed a bit flattened, the color of the crust was golden and the crumb was evenly opened crumb with a wonderful taste and texture.