Einkorn Wheat/Ancient Grains

In some of my cooking and baking, you may notice that I use a flour/wheat called Einkorn. This flour has so many benefits and nutrition. A lot of people have strayed away from the “real deal” of wheat and have basically shredded our grains down to nothing with no benefits for the human body. I know that most flours you can pick up at the local market like all-purpose or light/hard~summer/winter wheat. They have been tested and hybridized for so many years that they have pretty much lost all nutrition.

In this post, I am going to share with you some benefits of eating this ancient grain. Yes, I said ancient. This is the only wheat that has not been tested by scientists and hybridized for selfish reasons. This is the purest of grains. whether it is freshly milled in your own home or bought off the shelf. You know that this grain is the best that you can give to your family. I am often using “plain jane” flour for most of my cooking and baking but this flour is the best of the best and believe it or not, wallet-friendly.

Here are some benefits and information for you so you can get to know this wonderful ancient grain.

1. Einkorn was the first seed planted by the first farmers about 12,000 years ago during the Neolithic Revolution. Einkorn moved toward extinction during the Bronze Age. Left untouched, it’s the oldest and purest food in existence today.
2. Einkorn flour is the most ancient wheat, offering many essential dietary and trace minerals. It is a good source of protein, iron, dietary fiber, thiamine and a number of other B vitamins. It also contains a significant amount of the antioxidant lutein, with higher antioxidant levels than durum and bread wheat.
3. Einkorn has a much higher protein content ( about 30% more than modern wheat) and less starch (about 15% less than modern wheat), along with a higher concentration of minerals and flavor. … Einkorn is also the only wheat that’s missing certain types of gluten proteins that some people are sensitive to. So many people who are gluten sensitive can enjoy this delicious grain. This should not be confused with celiac disease. Please do not eat any grains if you are celiac. Please speak with your doctor.
4. The nutritional value of Organic Einkorn Whole Wheat Flour: (0.33 (1/3) cup) contains 17g total carbs, 13g net carbs, 1g fat, 4g protein, and 100 calories. Most of our ancestors used coarsly ground einkorn for porridge to keep them full during the long, long days.
5. Einkorn, emmer, and spelt have a higher protein and gluten contents than common wheat at all four locations. However, common wheat have a higher glutenin contents than einkorn, emmer and spelt resulting in increasing ratios of gliadins to glutenins from common wheat (< 3.8) to spelt, emmer and einkorn (up to 12.1).
6. One of the things you may notice when baking with Einkorn is that it doesn’t need as much water as when you are baking with modern wheat. Einkorn’s 2:1 ratio in soluble protein to insoluble may lend to another reason of why it’s easier to digest.
7. Einkorn is unique and has gluten that is quite different than modern wheat. The same properties that make it easier to digest can make it a bit more difficult to bake with than wheat with stretchier gluten. Einkorn absorbs liquids slower than modern wheat. It will take much longer to let breads rise or rest for your recipes than modern wheat.
8. Einkorn absolutely contains gluten.  Einkorn has an entirely different genetic makeup than modern wheat. Modern wheats have been hybridized through years and years and millions and millions of spent monies in research. This is why most people are gluten intolerant. If they left well enough alone we would have a significantly less amount of people with gluten intolerance.
9. If you are grinding your own Einkorn, do not expect it to rise as high as modern white bread. This is true with all whole flour breads. Because Einkorn has a completely different type of Gluten than modern wheat, it does NOT need to be kneaded very long at all. There are tons of articles on how you can learn to bake with einkorn. (I will also be doing a few einkorn recipes on my youtube channel and blog for you so you can check those out in the future. keep your eyes peeled for that)
10. A lot of people state that Einkorn was mentioned in the bible, however, I did not find this to be true to my knowledge. With Einkorn being such an ancient grain, I would not doubt that it graced the tables of many throughout Israel and surronding areas.
11. Grains of Einkorn in “wild form” were traced back to tens of thousands of years ago, and the first domestication of wild einkorn was recorded approximately around 7500 BC. It is believed to originate from the fertile areas of the Tigris-Euphrates regions.
12. Einkorn and Farro are closely in age as the oldest grains in the world. The orgainic non hybridized verisons of course. Here are a few “NO_RISK” grains. (amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, einkorn, farro, grano, kamut, millet, oats, quinoa, rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, and triticale) No risk meaning untouched and not hybridized and/or GMO Free. As with all grains please check with your doctor first if you are celiac.
13. Einkorn is an ancient grain. Humans have eaten it for more than 12,000 years. It was one of the first grains introduced into agriculture in the Fertile Crescent, and archaeologists believe that the first loaves of bread were made with it.
14. Einkorn wheat commonly grows wild in the hill country in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia although it has a wider distribution reaching into the Balkans and south to Jordan near the Dead Sea. With recent research I have discovered that it is also grown in Washington by a family of farmers in Winthrop Washington. These families of farmers began embracing the diverse varieties of wheat, growing hulled ancesors including spelt, emmer, and einkorn collectively called farro.

Now, I can go on and on about this amazing ancient grain but we would be here for days. I highly suggest that you research this beautiful grain and see if this grain is right for you and your family. I would love to see the day where our grains and flours can be their purest form yet again and I am sure our bodies would thank us for it. Until then let us be ourselves and eat the best and healthiest ways that we can. I know that we all love our desserts, candies, fried foods, and so on and so on… I do to and I love sharing all of my recipes with all of you. If I could even change the flour that we put in our bodies from time to time I will gladly take that.

We often eat so many processed foods and chemically enhanced or modified foods because our scientists have to dabble in a good thing when it doesn’t really need to be dabbled in or messed with. We oftentimes forget where our roots stem from and the delicious foods that made us survive for thousands of years. I hope to bring to you, in the future, many delicious recipes such as ancient grain recipes, fermented food recipes, and even a bit of sourdough recipes. We can all benefit from taking a bit of time to nurture our bodies the best way we can and when we can.

I hope that you found this post a bit helpful and that you understand the grounding roots of the wonderful grain that has been around for thousands of years. I hope that you can take a bit of time to just try einkorn and see if this grain is beneficial for you and your family. If you are gluten intolerant you may be able to tolerate non-hybridized grains like einkorn. Please do not try any grains of any sort if you are celiac. I can not stress this enough. Please talk to your doctor before trying any form of grain. They can help you more than an article or blog post can.

If you have any questions you can contact me through any of my social accounts which are located in the contact/donate tab and my social media accounts tab. I will try my very best to answer any questions you may have.