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Einkorn, one of civilization’s first cultivated wheat, stands apart for its superior nutrition and incredible, natural flavor. With just a few simple tricks, you can create an exceptional, wholesome sandwich bread at home—one you won’t find in any grocery store.
Why Bake with Fresh-Milled Einkorn Flour?
What Makes Einkorn Different from Modern Wheat
Einkorn has simpler genetics than modern wheat. While modern wheats contain 42 chromosomes, einkorn has just 14.
Einkorn is a difficult wheat to grow due to several factors. First, its berries are encased in a husk that must be removed before milling, which reduces the usable yield after harvest.
This ancient grain grows much taller than modern wheat varieties, making it more susceptible to being blown down by strong winds. Additionally, einkorn produces smaller heads with fewer kernels per stem, which makes harvesting more challenging.
Modern wheat has undergone hybridization—the process of combining different wheat varieties with desirable traits to form new varieties. As a result, modern wheat generally produces larger grain heads, higher yields, shorter plants, and clusters its grains at the top of the plant’s stem.
Einkorn vs Hard Red/White Whole Wheat for Sandwich Bread
Einkorn’s gluten structure differs from that of modern hard red or white wheats. While einkorn contains the highest protein content of any grain, it lacks certain high-molecular-weight wheat proteins that influence dough mixing time, elasticity, and gluten strength.
Einkorn also contains an imbalanced ratio of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. Gliadins provide dough with stretchiness, while glutenins give it strength. Einkorn has a much higher ratio of gliadin to glutenin than modern wheat.
Why Einkorn Works Well Without a Stand Mixer
The protein structure of einkorn is not well-suited for a stand mixer. Using a mixer often results in a sticky, unmanageable dough.
Instead of a mixer, I recommend using oiled folded “turns,” which I will explain further in this recipe. This simple technique is something I learned from an excellent einkorn cookbook years ago.
Health Benefits of Einkorn Flour
What Is an Ancient Grain?
Einkorn is considered an ancient grain. What exactly is that, you ask? Ancient grains are particular varieties of grains that can be dated back to the beginning of wheat cultivation. These grains include einkorn, spelt, emmer, and khorasan.
If you’re new to fresh-milled baking, my Wheat Berry 101 post walks through what wheat berries are and what type of wheat is best for various baking applications.
Nutritional Advantages of Einkorn
Einkorn is vastly more nutritious than your average modern wheat. Einkorn contains around 30% more protein and antioxidants. It also has a larger amount of B vitamins and essential dietary and trace minerals. Amazingly enough, einkorn also contains 200% more lutein (the same antioxidant found in egg yolks) than modern wheat.
Comparing einkorn to durum wheat (which is traditionally used to make pasta), einkorn has 50% more manganese, riboflavin, and zinc, and 20% more magnesium, thiamin, niacin, iron, and vitamin B6.
Why This 100% Einkorn Bread Recipe Works
Gentle Gluten Structure and Mixing
My recipe was created with every intention of making a repeatable 100% einkorn loaf. You will find that my technique is tailored exactly for what einkorn needs to bake wonderful bread.
I recommend mixing every ingredient together at once, followed by a 15-20 minute covered rest. This gives your flour time to start soaking up all the wet ingredients and become more cohesive.
Hydration and Dough Handling for Einkorn
The hydration in my recipe is fairly high for einkorn, but when combined with the “turn” technique, you will find that the end result is a lovely, sliceable sandwich loaf.
A gentle, oiled folding method called “turns” gives your dough just enough time to slowly soak up flour while forming its delicate gluten structure.
A Note on Einkorn’s Texture
Here is the real trick to loving einkorn baking: change your expectations. Like other ancient grains, einkorn behaves exactly the way it is intended to. You will never achieve “windowpane” results, you will not create a high-towering loaf, and you will not have a soft, cottony interior structure. Please expect your loaf to have a craggly, rustic exterior. This is very typical for an einkorn loaf with freshly milled flour.
What you will have, though, is a loaf truly superior in nutrition that will fill your belly for much longer and have absolutely fabulous, natural flavor. It is a taste like no other.
For more detailed information about baking with einkorn and understanding its unique gluten structure, I highly recommend Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat by Carla Bartolucci.
Check out my blog post here for a more thorough breakdown of the benefits of all fresh-milled flours.
Tools You’ll Need (No Stand Mixer Required)
- Grain mill
- Large mixing bowl
- Dough whisk or wooden spoon
- Bench scraper (very, very helpful)
- Bowl scraper (very helpful)
- Loaf pan (8.5″x4.5″ recommended)
- Kitchen scale (highly recommended)
- Clean kitchen towel or bowl cover
Are you interested in more fresh-milled baking tools that I find helpful? Then check out this post!
Ingredients for 100% Einkorn Sandwich Bread
- Freshly milled einkorn flour
- Water
- Oil (or unsalted butter)
- Honey
- Yeast
- Salt
Step-by-Step: How to Make 100% Einkorn Sandwich Bread by Hand
Step 1: Mill and Mix
Mill your einkorn grains. Mix together your flour, water, oil, honey, yeast, and salt. Let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
Note: Don’t worry if the dough feels like thick muffin batter; this is the correct texture for einkorn.
Step 2: Complete 3 Turns
Complete 3 turns, separated by a 15-minute covered rest, by following the instructions below.
Step 1: Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly oiled surface. Rub your hands on the oiled surface.
Step 2: Use a dough scraper to gently place the dough on your oiled surface. Pat the dough into a rectangular shape.
Step 3: Start with either side and fold towards the center. A bench scraper is extremely helpful at this step. Repeat this with each side until you have a square containing 4 layers of folded dough. Let it rest for 15 minutes covered. Repeat this step 2 more times, allowing 15 minutes between folds.
Step 3: Bulk Rise
Let your bread rise, covered, until it is approximately doubled in size. This may take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.
Step 4: Shape and Rise
Grease or line your loaf pan.
Lightly oil your counter. Scrape the dough onto your surface and gently pull the edges to create an 8-inch oval. Fold the short edge of the dough into the center and gently press the seam closed. Repeat with the other side. Use a bench scraper to place the dough into your pan, seam side down. Don’t worry if it’s a bit messy. Gently smooth the top of your loaf with your palms and fingers. Lightly brush your dough with oil to prevent cracking.
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until just slightly above the height of the pan.
Quickly score the dough right down the center when you are ready to bake.
Place the dough in the oven and lower the temperature to 350°F. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of your bread is around 200°F.
For a softer loaf, flip your dough out of the pan onto a cooling rack, brush it with butter or oil, then lay a tea towel over the loaf.
Let cool completely on a rack.
Easy Einkorn Sandwich Bread
Important: For best results, use gram measurements with fresh-milled flour. Volume measurements are only estimates and can vary significantly.
Ingredients
- 560 g freshly milled einkorn flour (about 4⅔ cups)
- 390 g water (about 1⅔ cups)
- 23 g honey (about 1 tbsp)
- 11 g salt (about 1¾ tsp)
- 17 g oil (about 1 tbsp + 1 tsp)
- 1½ tsp instant yeast
Step 1 – Mix the Dough
Mill your einkorn flour. Mix all ingredients until fully combined. Cover and rest 15 minutes. The dough will resemble thick muffin batter.
Step 2 – Complete 3 Turns
Lightly oil your counter and hands. Scrape dough onto the surface and gently pat into a rectangle. Fold each side toward the center to create a square. Place back in the bowl, cover, and rest 15 minutes. Repeat 2 more times.
Step 3 – Bulk Rise
Place in your bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1½ hours.
Step 4 – Shape the Loaf
Grease or line an 8½×4½ loaf pan. Scrape dough onto a lightly oiled surface and gently shape into an 8-inch oval. Fold each short side toward the center and pinch lightly closed. Place seam-side down into the pan. Smooth the top gently and brush lightly with oil.
Step 5 – Final Rise
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise until slightly above the top of the pan.
Step 6 – Bake
Score the loaf down the center. Place in the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake 40–45 minutes, or until the center reaches about 200°F.
Step 7 – Cool
Remove loaf from pan and cool completely on a rack. For a softer crust, brush with butter or oil and cover loosely with a tea towel while cooling.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
This loaf will last well for up to 3 days. By day 3, if it hasn’t been eaten, I like to make french toast, bread crumbs, or croutons.
I use this bread bag, but a bread box like this one would work well, too.
I love to freeze sandwich bread! You will get your best results from freshly baked bread. Let the bread cool completely, slice it, wrap it in freezer paper, then in plastic wrap. Be sure to label it. I find that frozen bread lasts well up to 3 months.
FAQ
Does einkorn bread rise differently?
Yes, einkorn bread behaves very differently from bread made with hard wheats. You will need to experiment with your particular pan, but to start, I suggest letting your bread rise to a little less than double in size in your bulk rise, and then, when it is shaped, let it rise to just about the height of your pan.
Why does einkorn dough feel more like batter?
Einkorn grains are anatomically different from modern wheat grains. As a result, your dough needs to be treated in a unique way. Please follow my instructions closely to get your best results.
Why is my einkorn bread dense?
If you followed my gram measurements, you should have a lighter einkorn loaf. You can also experiment by adding 5g of extra water and see if you prefer the end result.
Can I make this einkorn loaf with all-purpose einkorn flour?
Absolutely! Just reduce the flour by 5-10 grams.
Einkorn sandwich bread made with freshly milled flour is superb in taste, nutrition, and easy to throw together quickly. I hope this post gives you the confidence to try baking it at home!
What’s your favorite way to enjoy einkorn bread?
Blessings,
Payton
thecontentedhearth.com 
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