Einkorn loaf sank :(
Hi all
Amateur baker from the UK, love making my own bread but have decided Einkorn is the way to go for my family. This is for medical/health reasons.
I have made bread myself for many years and not really had that many failures. I tried Einkorn today and it rose lovely from the first proof, dough consistency was good, I removed it from the bowl, shaped it to a loaf and placed it in a buttered tin where it rose nicely again.
I used this recipe and method https://jovialfoods.com/recipes/new-einkorn-sandwich-bread-recipe/ but I used Doves Farm Einkorn Wholemeal which is popular here in the UK.
I think perhaps it was overproofed because it looked fab in the tin but came out with a flat top! I guess I could look at other things but I think it was the proof. I would not normally go for a double proof but I am no expert so would appreciate your views.
Many thanks
I've worked out a simple sourdough recipe for Einkorn however i haven't tried it with dried yeast but here are my thoughts.
1. Go simple for now till you've mastered this grain.
2. 70% hydration I found works well. Less is too dense and it can't hold much more water. So there is only a narrow margin.
3. Treat like Rye and go for an almost no knead approach. Einkorn does not like to be handled.
Try this for a simple recipe...
500g einkorn flour
350g warm water
8g salt
1tsp dried yeast
Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl then place to one side.
Measure out the water in another bowl and dissolve the yeast.
Add the flour/salt mixture to the water/yeast mixture and mix till fully incorporated. Knead for only a few minutes. Once it just starts to become sticky stop!
Cover the bowl and bulk ferment till it's all craggy on top. The dough will become soft and spongy.
Portion out the dough into a prepared 2lb loaf pan and with the back of a wet spoon smooth the dough over.
Final proof till small holes just begin to break the surface (don't allow too many to appear as it will over proof).
Bake in a preheated oven.
Start off with this simple recipe. Once you've mastered this beast then move onto more intricate recipes to suit your taste.
Wow!
Thank you so much for the speedy reply. I will take in the advice and try again. I think you may be correct, I probably kneaded it too much when I should have mixed it and left it alone.
Here is a photo of it. The bread has a crunchy outer crust and tastes good albeit a bit heavy.
Until one knows how to handle it which is very little. The more you knead the stickier it becomes. It can get very dense and won't bake properly inside. If this happens it begins to stink and go bad after 3 days or so. If the hydration is too high then its just crumby and won't hold together. It proofs quickly and yours is over proofed hence the collapsed top. But thank goodness I've made all the mistakes for you :)
First make this basic loaf. Then we can make it more interesting once you know what you're dealing with. Do you mind any bread flour at all in the loaf? It'll only be a bit but I'm thinking we can incorporate a tangzhong. Will improve the crumb. Another way would be to drop the amount of yeast and do an all night bulk ferment bringing out the flavour. If you wish you can try it tonight.
500g einkorn flour
350g water (doesn't have to be warm as we're going for an all night bulk ferment)
8g salt
0.5g dried yeast
Make the dough and aim to finish just before bed. Cover the bowl in a plastic wrap and towel. Bulk ferment overnight. Come morning it should have atleast doubled, be craggy and spongy. If it hasn't then wait a bit longer. Follow the rest of the recipe as instructed above.
P.s. einkorn is indeed tricky until you know how to handle it then it becomes very easy. I've just happen to have some and you've inspired me to make it my next loaf.
you can go for a second proof if the first one falls before going into the oven. Einkorn dough is funny stuff alright. If you haven't already, make yourself an einkorn sourdough starter. It will take a week so get started right away.
Here is a rye/einkorn recipe 40/60 Don't get scared of the recipe, it's pretty easy.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/325305#comment-325305
Mini
More info...
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/42062/einkorn-bakes
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/354887#comment-354887
More info in the site search box :)
Hi, I've tried this flour a few times (jovial brand). I mist admit I really did not enjoy it from start to finish. It absorbs weirdly and tastes very strange. The dough was like goo and despite the dry smell which I actually liked it was just the weirdest flour ever. Of course with anything you need to understand how to use it and coax the best from it so more than anything would be interested to see what develops in this thread. One thing I know for sure is use less water - sorry for no real advice bit would be interested to see how it turns out for you !
"One thing I know for sure is use less water"
Can you explain this statement?
I have found the opposite to be true. I have also found that one should wet and wait and let the einkorn flour absorb moisture before proceeding. It absorbs very slowly, something I always have to remind myself when using for everyday use.
I have been baking exclusively with Einkorn for several years now and still find it challenging. It does not have the "gluten strength" that conventional dwarf wheat has so over kneading or overproofing can make it collapse. I do find that it works well at higher hydration, if you don't mind how sticky or how runny (it can get. I suggest being gentler with kneading and proofing, I have never found any online recipe to work for me at all (I still don't know why but I use only 100% Einkorn in all of my recipes). Just keep practicing and you'll find what works for your conditions, equipment and techniques.
So you inspired me to bake an Einkorn Sourdough with some flour that's been in my cupboard for a little while.
Hydration is high, incorporated a tangzhong and a tablespoon of olive oil.
Still cooling but the smell was so good while baking.
The loaf looks good from here!
Last night I had a taste and it was delicious. Made a bit of a mistake in the recipe but it turned out for the best. I penned down my usual type of recipe for an einkorn (which makes a nice loaf)...
Flour 100% (400g)
Water 70% (280g)
Salt 2% (8g)
Starter 20% @ 70% hydration (80g)
However I decided to include some oil and a tangzhong. So did a quick recalculation like so...
flour 380g
water 180g (less 1tbsp)
salt 8g
olive oil 1 tbsp
Tangzhong 120g (20g flour + 100g water)
starter 80g @ 70% hydration
Did the starter build and tangzhong the night before. BTW I always do a tangzhong with strong bread flour but I remembered a conversation we had a while back where you commented "why not with other flour?". I had it in my head that strong bread flour works best. This time I decided to try a tangzhong with wholegrain einkorn and not only did it work as well it was ready in nest to no time at all.
Now here is where I made this mistake. When it came to making the dough I decided to go from memory, rather then my notes, forgetting I had taken flour and water off to make the tangzhong and added them back in on top of the tangzhong. so here is the final recipe...
Flour 400g
Water 280 (less 1 tbsp.)
Salt 8g
Olive Oil 1 tbsp.
Tangzhong 120g (20g flour + 100g water)
Starter 80g @ 70% hydration
In the bowl I mixed the flour and salt together. In another bowl I added the water, olive oil plus starter and mixed. Added the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and mixed. While I was doing that I added the tangzhong and then it dawned on me what I had done. Decided to roll with it instead of trying to "fix" it. Didn't wish to start faffing about with adding more flour and then calculating the salt again etc. I would just be further knocking everything else out of proportion.
so the dough came together to a no knead consistency. Mix very well and then left it to bulk ferment until it had at least (if not more) doubled, about 5-6 hours. When small holes just started to appear on top I portioned it out into a loaf pan (it was lovely and spongy on the inside). Smoothed it over with the back of a wet spoon and sprinkled some sesame seeds on top. Final Proofed for 1 hour and baked in a preheated oven with steam.
Voila! A really tasty wholegrain einkorn which is a big contender for my best bake with this flour.
This is my best Einkorn bake to date. Taste has matured over 24 hours. Smell is wonderful.