Einkorn flour experience anyone
I'm a big fan of simple French style loaves (boules, batards and baguettes) and recently been trying to coax more flavors complexity. The challenge seems to be that in USA flour choices are limited and its difficult get beyond a one dimensional profile. I read the some of the ancient grains supposedly have more nutty hints and so the last bake I did involved 25% addition of einkorn flour. I did my research and understood this flour should include reduced hydration to avoid gummy crumb. Despite all this I ended up with glue! My loaves seemed practically starchless.
Is it worth contending with this type of flour or is it better to go back to basics? Btw I also add a pinch of soy flour which even the most minute amount increases stickyness - I think I am ready to give up experimenting with 'improvers' and just work on timing and temperatures. Its just mind boggling how straying from basics results in massive disasters !
Get to know the flour and look it up and see what others have done and tried to get a better idea of what you're dealing with. Have you looked up Einkorn here?
I found that raising hydration works better and giving the flour time to absorb that added water no matter how you use the flour helps a long way in working with it. Let the dough soak, slow fermentation, let the pancake batter soak before adding baking powder, same with muffins and adding the flour to thicken sauces or stews, give the Einkorn a chance to absorb water before cooking or baking it. Soy flour is a starch and no gluten involved. Wet hands and wet tools reduce stickiness. Einkorn gets sticky with too much handling.
Yes, Many of these other flours have great nutty tastes. The main reason I like them so much.
I like Einkorn a lot, and use it often in breads or other baked goods, same as other ancient grains (kamut, farro/emmer, spelt) for a heartier taste. None of these should be handled too long or energetically.
Austrian master baker Dietmar Kappl recommends kneading these lower protein flours only for short periods followed by longer resting times (3 minutes kneading - 15 minutes resting - 1 minute kneading - 15 minutes resting - 1 minute kneading) to avoid overworking and gumminess.
If you exchange only 10% of white flour with Einkorn etc. you will not notice any difference in handling, if the percentage is higher you have to add more water, not less (14 g more water for every 57 g of whole grain flour).
Adding some protein (yogurt, buttermilk, kefir) helps achieving a better rise/more stability in a 100% ancient grain loaf (I bake 100% Einkorn or spelt loaves). They will spread more than wheat bread, but don't have to be flat, and certainly not gummy.
100% Spelt Walnut Bread: a bit flatter, but not gummy - and delicious!
Happy baking,
Karin
but it can be made to work. I've been baking exclusively with Einkorn now for several years. Its not like traditional dwarf wheat but I do get some reasonable loaves from it. I've experimented with hydration from 50% to 85% and have settled on 68% the majority of the time. Let it stand and absorb the water slowly, (I commonly ferment for 12 to 18 hours at room temperature then retard for 48 to 96 hours). It still is difficult to work with, its runny and does not form up to a form ball like dwarf wheat but it can be done. I minimize the handling of the dough because its sticky and runny so its best left alone to do its thing then the biggest challenge i stop get it into a form (I don't bother to free-form bake it any more because its so loose/runny) then just bake it.