Ok, first of all, don’t give up! I had quite the adventure figuring out how to make this recipe work for me. Einkorn is a little different. I get it. It’s SO worth it! There’s a learning curve. Second, time and measurments are more about consistency than exactness. The truth is, I can’t tell you exactly how long this bread takes. It could be six hours; it could be twelve. It depends on a lot of variables.If you feel like your dough is taking a lifetime to rise, you’re probably not alone. So before you swear off natural leavening forever, please watch for my follow up post with tips about natural leavening. Although I can’t tell you exactly how to make it turn out perfectly the first time, I can give you some tips that may help minimize failures. So, let me tell you some of the things I learned on my fabulous adventure through the land of naturally leavened einkorn bread.Be sure to print the full sourdough recipe here.
The Perfect “Start”, Ready to Add to Bread Dough
Start – It’s all about that start! If the start isn’t right, you’re going to have trouble with the whole thing. For the perfect einkorn sourdough start, go here. It should look like this:
Water – This recipe may call for less water than you would think. Remember that einkorn is a very moist grain. Too much water will ruin it. So resist your instinct to overide the recipe in this one thing. Also, make sure the water is as hot as tap water can get. That way it will melt the coconut oil. Plus, adding all the other things will cool it down, and it still needs to be slightly warm for fermentation purposes.
Rising – You might be thinking, “I’m sorry, how many times does one batch of bread need to rise?” I know, I know. But, I found that this is the best way. We noticed that the start alone didn’t quite have the strength to raise the entire batch. So, we add half the flour and let it culture for a while (until it looks like a rootbeer float). Then add the remainder of the flour one cup at a time while mixing and it will have the power to rise like it should (double its size).
Dough In Bowl, Before Rising Risen Dough, Doubled in Size
Dough – The flour measurement is approximate. Add enough flour so that the dough pulls away from the sides and is soft but not sticky. It’s more important than ever to get the consistency right as soon as possible and STOP. Overkneading einkorn dough is bad news. It will be extremely difficult to get out of the mixing bowl. Also, when the dough has been placed in the bowl to rise, don’t forget to punch it down. That’s more important for fluffy bread than you’d think.
Close Up On “Spongy” Dough After Removing From Bowl
Salt – It’s better to add the salt with the second half of flour. Salt kills yeast. It’s ok when the dough is stiff, but it could be a slight hindrance in dough with only half the flour.
Loaves – This recipe makes about five loaves. You need to shape them, make three slitd in the top of each, and place in greased loaf pans.They look pretty, but the slits aren’t just for aesthetics. If you fail to make the slit, the bread will make its own and the top crust will separate from the bottom – not as pretty.
Golden Brown, Baking CompleteTime To Eat! So, there you are! Experiment, follow these steps, and expect success! It will be so rewarding when you master this. Happy dances are allowed. Deliciousness, digestion-friendly grain and leavening, better nutrient absorption. Is there a downside to this? There isn’t actually.
Ingredients
SCALE
4cupHot Tap Water
18cupEinkorn FlourApproximate
1/3cupCoconut OilOr butter
1/2cupHoney
3tablespoonReal Salt
2cupSourdough StartApproximate
Instructions
1. Mix water, oil, honey, and 1/2 the flour in a bowl.The Perfect "Start", Ready to Add to Bread Dough2. Add start (You should have previously fed the start with 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of water)3. Let rest until it begins to get bubbly (May take a couple hours, should resemble a rootbeer float...but probably not taste like one)4. Add salt and the remaining flour until it doesn't stick to your fingers and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (DO NOT over-knead it. It becomes extremely difficult to work with). You may not add all of the remaining flour or you may add more. It's all about the consistency.5. Transfer it to a bowl (Preferably glass or stainless steel), punch down, cover and leave to rise in a warm place (I recommend a slightly warm oven or my personal favorite, a wonder oven). Leave it until it doubles in size (several hours).Dough In Bowl, Before RisingRisen Dough, Doubled in SizeClose Up On "Spongy" Dough After Removing From Bowl6. Shape into 5 loaves about as long as a large orange juice can. Make three slits in the top of each loaf. Place into greased bread pans.7. Let loaves rise in oven until they double in size.Shaped Loaves, Ready to RiseRisen Loaves, Ready to Bake
8. When they have risen, leave them in oven and preheat it to 350° (with the loaves still in the oven). Preheating plus baking time should equal about 38 minutes depending on your oven.9. When they are golden brown, remove and brush coconut oil (or butter) on top.10. Enjoy!Golden Brown, Baking CompleteTime To Eat!
For a more detailed explanation go here.To see all the other things you can do with this awesome recipe, go here.
RELATED RECIPES
There’s something satisfying about using a single ingredient in so many different ways. Einkorn is incredibly versatile, and the recipes below make it easy to bring this ancient grain into your everyday meals. Here are a few to explore:
Julie Koyle co founded and has been the driving creative force behind Grand Teton Ancient Grains, a regenerative organic family farm and mill nestled at the base of the Grand Teton foothills in eastern Idaho….
Reviews
65 thoughts on “Naturally Leavened (Sourdough) Einkorn Bread”
Brandy
Oh my WORD!! Thank you SO much. I have been trying to get a good, fluffy, non-TMJ-inducing loaf of sourdough einkorn bread for MONTHS!
Did this today and PERFECTION!!! (i halved the recipe and did 2 large loaves)
Hi. Thank you for your recipe. I’ve been experimenting with it but haven’t gotten it down quite yet. I am still hoping I can get a better rise. My first and second rise seem to be okay but I never get anything out of the third rise. I was wondering when you say warm oven do you mean set it to 170, which is my oven’s lowest setting, or just warm up the oven for a while and then shut it off? I tried tonight putting it into the oven which was still warm after I had done some other baking and then left it in as the oven was pre-heating like you said but still didn’t get much rise. Any tips? I think I probably only have one more trial in me before I give in for a while. The loaves I’ve made so far aren’t terrible but I don’t think I can convince my family to switch over to them unless I can get it a little lighter. Thanks!
Erica, thank you for your comment. We hear you. Einkorn has less gluten to begin with plus sourdough is tricky because the bacteria in everybody’s air is a little different and the longer a start is used the better it gets. At the beginning, we had similar complaints, but the longer we do it the better it gets. When we say warm oven, we just mean an oven with the light on. We don’t heat it at all. Also, what do you mean three risings? You put half the flour in with the start and then it rises twice after that. Just to clarify, is that what you mean by third rising?
Thank you so much for this recipe and for your starter recipe too. I am at the moment waiting for my first Einkorn bread to finish baking and can’t tell you how excited I am (I have had a “modern” wheat allergy for a few years now). Your recipes helped me find success on my first attempts. I really am so glad I found them and thank you for putting in the time to share them here. 🙂
Agatha, just to clarify, are you asking if we sell it or use it in this recipe? We sell einkorn berries for people to grind themselves and we sell all-purpose flour, but not whole wheat flour yet. In this recipe, we used whole wheat flour that we ground (That’s mostly what we use because of the higher nutrition value). It would work with either, but you may need to play a little with consistency if you choose to use the all-purpose flour.
I have been trying sourdough for about a year. The taste is out of this world, but my loaves deflate EVERY time after coming out of the oven. My starter is a whole wheat one that I keep in the refrigerator. I have been using home ground hard white, hard red and einkorn blend. I feed my starter three times before making my loaves. The recipe uses only flour, water, salt and starter. I do a first and second rising. The loaves look perfect going into the oven, but they go flat just before they are ready to take out. (I haven’t found anything that will slice the loaves, even a new razor blade). Now I am going to move into using all einkorn berries and flour. Won’t give up!
Sue, we definitely understand sourdough challenges. There is a steep learning curve with it. We have never tried a blend, so we don’t know the specific challenges that might come with that. Maybe switching to all einkorn will help. You may also want to try baking before the bread has peaked so that it can continue rising as it heats up. That may keep it from falling.
I have tried your recipe a couple of times and am getting hokey pucks.
Step 1: you add the oil, water, honey and 8 cups flour
Step 2: you add the starter (that you have added 2 cups of flour and 1 cup water and let sit for a while) How much starter do you add to the 2 cups flour and 1 cup water?
Step 3: Let rest
Step 4: Add salt and 8 more cups of flour???
Etc.
A video would be great for us beginners!!
Do you have measurements for just 1 loaf??
It doesn’t matter if the butter is out of the freezer or melted because when you pour the hot water over it, it will melt anyway. Any fat can be substituted for the butter. Lately, I have been using coconut oil and we’re loving that. The speed of the rises depends on the thickness of the dough, the temperature in your house and the condition of the start when you add it. Lots of variables. They usually do get faster. I just watch the activity and act accordingly. I usually plan on 4-5 hours for the first, then 3-4 for the second (once the rest of the flour is added) and then 1-3 for the third (once you shape the dough into loaves). I start my bread in the morning and bake it around dinner time.The whole process usually takes 9-10 hours at my house. You really just have to play with it and figure out how it works with your variables. A warmer location will speed it up (not too warm, of course). Hope that helps!
I made the sourdough start and it worked great. I’m glad you mentioned the terrible smell midway through the process. I would have thrown it out, but I kept feeding it and it transformed into a wonderful starter. I’m making a batch as I write. I am wondering how you maintain you start between batches. Will it hold in the fridge without feeding for a few weeks? If so, how many feedings do you give it to bring it back to life? Can it be frozen?
Yes, you should keep it in the refrigerator between batches. You need only feed it a little before you put it in. It can also be frozen. From the fridge, you can bring it back to normal in one feeding. The freezer may take 2.
Dough In Bowl, Before Rising 
Close Up On “Spongy” Dough After Removing From Bowl
Golden Brown, Baking Complete 
Time To Eat!
![IMG_1212[1]](https://www.einkorn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_12121-608x456.jpg)
65 thoughts on “Naturally Leavened (Sourdough) Einkorn Bread”
Oh my WORD!! Thank you SO much. I have been trying to get a good, fluffy, non-TMJ-inducing loaf of sourdough einkorn bread for MONTHS!
Did this today and PERFECTION!!! (i halved the recipe and did 2 large loaves)
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Brandy, we’re so glad it worked out for you! It’s so nice when a recipe works the way it’s supposed to!
Hi. Thank you for your recipe. I’ve been experimenting with it but haven’t gotten it down quite yet. I am still hoping I can get a better rise. My first and second rise seem to be okay but I never get anything out of the third rise. I was wondering when you say warm oven do you mean set it to 170, which is my oven’s lowest setting, or just warm up the oven for a while and then shut it off? I tried tonight putting it into the oven which was still warm after I had done some other baking and then left it in as the oven was pre-heating like you said but still didn’t get much rise. Any tips? I think I probably only have one more trial in me before I give in for a while. The loaves I’ve made so far aren’t terrible but I don’t think I can convince my family to switch over to them unless I can get it a little lighter. Thanks!
Erica, thank you for your comment. We hear you. Einkorn has less gluten to begin with plus sourdough is tricky because the bacteria in everybody’s air is a little different and the longer a start is used the better it gets. At the beginning, we had similar complaints, but the longer we do it the better it gets. When we say warm oven, we just mean an oven with the light on. We don’t heat it at all. Also, what do you mean three risings? You put half the flour in with the start and then it rises twice after that. Just to clarify, is that what you mean by third rising?
Thank you so much for this recipe and for your starter recipe too. I am at the moment waiting for my first Einkorn bread to finish baking and can’t tell you how excited I am (I have had a “modern” wheat allergy for a few years now). Your recipes helped me find success on my first attempts. I really am so glad I found them and thank you for putting in the time to share them here. 🙂
Carla, thank you very much for the feedback. Let us know how the bread turns out!
Do you the whole wheat flour or the all purpose flour?
Agatha, just to clarify, are you asking if we sell it or use it in this recipe? We sell einkorn berries for people to grind themselves and we sell all-purpose flour, but not whole wheat flour yet. In this recipe, we used whole wheat flour that we ground (That’s mostly what we use because of the higher nutrition value). It would work with either, but you may need to play a little with consistency if you choose to use the all-purpose flour.
I have been trying sourdough for about a year. The taste is out of this world, but my loaves deflate EVERY time after coming out of the oven. My starter is a whole wheat one that I keep in the refrigerator. I have been using home ground hard white, hard red and einkorn blend. I feed my starter three times before making my loaves. The recipe uses only flour, water, salt and starter. I do a first and second rising. The loaves look perfect going into the oven, but they go flat just before they are ready to take out. (I haven’t found anything that will slice the loaves, even a new razor blade). Now I am going to move into using all einkorn berries and flour. Won’t give up!
Sue, we definitely understand sourdough challenges. There is a steep learning curve with it. We have never tried a blend, so we don’t know the specific challenges that might come with that. Maybe switching to all einkorn will help. You may also want to try baking before the bread has peaked so that it can continue rising as it heats up. That may keep it from falling.
I have tried your recipe a couple of times and am getting hokey pucks.
Step 1: you add the oil, water, honey and 8 cups flour
Step 2: you add the starter (that you have added 2 cups of flour and 1 cup water and let sit for a while) How much starter do you add to the 2 cups flour and 1 cup water?
Step 3: Let rest
Step 4: Add salt and 8 more cups of flour???
Etc.
A video would be great for us beginners!!
Do you have measurements for just 1 loaf??
Hi Julie,
I’m new to einkorn and had a few questions: on the butter, should it be room temperature or melted? Could olive oil be substituted?
On the three rises (not counting the sourdough starter), approximately how long does each rise take? Can the whole recipe be finished in one day?
Thanks for sharing your sourdough einkorn experience! Michele
Michelle,
It doesn’t matter if the butter is out of the freezer or melted because when you pour the hot water over it, it will melt anyway. Any fat can be substituted for the butter. Lately, I have been using coconut oil and we’re loving that. The speed of the rises depends on the thickness of the dough, the temperature in your house and the condition of the start when you add it. Lots of variables. They usually do get faster. I just watch the activity and act accordingly. I usually plan on 4-5 hours for the first, then 3-4 for the second (once the rest of the flour is added) and then 1-3 for the third (once you shape the dough into loaves). I start my bread in the morning and bake it around dinner time.The whole process usually takes 9-10 hours at my house. You really just have to play with it and figure out how it works with your variables. A warmer location will speed it up (not too warm, of course). Hope that helps!
Best of luck!
I made the sourdough start and it worked great. I’m glad you mentioned the terrible smell midway through the process. I would have thrown it out, but I kept feeding it and it transformed into a wonderful starter. I’m making a batch as I write. I am wondering how you maintain you start between batches. Will it hold in the fridge without feeding for a few weeks? If so, how many feedings do you give it to bring it back to life? Can it be frozen?
Yes, you should keep it in the refrigerator between batches. You need only feed it a little before you put it in. It can also be frozen. From the fridge, you can bring it back to normal in one feeding. The freezer may take 2.