Einkorn sourdough bread has a wonderfully fluffy, chewy interior and a satisfying, crusty exterior. This ancient wheat bakes the most amazing loaf of sourdough bread, with an added bonus of easier digestion.
Over the last six months or so, Iโve been working on converting the majority of our baked goods to einkorn flour.
Anytime I canโt ferment a baked good (like in chocolate chip coconut cookies), einkorn flour comes in handy. It is the worldโs oldest heirloom wheat that hasnโt been hybridized.
Not only is it healthier, because it has more bio-available nutrients like folate, but it is much easier to digest. Some gluten sensitive people find that they can tolerate einkorn, even though it contains gluten.
I set out to create the perfect loaf of sourdough einkorn bread, and after a few tweaks, it comes out just right every time.
Truth be told, after I really perfected my no-knead sourdough bread recipe a few months back, I applied some of those techniques to this bread and couldn’t be happier with the results.
The bread rises so much more, and really blooms revealing the beautiful design.
If you are new to sourdough, you can find how to create a sourdough starter here.
Pair it with some cheeseburger soup or roasted red pepper and tomato soup for a delicious and comforting meal.
Tips:
- To ensure your bread is 100% einkorn, start your sourdough starter with einkorn flour, or convert your current starter to einkorn flour.
- Working with einkorn flour is different from conventional wheat. It yields a much stickier dough and can be tricky to shape. You can make this in a loaf pan or a dutch oven. A loaf pan makes perfect einkorn sandwich bread, whereas the dutch oven will yield a crusty loaf.
- When using a sourdough starter, it is recommended to use filtered water (this is my favorite way to filter water). Some water may contain too much chlorine, which can kill the beneficial bacteria and yeast.
- To really make this bread rise and have the perfect texture, I incorporated a modified stretch and fold process like with my other sourdough loaf. Since einkorn doesn’t have the same type of gluten structure, the process looks a little different, but still yields a wonderful result that is light and airy.
- I use both whole grain einkorn flour and all-purpose einkorn flour. I found this combination to be best for creating a delightful texture. You can substitute the whole grain einkorn for more all-purpose flour, if that is all you have on hand.
- Einkorn dough tends to be much stickier than regular bread dough. I like to use dampened hands and a bench scraper to combat this without having to add extra flour.
Watch The Tutorial
FAQ
I don’t have an einkorn sourdough starter, can I still make this?
Yes, you can use a regular wheat sourdough starter without issue.
How do you convert your wheat sourdough starter to an einkorn starter?
If you want to make this bread 100% einkorn, convert your starter to an einkorn starter by feeding it with einkorn flour for a few days. By the fifth feeding, your starter will be around 96% einkorn flour.
How do you know your sourdough starter is ready?
To make a delicious loaf of bread, you need to use a nice, active starter. Feed your starter 4-12 hours before creating the dough. It is usually ready when it has doubled or tripled in size.
Take a spoonful of your active starter and drop it into a cup of water. If it floats, then it is ready to use for bread.
How long does sourdough bread last?
Allow sourdough bread to cool completely before storing. Place in a bread box, an air-tight container, or a plastic zip-lock bag and store at room temperature. It will stay good for 4-5 days, if itโs not all gone by then!
You can also store bread in the freezer for a few months.
Can einkorn flour be used for sourdough?
Yes. While you cannot just use your favorite sourdough bread recipe (or any other sourdough recipe) and convert it to an einkorn version one-for-one, you can easily use einkorn flour for sourdough with a few tweaks. This is because einkorn flour requires less liquid than other flours.
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Tools you may need:
Grain mill (optional) – I love my Mockmill
Stand Mixer (optional)
Measuring cups
Lame
Bench scraper
How To Make Einkorn Sourdough Bread
Feed your sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting your dough.
Once your starter is nice and active (lots of bubbles), grind einkorn berries, if needed. Skip this step if you have pre-ground flour.
Add flour and salt to a large bowl. Mix together.
Add sourdough starter and water to a large bowl and mix with your hands until it comes together.
Let rest for 15 minutes.
Flatten out dough and then stretch and fold in the edges on all sides. Roll into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap.
If the dough is sticky, dampen your hands before working with it. This allows you to easily work the dough without adding any extra flour.
Allow to rest again for 20 minutes. Repeat flattening and folding process.
Allow to rest for 20 minutes again and then repeat process another time.
Shape and cover with plastic wrap.
Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home.
Shape loaf with hands. Place it in a floured banneton basket. Cover with a plastic bag and place in the fridge overnight.
If you do not have a banneton basket, you could use a piece of parchment paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper, place in a bowl, and cover to rise.
I usually use a plastic grocery bag and tie it to help keep it more air-tight.
The Next Day:
Preheat the oven to 450.
Place dutch oven in the oven and preheat for 30 minutes to an hour.
Once the dutch oven has preheated, take the dough out of the fridge and place onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Score the top of the dough and gently place the parchment paper and dough into the dutch oven, cover with lid, and place in the hot oven.
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid.
Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.
How To Store:
Wrap with beeswax wrap, in a bread box, or in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can also place in a ziplock bag (sliced or whole) and freeze for an extended period of time.
Baker’s Schedule:
The night before: feed sourdough starter.
The Next Morning:
8 AM: Start einkorn sourdough bread dough. Mix together ingredients. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
8:20 AM: Flatten and fold dough. Shape into ball. Place into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Rest for 20 minutes.
8:45 AM: Repeat the same process allowing the dough to rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
9:10 AM: Repeat that same process allowing the dough to rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
9:35 AM: Shape and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home.
7 PM: (This time is dependent on when the dough doubles in size) Punch down dough and shape into a ball with hands. Place it in a floured banneton basket. Cover with a plastic bag and place in the fridge overnight.
The Next Day
8 AM: Preheat oven to 450 and allow dutch oven to preheat for 30 minutes to an hour.
9 AM: Take the dough out of the fridge and place onto parchment paper. Score. Place into dutch oven and bake.
How To Make Einkorn Sourdough Bread Loaf
Mix together the dough as previously stated.
Shape loaf with hands and put in a greased loaf pan; allow to rise until doubled in size. This will take around 3-12 hours.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Find More Einkorn Recipes Straight From Our Farmhouse Kitchen
- The Best Einkorn Pie Crust
- Gingerbread Cake With Einkorn Flour
- Einkorn Tortillas
- Einkorn Flatbread
- Berry Crisp Made With Einkorn
- Homemade Gnocchi With Einkorn Flour
- Einkorn Pancakes
If you try this recipe and love it, I would appreciate if you could come back, comment on the post, and give it 5 stars! Thanks.
Einkorn Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose einkorn flour
- 1 cups whole grain einkorn flour
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Feed your sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting your dough.
- Once your starter is nice and active (lots of bubbles), grind einkorn berries, if needed. Skip this step if you have pre-ground flour.
- Add flour, sourdough starter, salt, and water to a large bowl and mix with your hands until it comes together.
- Let rest for 15 minutes.
- Flatten out dough and then stretch and fold in the edges on all sides. Roll into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap.
- Allow to rest again for 20 minutes.
- Repeat flattening and folding process. Allow to rest for 20 minutes again and then repeat process another time.
- Shape and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home.
- Shape loaf with hands. Place it in a floured banneton basket.
- Cover with plastic bag and place in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 450.
- Place dutch oven in the oven and preheat for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Once the dutch oven has preheated, take the dough out of the fridge and place onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Score the top of the dough and gently place the parchment paper and dough into the dutch oven, cover with lid, and place in the hot oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid.
- Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Notes
- If you want your bread to be 100% einkorn, start your sourdough starter with einkorn flour, or convert your current starter to einkorn flour.
- Working with einkorn flour is different from conventional wheat. It yields a much stickier dough and can be tricky to shape.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You should note that.the whole world has access to your recipes and temperatures everywhere except the US are in Centigrade whilst you state a number for the oven temperature( but neglect the unit )it would be useful for some readers to have 400 F with a bracketed ( 200C ) by the side for example. Other than that good job enjoying your blog space!
I live in Canada and I don’t know a single soul who uses centigrade for their oven… ๐
It’s only US and Canada that still use fahrenheit
I want to convert my white flour sourdough starter to einkorn…is it still just start feeding it equal parts flour and water just use einkorn? or should I use a different ratio since einkorn absorbs water so differently?
Hi Lisa, I love your recipes! This bread recipe turns out better for me than any other sourdough recipe, every time! Crusty exterior, chewy interior.. And I even let it rise overnight, 8 hours, and then it was ready to bake this morning. It had risen more with the longer rise time, so it made a prettier loaf, and I love the more sour flavor, plus my husband is gluten sensitive, so I wanted to let it rise longer for that reason.. Thanks!
Let rise only 50% I’ve made this 2 times and not heavy, I use 100% all purpose Einkorn
What do you mean only 50% rise?
Yes please clarify what you mean of 50%? Thank you!
Hopefully this isnโt a stupid question…Can you use gluten free starter to make this?
Hi LIsa,
I actually have 2 questions. I am new to making Sourdough. I can make a great loaf using your recipe with store bought bread flour. Why don’t the milled grains rise as well. The dough seems denser and doesn’t rise as much. Do you have any suggestions? Also is there a trick to getting the Eincorn shaped or can you please post a video sometime. I couldn’t get it off my hands. Thank you! I love your site.
For your second question, I would add more flour and make sure your hands have flour on them too. Einkorn is tricky!
I don’t have a grain mill so can’t answer your first question. Good luck! x
Do you have this converted to grams somewhere I am not looking?
I have a conversion chart here: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/baking-conversion-chart hope that helps!
I am on day 14 of making the starter and do not have any bubbling. it seems very stiff. What should I change in making the starter?
Hi Lisa,
I make so many of your recipes and love them.
I make sourdough bread every week.
I tried your einkorn sourdough bread and it turned out very heavy. The crust is very hard. I let it rise for quite a while and it more than doubled.
Do you have any tips?
Same problem way too dense
Einkorn is tricky. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlq1VLXH8gc
I put mine in the fridge over night, take it out and let it rest for 2 hours and then bake. I use 280 grams of sourdough, 315 grams water, 600 grams einkorn! It rises and itโs light .. also make sure your starter is active!
All all-purpose or part Whole wheat in the 600 gms?
Thank you
I am going to try this..thank you..
At what point do you put it in the fridge? Just after mixing together or all the kneading or one kneading..?
Though I love einkorn for its nutritional benefits etc. I’ve never had a single thing iveI’made turn out fluffy. I’ve been using it for about 3 years, used different brands, different textures of starter, different times and methods of raising, and it’s never once been fluffy. I’ve just come to expect it not to be like regular wheat because of the weaker gluten and to love the heartiness of it.
Hi Lisa, is this recipe for 2 loafs of bread? I usually see 3 cups of flour in other recipes.
What size does the Dutch oven need to be?
Thanks,
Helen
I so love your site!! I saw on YouTube that you store your einkorn flour in a certain bucket with an airtight lid. I tried to find it again and I can’t find it. I was wondering if you could tell me where you bought your bucket . Thanks for being an example to those who don’t know Him!
You can use any bucket, but you need a gamma lid. I have mine linked in my amazon shop. Amazon.com/shop/farmhouseonboone
Iโm a bit confused, if we are making a loaf do we still let it rise overnight in the fridge? And what about preheating the loaf pan? Thanks!