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.

overhead photo of einkorn sourdough bread with a cross pattern scorned on top in a parchment paper lined ditched oven

Over the last six months or so, Iโ€™ve been working on converting the majority of our baked goods to einkorn flour. 

Anytime I canโ€™t ferment a baked good (like in chocolate chip coconut cookies), einkorn flour comes in handy. It is the worldโ€™s oldest heirloom wheat that hasnโ€™t 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.

einkorn sourdough bread on parchment paper with a white Dutch oven behind the loaf.

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

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FAQ

overhead photo of a round loaf of einkorn sourdough bread with a cross pattern scored. The loaf sits on a parchment with a white dutch oven right behind it.

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.

Close up picture of a loaf of einkorn bread with a large cross pattern scored in the loaf in a parchment lined dutch oven

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 itโ€™s 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.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Tools you may need:

Grain mill (optional) – I love my Mockmill

Stand Mixer (optional)

Banneton

Measuring cups

Dutch oven or loaf pan

Lame

Bench scraper

A loaf of sourdough einkorn bread with a cross shape scored on the top resting on parchment paper with a white dutch oven in the back

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.

adding einkorn flour to a stoneware bowl

Add flour and salt to a large bowl. Mix together.

woman adding sourdough starter to a bowl of einkorn flour, water, and salt in her white kitchen

Add sourdough starter and water to a large bowl and mix with your hands until it comes together.

Let rest for 15 minutes.

woman stretching and folding einkorn sourdough bread dough on a white quartz countertop

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.

woman wearing a baby is in her white kitchen shaping a loaf of einkorn sourdough bread

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.

einkorn sourdough bread dough that has risen in a stoneware bowl

Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home.

woman placing a banneton basket with bread dough into a plastic grocery bag

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.

woman wearing a baby taking einkorn sourdough bread dough out of a banneton basket and placing it on a sheet of parchment paper

Once the dutch oven has preheated, take the dough out of the fridge and place onto a sheet of parchment paper.

scoring a loaf of einkorn bread on a sheet of parchment paper on a white quartz countertop

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.

overhead photo of a loaf of sourdough einkorn bread on parchment paper on a white quartz countertop with a white dutch oven in the back left corner.

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

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

4.56 from 145 votes
Einkorn sourdough bread makes the most delicious bread. A wonderful fluffy, chewy interior and a satisfying, crusty exterior.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Servings: 12
overhead photo of einkorn sourdough bread on. parchment paper
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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

Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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202 Comments

  1. laura says:

    Hello Lisa,this loaf is a total mess and I cannot keep it together. It is so gluey. I used Jovial but it is not like you show in the pictures, what should I do to save it? Thanks so much for helping (not sure what went wrong). I would love to use those better grain because I am allergic to US flour AP but it has been quite a journey. I love your media ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Lisa says:

      Sounds like it may have overfermented during the bulk rise.

  2. Stephanie says:

    Does it matter if I only have/use whole grain einkorn flour?

  3. Jess says:

    I’m new to sourdough and hoping this will be our go to recipe for bread. I purchased einkorn berries to use but now realizing this recipe calls for all-purpose einkorn flour. Where do you purchase all-purpose berries to mill? I’m searching online and only seeing whole grain einkorn berries. Can I use strictly whole grain einkorn berries for this recipe?

    1. Lisa says:

      Yes you can. It will definitely behave a little differently than the all purpose einkorn. You may need to use a bit more flour since it comes out of the mill fluffy .

    2. Anonymous says:

      Jess,
      AP Einkorn just has the bran removed. Mill your berries and sift the flour through a fine sieve. The bran can be composted while the yellowish flour will be AP for you.

  4. Kathy says:

    Can I use same amount of discard in this recipe?

    1. Lisa says:

      It may take longer to rise or may not have a good rise if using discard.

  5. Lynn Groom says:

    Iโ€™ve made this prob a dozen times (novice baker) and my family loves it. I love the simplicity of the recipe. Question: After the sourdough Einkorn dough rises after all the stretch and folds (prob 4x bigger than start) as soon as I touch it to take it out, it starts to collapse. Why does it do that? Is it supposed to do that?

    1. Lisa says:

      The gluten structure in ancient grains is very different from modern grains. Though they don’t get long and stretchy, they do rise a lot better!

  6. Alicia Armstrong says:

    Hi Lisa,
    Making my first sourdough loaf today ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿฝ
    I started the bulk ferment next to the fireplace last night. Whatโ€™s the minimum amount if time I can leave in fridge today. Running a few errands today hoping yo get bread scored and in oven around dinner time. Thanks ๐Ÿ˜Š

  7. Megan says:

    Iโ€™m 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!

    1. Lisa says:

      Yes. This firms up the dough and slows down the fermentation. If you are using a loaf pan there would be no need to preheating it so you could allow it to rise in the fridge in the pan. The preheating is only if you are using a dutch oven because that is what gives it that nice crust. Since bread baked in a loaf pan won’t have the same crust you do not need to preheat it. Hope that helps.

      1. Ashley says:

        I’m excited to try the loaf pan! Do we also do the stretch and folds with the rest periods when we do the loaf pan? Or do we only mix and put it the pan? Thank you!

        1. Lisa says:

          You can either knead in a mixer or stretch and folds. The loaf pans doesnโ€™t really determine which process you choose.

  8. Garth Wunsch says:

    I would find the measurements easier in gms. Much more accurate, especially for the gooey starter.

    1. Lisa says:

      Sorry! I will try to update the post in the future to include those.

  9. Brianna says:

    I received a starter from regular flour King Auther: All Purpose Flour & Iโ€™m wanting to switch to Einkorn all purpose flour. How much of starter: water: Einkorn to keep it fed??
    (Am I using all the correct vocabulary)

    Thanks in advance ๐Ÿ˜€

    1. Lisa says:

      You would want to use less water. If you had 1/2 cup of starter you would want to feed it with 1/2 cup einkorn flour and 1/4 cup water.

  10. Allison Ashton says:

    Hello! I am so glad to final get my first real sourdough loaf from my Einkorn flour! My starter is complete Einkorn all purpose and whole wheat. I’ve had my started since April 22, 2022. I followed your recipe exactly but noticed it was a bit dry when I pulled it together after adding the flours, starter and water and and when folding it each time seemed dry. It doubled it was 7 hours before I could get to it and placed in the the fridge for 16 hours. Then, baked it this morning. But feels hard and its resting. Not sure why?

    1. Jessi says:

      Same with mine . I bake with einkorn all the time and usually itโ€™s a bit more sticky. I had to add more water.