In Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat, Carla Bartolucci presents einkorn – considered to be the only wheat never hybridized – as an alternative for those with gluten sensitivity. The fact that einkorn, an ancient grain grown thousands of years ago in the Fertile Crescent, is packed with nutrients is an added bonus.
But einkorn can be tricky to work with, as I learned while trying my hardest to coax magic out of flour and water. Patience will definitely be required, as will trial and error. But I think if you’re the type of person to bake her own bread, then you’re the right candidate for giving einkorn a try. You don’t even need to be of the gluten-intolerant set; anyone with a sense of curiosity in the kitchen will enjoy baking and cooking with einkorn and einkorn berries.
Bartolucci shares not just bread recipes, including an incredibly detailed einkorn sourdough starter method, but she dives head first into street foods, giving gluten-intolerant folks a chance to again eat such delights as tabbouleh, wheat berry arancini (breaded and fried rice balls), and piadina (Italy’s version of the tortilla).
Sourcing einkorn is easier than you’d think – just head on over to Amazon and click away. As the founder of Jovial Foods, Bartolucci naturally has a line of einkorn products you can put to good use with her recipe book. If you’d like to try before you buy, check out her online version of the now-famous no-knead bread recipe.
Being curious in the kitchen requires a willingness to try something new, an openness to failure, and a child’s sense of delight when a new recipe experiment goes right. Einkorn flour and wheat berries are a perfect way to play with your food and maybe even give a gluten-intolerant friend a new food to try.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links meaning I may receive compensation if you use those links. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging with Books for review; all opinions are my own.
Stephanie Weaver, MPH says
Are you able to tolerate einkorn? I have never tried it myself.
Lisa Dearen says
Yes it worked for me. I’m going to search out the wheat berry form next to try it in grain salads.