I love sourdough! A good sourdough starter is a masterpiece of living organisms. Recently I have been curious about working with Einkorn flour. I heard about all its wonderful health benefits so I started experimenting a bit. I had some leftover starter from my bread baking and I thought I would make some sourdough waffles to stash in the freezer (our family loves them and they are much healthier than the commercial frozen waffles!). As I read the recipe, I thought it would make a great base for muffins and quick bread which we love for tea time and breakfast as well. A few friends had made quick breads with einkorn flour which looked amazing, so I thought why not try a sourdough quick bread! The sourdough process helps break down protein strands for easier digestion and is the precursor to commercial yeasts and baking powders that we now use to leaven baked goods with, I thought it would compliment the fact that Einkorn is an ancient grain. So after a little of this and a little of that…I bring you Sourdough Einkorn Breakfast bread!
The additions to the batter can vary. This time I used raisins, apples, orange oil, and slivered almonds; but the sky is the limit so feel free to be creative!
THE RECIPE
Sponge (feeding the starter)
1 cup sourdough starter, unfed
2 1/2 cups Einkorn Flour
2 TBS sugar (honey or maple syrup will work as well)
2 cups liquid (I used whole milk, but milk kefir, nut milks, or even water will do)
Mix ingredients together and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit for about 8 hours. No more than 12. Einkorn sourdough “dies” quicker than regular wheat flour. Mine sat overnight. After everything is mixed, it is about the consistency of a thicker pancake batter. After 8 hours, you should see lots of surface bubbles. Don’t expect the starter to double in size or really “grow”.
The bread:
All of the Sponge
2/3 cup einkorn flour (I get mine here)
2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup raisins
1 apple, grated
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
10 drops of Orange Essential Oil (I get mine here)
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into 2 8X4 (medium sized) loaf pans that have been greased. Bake in a 350 oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. You could also pour into prepared muffin tin and have muffins. Allow bread to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out onto cooling rack and let cool. Slice and enjoy plain or with some butter!
