Einkhorn sourdough bread

 By Brittny Tew

Ingredients:

    4 C. cool water

    3/4 C. bubbly sourdough starter

    5 1/4 C. white flour 

    3 C. wheat/ einkhorn/ spelt/ khorasan

    2 Tbsp. salt

Optional: 1/4 C. honey

In a Bosch mix everything except the salt and sit for 30 minutes. Mix in the salt. Remove your dough hook (metal can mess with your sourdough’s performance.). Every 30 minutes pull and stretch the dough three times. Let dough rise for 8 to 12 hours. Dump dough on the counter and separate into three loaves. Let rest for 30 minutes. Wet hands and gently pull loaf across the countertop, stretching the top layer of dough tighter to form tension across the top of your loaf. Place on top of parchment paper in a bowl and let rise for an hour. Warm oven to 400° and place cast-iron pots in the oven to preheat. When oven is heated cut slits with a knife across the top of your loaf so that they can rise while cooking and place in your Dutch oven. Add an eighth of a cup of water in between your Dutch oven and parchment paper so the water does not touch your loaf (the water helps your loaf have delicious fluffy air pockets).  Place the lid on top and bake for 30 minutes then remove the Dutch oven lid and bake 10 more minutes. If cooking in a normal bread pan, place your loaf in the pan and cut a slip on top, then bake for 30 minutes. In a separate pan you can place water in your oven so that your bread can have the fluffy air pockets without using a Dutch oven. This bread tastes amazing with butter!

Tips:

    If your bread is too crusty on the bottom, you can place a cookie sheet on the rack below your Dutch oven to soften the crust when cooking.

    I use a wide variety of flours. When making this bread for others, I use the 5 1/4 C. white flour, but when making it for my family I use 3 cups white flour, and the rest would be any of the above flours that are not white. We like to use spelt and einkorn mixed together. 

    Make sure your sourdough is well fed and bubbly or you will be waiting two days for your bread to rise.

    Mix ins make this super tasty. Some ideas are, cheddar and jalapeño, rosemary and lemon, garlic and herbs, white chocolate chips and macadamia nut…

    The easiest timeframe when making this bread would look like this. At four or five in the afternoon feed your sourdough. At eight or nine mix your dough and stretch and fold repeatedly three times every 30 minutes. Go to bed. When you wake up the dough is ready for you to separate into loaves and rise. Preheat oven, cook bread and enjoy for lunch!

   Warning: This bread is addictive. It’s my kids favorite bread and they request it over any other bread!

Brittny Tew