Linda Blossom’s
Einkorn favorites
Linda’s Einkorn Bread Loaf
Ingredients:
Poolish
1/2 Cup Einkorn Flour
1/4 Cup Water
1/2 Tsp Yeast
Dough Mix
3-5 C Einkorn Flour
1 1/3 C Water
3 T Butter
3T Honey
Process:
The evening before, mix 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water with 1/2 tsp yeast. Mix in a small container and let set overnight. This is the “Poolish”.
I also prepare the ingredients for the rest of the loaf so I am ready in the morning.
In a mixing bowl put 3 cups of flour,1/2 tsp yeast, and 1/2 tsp salt. mix well. Then set out a measuring cup of water.
In the Morning : you will need to melt about 3 T butter with 3 T honey.
Add the poolish to the bowl of dry ingredients, and use the cup of water to rinse the container into the bowl. Add the honey and butter. Then start the mixer with the dough hook. I never go over the lowest setting. Add another cup of flour. After this addition I switch to 1/8 cup measuring. As I use the full 40 minutes of kneading to add the flour. this helps to develop gluten strength, which is an important factor. Push the dough off the hook and use a stiff scraper to remove it from the sides to keep it all kneading well. Add flour in small amounts watching for it to become a stiff dough that is still sticky with some probably still be in the bottom of the bowl. Kind of looks like a ragged mountain. This is different from the softer and too wet dough that is mostly on the bottom. I ended up with a total of 5 1/4 cup of flour. Don’t try to smooth it out, just put it in a warm place to rise
First Rise: 2-3 hours. Go by feel and size. Too long is worse than too short. Feel should be spongey but still some resistance. Spring some flour lightly on top and gently push down in the center.
Second Rise: let rise for about an hour again feeling with a gentle finger poke. Again too soon better than too late. You do not want to to be too soft. The finger poke should fill in slowly.
Flour your counter or board well. Flour your scraper - you should have a plastic scraper that is rounded on one side to help remove the dough. Dip it in the flour as needed. Once the dough is out lightly sprinkle it with flour. Flour your hands and gather it up into a ball and add small amounts of flour as needed to keep it off your hands but use a light touch. Gently knead it as this will tell you how much flour to add but never go to a dry dough that is easy to handle. There is no way back from there. Round the dough into a ball and prepare your pans. I use butter. Oils are a poor release.
To do three small loaves, cut into three equal parts. Round each and let set for a few minutes.
Flatten each and fold down the top to form a smile, fold in each side and then roll towards you. Flour your hands and pick each up and put into the pans. Use the scraper to smooth the sides. It should be soft and you need to get it in the pan rather quickly.
Final Rise: Raise at a higher temp this time. I use 90 in my Breville convection oven. Watch for about an hour or less and it should be ready. A finger poke should show a depression that comes back slowly. If you wait too long the dough may not be able to raise and round up well.
Baking is the usual 350 but a full loaf is 35 and this is more like 25 but watch it.
Linda’s Einkorn Crackers
Ingredients:
1 Cup Einkorn Flour
2 T olive oil
1 tsp garlic power
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tsp baking powder
2 tsp well minced fresh rosemary
Process:
I mix the dry ingredients, add the oil and then add very small amounts of water mixing with a Danish wisk the whole time. The dough should be very dry - just moist enough to form into a ball. When it looks like more water is needed because there is still some dry flour, check the part that looks wetter which has not taken up the rest and the flour and it is likely ready to be formed together into a ball by squeezing by hand.
I roll it out on a fooddryer sheet which is 11” square. The dough does not stick to it. When the circle has reached the edges of the square after rolling it is the right thickness. Always roll from the center as with pie dough. I use a pizza cutter to cut into squares. Pick up the sheet and slowly roll the crackers onto the baking basket shelf and then separate the individual crackers.
I bake in my Breville convection oven at 350 on the air fry setting with the mesh shelf in the middle. Without this set up a cookie sheet can be used and maybe the crackers will need to be turned. They take about 9-10 minutes to be done. I store in the freezer to keep moisture out. This way they never become soggy/stale.
for sweeter crackers, substitute the olive oil for melted butter, and the rosemary and garlic for: 1 T of sugar and 1 tsp of ground cinnamon.
Linda’s Einkorn Biscuits
makes 6 biscuits
Ingredients:
1 Cup Einkorn Flour
3 T chilled butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tsp baking powder
1/3 Cup of buttermilk
Process:
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut the cold butter into the flour as you would a pie dough. Add enough milk of some kind, or yogurt to make a dough that can be handled and rolled out on a floured surface. Cut into biscuits and bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes depending on the size of the biscuits.