Try this simple rustic pioneer bread with just 3 ingredients!
Servings
Ingredients
- 18 cups Einkorn Whole Flour (Plus about 2 cups Natural Leaven Start)
- 4 cups Water
- 3 tablespoons Real Salt
Directions
![IMG_1287[1]](https://www.einkorn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_12871.jpg)
1. Mix Sourdough Start, 9 cups of flour, and water in a bowl
2. Let rest for a couple hours or until it looks like this:
![IMG_1278[1]](https://www.einkorn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_12781.jpg)
3. Add the salt and remaining flour until it sticks together (It may not pull completely from the side of the bowl, and it may be stickier than normal bread dough because there’s no oil). DO NOT over knead it.
4. Place dough in a bowl and punch down. Leave to rise in warm place (Several hours).
![IMG_1281[1]](https://www.einkorn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_12811.jpg)
![IMG_1280[1]](https://www.einkorn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_12801.jpg)
5. Shape into five loaves. Cut three slits in each one. Place in greased loaf pans and leave to rise for a couple more hours in warm place (For instance, an oven with the light on).
6. With the loaves still in the oven, turn it to 350º and bake for 38 minutes.
7. Remove and brush with butter or coconut oil.
For a little extra help, take a look at these additional tips.
Do you have a smaller (2 loaves) recipe using your stone ground whole grain?
Hi Susan, you can use any recipe with the whole grain flour. For example, you can use it in this recipe even though we originally used all-purpose flour. Just watch consistency and be careful not to overflour. The dough will be wetter and stickier than regular wheat bread dough. That recipe makes 2-3 loaves.
Your bread looks lovely. My whole grain einkorn bread is much darker than yours. Where do you buy your whole grains from? Are you using all Whole grain?
thanks
Thank you! I’ve tried numerous Einkorn sourdough bread recipes, and this is by far the best! My loaf didn’t rise quite as high as yours – any suggestions on adjustments I can make (rise time, more/less liquid), oven temp, etc.)? I’m also wondering if my starter just need to mature longer… It’s only a couple of weeks old and has only been used to bake 3 loaves so far. Thanks again for the recip (and for any feedback)!
Hello JL, We’re glad you like the recipe. It does come down to the condition of your start usually, and starts do improve as they mature. There are factors such as elevation and humidity that also come into play, but the start is the best indication. I would suggest continuing to nurture your start and playing around with consistency to find out what is best for where you are. We posted this recipe so people could have a bread with very few ingredients. However, our other sourdough einkorn bread recipe rises much more easily if you’re just starting out. I don’t know if you’ve tried it, but you can take a look here: http://www.einkorn.com/recipe/naturally-leavened-sourdough-einkorn-bread/. In both cases the dough should be a little sticky.
Thanks so much – I’ll check them out!
I want make the Einkorn bread but I don’t know how much natural eleven start to use?
There isn’t a certain amount listed in the directions, so I was wondering if you could help with it?
Sincerely Marilyn
Marilyn, prior to making the bread, we feed about a tablespoon of start with approximately 2 cups of Einkorn flour and 1 cup of water. Then we use all of it in the bread, leaving what’s sticking to the sides for the new start. It ends up being about 2 cups of start in the bread recipe.