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If you are new to moving over to healthier grains, this is the challah recipe for you! Einkorn is an ancient grain and is actually lower in gluten than modern wheat and is much much better (read a great explanation here as to why einkorn is better). It is fabulously light and is very similar to white flour in its consistency. It really is not dense like whole wheat. I don’t know – all I know is that I love how this einkorn challah recipe turned out today!
I have started observing the Sabbath and so it happens I have taken to making challah every week. I should say I have been attempting to make challah again every week because what I have been making isn’t quite challah. Why? Because it wasn’t rising! I used to make the best challah…but had gotten out of practice! I was trying to get complicated and achieve success with making a sourdough challah but it really was not going the way I had hoped. I have enough ‘pets’ to feed every day what with my actual dog and my kefir. I ended up saying goodbye to my sourdough starter last week. Ok…I killed it. 🙁
Anyway it was a blessing because this week I went back to good old yeast to make my challah and it worked beautifully! I even came acrossmy VERY FIRST challah recipe (which was on a paper I found cleaning out my office because I am now obsessed with this book and have been tidying everywhere!) that I always enjoyed that I used to make with white flour. I decided to try it today with my einkorn flour. I have to say – it was the lightest and airiest dough I have made in many years!
Ready to see it?
Einkorn Challah Recipe
This einkorn challah recipe makes 2 large challot. This recipe uses enough einkorn flour to make the official separating challah mitzvah blessing (7+ cups)! I actually used the entire box of theEinkorn Flour I buy here. If you want you can even make 4 medium challahs and freeze two for the following week. It is super easy to warm up a frozen challah and it tastes like it was just baked. This entire duration for making these is about 5 hours. I start early in the morning. Most of the time is inactive time but you do need to be nearby for various steps.
Take 1 Tbsp of sugarand combine it with the warm water (you know you have the right temperature for the water when it is the same temperature as the inside of your wrist) and both yeast packets in a stand mixing bowl.
After the yeast has dissolved and it’s nice and foamy (about 5 minutes), add to it the raw honey, the olive oil and the 3 1/2 cups of einkorn flour. Mix with the dough hook about 100 turns.
Cover with a damp towel and let sit for about 20 minutes. It will become very airy and rise a bit in the bowl.
Add the eggs to the yeast and dough mixture in your stand mixing bowl.
Now add about 4 cups of einkorn flour to a separate bowl along with the salt and stir together. Slowly start mixing in the salt and einkorn flour mixture to your yeast mixture in your stand mixing bowl. The dough will start to become thick and form a ball around the dough hook. You will likely need to add a couple more cups for a total of 4-6 cups…maybe more. I used the entire box!
When the dough starts to pull away from the sides and it is still a little bit sticky, dump out onto a work surface and knead by hand for about 20 turns. Add additional flour to keep your hands from sticking. It should be manageable and not sticking to your hands but do not overwork it. Put the dough into a glass bowl and pour a bit of olive oil on it and turn it over so it is fully coated. Cover with a damp cloth and allow it to rise for 2 hours. I put it in my oven with the oven off.
The dough should double in size and when you press your thumb into it it should leave an indentation.
Now it is time to braid the challah. I love this simple challah making video showing you various ways to braid your challah. Kids are the best helpers to make lots of varieties! Practice really helps to perfect a method.
Place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Let the challot rise for about 20 minutes.
Beat the egg white with a little bit of water and use a pasty brush to glaze the challot. You can now sprinkle with sesame seeds, chia seeds and cinnamon if you wish or just leave it plain.
Put the baking sheets with the challah into the oven with the oven off. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees F. Let the challah bake for 40 minutes and remove onto racks to cool. The challah will rise some more during the preheat time!
Voila – perfect einkorn challah that is as light and fluffy as a white flour version!
Tell me – did you enjoy it? Makes some amazing challah french toast!
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If your bread dough mixes up at a normal texture because you add more flour to lessen its sticky texture, your dough will end up drying up and baking dense later because einkorn absorbs liquids much slower than regular wheat.
While einkorn is high in protein, its gluten properties aren't the same as modern wheat. This results in a dough that can be overly sticky and wet by the end of bulk fermentation.
Since einkorn has a very weak gluten, it is better to underproof and only allow the dough to rise by 40-50%. If you allow the dough to double, it will deflate in the oven. When baking with yeast, watch your dough carefully and do not allow the dough to over-proof.
It is higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates than modern wheat. It is richer in carotenoids, B vitamins, and essential and trace minerals than modern wheat. It tastes great with a nutty flavor, silky texture, and a buttery yellow color.
Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.
Yeasted einkorn dough doesn't rise like modern wheat dough.
This is particularly true with einkorn bread. Don't expect big, fluffy dough during the initial rise. Yeasted einkorn dough does not double in size like modern wheat yeasted dough. This can also be expected when baking the dough.
Einkorn Flour absorbs less water and at a much slower pace than all purpose flour. Because of this, a great conversion rate in recipes is to use an extra 1/4 cup of einkorn for every 1 cup of all purpose.
If your dough is too sticky and it's impossible to work with you can add some extra flour, just a little at a time. Make sure you weigh the extra flour you add and then you'll be able to adjust the recipe correctly the next time you bake.
You want to soak whole grains or whole grain flour to deactivate some of the anti-nutrient phytic acid contained in the whole grains. When you deactivate some of the phytic acid, your digestive system can better absorb the minerals in the bran and the germ of the whole grain.
Whole Einkorn can be stored up to a year in the freezer or up to 6 months in the pantry. Einkorn flour is best stored in the freezer and will last up to 6 months. If the grains or flour have a rancid smell when you open the bag, toss and buy fresh.
Virgin Wheat flour uses the grain einkorn rather than regular refined wheat grains. It is non-processed, non-hybridized, non-GMO and has a low glycemic load, meaning it won't spike your blood sugar level.
Sifting makes the einkorn flour much easier to mix into the other ingredients without lumps forming. This is especially important for einkorn flour because it is slower to absorb the liquids in the recipe than regular all-purpose flour and you can end up with dry flour clumps if not careful.
Einkorn challenges traditional views of the Paleo diet, which typically excludes grains. Historical evidence reveals that Einkorn was integral to early human diets, offering substantial nutritional benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties and easier digestibility.
Yes, because of it's ancient origins, einkorn is known by many names across the world: Triticum monococcum (Latin, scientific name), einkorn (German), small spelt (Italian), farro piccolo (Italian), engrain (French), Le petit épautre (French), tiphe (Greek), siyez (Turkish), and sifon (Hebrew).
Although einkorn and spelt are both varieties of wheat, they have very different levels of gluten. Spelt has significantly more gluten than einkorn, making it a superb healthy alternative for those with no trouble digesting gluten and who are looking for that rise and spring in their baking.
If your bread is too dense and similar to a brick, don't throw it away. Inspect the bread and begin baking another one following the same recipe. It is crucial to know the root of the issue to avoid it the next time. However, it's not always simple to determine the reason for the bread's dense texture.
Cause: typical of too much flour (or other dry ingredients) or not enough liquid; less often a result of too little yeast, too little sugar, too much salt, or old ingredients. Here's what you can try doing to improve your loaf: Reduce your flour* or increasing your liquids.
The reason why whole wheat loaves end up so dense is because whole wheat flour has very little gluten as compared to white all-purpose flour. Gluten is important for giving the dough – and final loaves – structure. Without it, loaves tend to end up flat and dense.
The bread dough did not rise enough. Whole wheat, cake, self-rising and non-wheat flours such as rye, oat, barley, rice and soy all have too little gluten. Also, self-rising and cake flours are lower in gluten and therefore will not produce the best yeast bread.
Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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