Grinding wheat...

Good morning farm followers. Today I thought I would write a short post on grinding your own wheat berries or any other grain you would like to make into flour. As most folks who read my humble blog posts know I use Einkorn wheat here most of the time. I have been a grain mill owner for well into 15 years now. Being the mother of five children “large ticket” items become more affordable when the cost is shared amongst 5. :-) The first mill I was gifted was a Nutrimill and I still have it after all these years. About two years ago I upgraded to a Mockmill 200 simply because I wanted a quieter less heat generating mill. Nutrimills are very loud in my opinion and they throw off a good deal of heat. My Mockmill is definietly quieter for sure. It has so many positives that if you are looking for a new mill or perhaps your first Mockmills are great choices. I purchased my Mockmill from Breadtopia but you can get them from Pleasant Hill Grain.

While I have no power to predict the future I can discern the times as to how it relates to myself and my family. Economically we are in dangerously disastrous times. Over the last two years everything has been turned upside down and life is getting more complicated by the day. Food is and will continue to become a major issue. We are already seeing shortages and delays worldwide. My faith in God is what I use as my barometer and I know that hard times are upon us. I will not go into a deep theological dissertation right now but preparation is wise at this time. So milling your own grain is wise especially if you use wheat regularly.

I purchase my Einkorn All Purpose flour from Jovial Foods. Unfortunately their growers are in Italy and sometimes getting their products to their Headquarters/Warehouse in Connecticut is a bit of a transportation struggle. I buy my flour in 10 pound bags and unfortunately we are finding that they are out of stock. I bake regularly so I need consistency. So praise God in steps Einkorn.com When I found out Jovial was out of my 10 pound bags I received an email from Einkorn.com that they were now officially up and running milling AP flour. Now they are located in the Grand Tetons in Idaho and grow einkorn themselves but were milling whole wheat. Now they are milling all purpose flour!! Yay!! I have placed an order for forty pounds due to arrive this week so I will test their new AP vs Jovial’s AP.

About four months ago I ordered 100 pounds of einkorn wheat berries so my supply of einkorn is great but now to mill my own becomes a bit more complicated. But it is doable. So I grind my einkorn berries on the finest setting on my Mockmill then I bolt it. Bolting is the process of sifting out the coarser parts of the grain leaving the fleshy white part of the inside. The bran and endosperm are mostly removed and you have a more “all purpose” flour. I use two screens on 5mm and one 4mm which I purchased from Amazon. Whole grain baking is great and I do bake that way a lot but I use far more AP flour in my recipes so my choice is to know how to mill myself. So if you have any questions or suggestions please free to comment.

Remembering Carla Bartolucci

Yesterday was the first year anniversary of the passing away of Carla Bartolucci. A year ago I wrote a brief post giving tribute to Carla for her work with Einkorn. The Blog post has been one of my most read posts so it just goes to show that Carla made a tremendous impact upon the lives of others. Einkorn because of Carla has been demystified in many ways. I as a baker have been made better by her painstaking knowledge and her love of making einkorn the grain of choice around here. Her family continues to bring honor to her work and as Giulia continues to take the reigns with her family Jovial will do well. They have good products and I am so very thankful that I was able to spend the time watching Carla’s teaching videos to become more knowledgeable to be able to teach others. Thank you Bartolucci Family for sharing the treasure of you mother, wife, CEO and overall great person with the world. I am a better person for it.

Einkorn Walnut Coffee Biscotti

It is rather a warm Spring day here in SC. So it inspires me to create something to enjoy with my iced coffee. Going through my many Einkorn recipes I have collected over the years I decide this one from Food52 will do nicely. So happy dipping!

Ingredients

• 2 1/8 cup Einkorn flour or
  

• 2 cup whole wheat flour
  

• 1 tsp baking powder
  

• 2/3 cup packed dark or light brown sugar (I make my own)
  

• 4 tbs unsalted melted butter
  

• 2 large eggs
  

• 1/4 tsp salt
  

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I make my own)
  

• 1 cup walnuts
  

• 1 tbs dark roasted ground coffee (I roast my own)
  
  Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

  Combine the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and mix together thoroughly.

  In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and vanilla for 2 to 3 minutes, until thick and pale. Add in the ground coffee

  Add the flour mixture and the nuts and stir until all the ingredients are moistened. Einkorn flour results in a stickier dough, so do not overmix. Scrape the dough onto a lined or greased cookie sheet and spread into a 6-by-15-inch rectangle with a rubber spatula.

  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the loaf has puffed and is firm but springy to the touch. Rotate the sheet halfway through to ensure even baking. Set the sheet on a rack to cool for at least 15 minutes. Leave the oven on, turning it down to 300ºF.

  Transfer the loaf carefully to a cutting board. If you used a liner, slide a metal spatula under the loaf to detach and remove the liner. Using a long serrated knife, cut the loaf into slices 1/2 inch thick. Transfer the slices to the unlined cookie sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cookies turn golden, rotating the sheet halfway through to ensure even baking. Set the sheet on a rack. Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. May be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
  

Overnight Einkorn Kefir Coffee Cake

I borrow this recipe from Carla Bartoluccia’s cookbook Einkorn. Recipes For Nature’s Original Wheat. There is one substitution I make and that is I substitute Bellwether Farms Sheep’s milk yogurt for the kefir. They have wonderful yogurt and I am thankful that Whole Foods here in SC carries it. It comes from Sonoma County California. When I do not have an animal in milk I do not keep milk kefir grains. So I find the sheep’s yogurt to be a wonderful substitution. I add three tablespoons of sour dough starter to the yogurt to give it a kick start. So here is the recipe as written in the cookbook and you may make the substitution if you like.

For the cake: 2 1/2 cups (300 g) of all purpose einkorn flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 10 tbsp butter (140 g) @ room temperature. A bit more for buttering the pan. 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (110 g) dark brown sugar (packed), 3 large eggs, 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1 cup kefir (240 g)

For the crumb topping: 3/4c (90g) all purpose einkorn flour, 1/4 c (50 g) granulated sugar1/4 tsp fine sea salt, 6 tbsp (84 g) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4” cubes, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar for dusting.

Make the cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and the salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on med-low speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the sugars and mix on med-low speed for another 1-2 minutes until the butter is fluffy and whipped. Add the eggs and vanilla on med-low till mixed. Scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. Detach bowl from mixer. Using a spatula fold half of the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Fold 1/2 cup of the kefir, then repeat with remaining flour mixture and kefir until everything is just combined. (Do not overwork the batter) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator all night or at least 8 hours. When ready to bake, butter a 9x13” baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and spread into prepared baking dish. Set aside. Make the topping: Mix together the flour, granulated sugar, and the salt in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the butter is completely incorporated leaving only small chunks of butter. The topping can be made at night and stored in the refrigerator with the cake batter. Sprinkle half the mixture on top of the cake. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and cocoa powder and sprinkle over the topping. Sprinkle remaining topping over the topping. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon and cocoa. Bake for 42 minutes or until the middle springs back when pressed. Let cake sit in the pan for 1 hour until completely cooled. Dust generously with organic powdered sugar. .

Einkorn Soft German Pretzels

This lovely recipe comes from the Jovial Foods Founder and author the late Carla Bartolucci. They are excellent.

1 batch of sourdough levain or you can use a yeast levain as well.

1/2 cup plus two tablespoons of warm water

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

4 cups (480 g) einkorn all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cup (100g) baking soda

Coarse sea salt or rock salt, for dusting

in a medium bowl, combine the Levain, water, and maple syrup. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the wet mixture to the flour and mix with a spatula as much as you can. Add the butter And knead in the bowl with your hands until the dough holds together in a firm ball. Cover the plate and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Turn the dough once and then lightly seal the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rest for three hours.

Brush a long piece of parchment paper lightly with oil. Divide the dough in 10 pieces, then roll each piece into a tight ball. Use your hands to roll each ball into a 22 inch strip of dough that is much thicker in the center and has tapered ends. Form each strip into a long U shape. Lift up both ends and cross one over the other two times then bring the ends to the bottom of the oval and press on each side, leaving the tip up slightly. Place the shaped pretzel on the prepared parchment and repeat with the remaining dough. Cover with oil brushed plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. It is important to catch them just before the surface of the dough has visible bubbles.

Preheat the oven to 275°F. Spread the baking soda in a 9 x 13 glass or ceramic baking dish. Bake the baking soda for one hour.

Remove the dish from the oven, then increase the heat 475°F. Line two clean baking sheets with parchment paper.

Add 6 cups of cold water to a medium bowl and 4 cups of cold water to a second bowl. Slowly whisk the baking soda into the second bowl until it dissolves. Working in batches of two or three pretzels, immerse the pretzels in the baking soda solution for two minutes, keeping them submerged, and turning after one minute. Lift up each pretzel with a spoon and dip it quickly into the clean water to remove excess baking soda arrange the pretzels on the prepared baking sheet so they are not touching and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until the pretzels are deep brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.

sourdough levain is made by taking 2 tablespoons of Einkorn sourdough starter adding a half a cup +1 tablespoon of warm water to 1 cup of all purpose Einkorn flour which comes out to about 120 g of flour, mix it all together and cover. Allow it to sit for 6 to 10 hoursa at room temperature till it’s nice and bubbly and ready to be used as a leavener. ***

commercial pretzels are dipped into a lye bath solution before baking. Carla read a New York Times article in which if you heat baking soda for an hour it changes the pH which promotes the Maillard reaction that gives the pretzels that deeply characteristic brown color, unique texture and authentic flavor.