Amazing Einkorn Fluffy Biscuits

Folks in all the years I have been working with Einkorn I have yet to produce what I call a truly “fluffy” biscuit. Most of the time they turn out to be little hockey pucks. But alas we have finally hit pay dirt. I am always looking for more ways to improve my work with Einkorn. So I decided to just search the internet for “fluffy biscuit recipes” and lo and behold I found a nice little blog called Boston Girl Bakes. Now she does not use Einkorn nor my organic ingredients and does her mixing by hand but nonetheless I was able to replicate her recipe with a few tweaks of my own and produce truly fluffy einkorn biscuits. My daughter Ashley actually asked for the recipe and she too was able to make fluffy biscuits using the basic instructions from the blogger BGB and the minor adjustments I made. So here is the key. All ingredients need to be freezing cold, your oven needs to be very hot and you fold the dough rather than mix the dough. You do not want to over work the dough. Cutting your biscuits is important as well so take care to just push your cutter through the dough but DO NOT twist the cutter. Simply cut and remove. Follow these steps and you will produce truly fluffy biscuits I promise. Here is the recipe:

2 cups (240 grams) Einkorn All Purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

6 tablespoons (86 grams) ice, cold butter cut into 1/4’ pieces

*** 1/2-3/4 cup buttermilk (save a little for brushing the tops of the biscuits before popping into the oven). The recipe originally called for a whole cup of buttermilk but it becomes too wet so I have reduced it down starting with 1/2 cup and if needed 3/4c and this works much better. ****

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of your food processor place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse the mixture three or four times to get everything combined. Evenly distribute the butter chunks and pulse the food processor 10 times. Do not to be tempted to over mix. The butter should still be visible in pea sized chunks. Add the freezing cold buttermilk and pulse 10 times more. The dough will be slightly wet and sticky. Empty the contents onto a piece of parchment paper using a stiff spatula if necessary. Lightly dust the top of the dough and using the parchment paper gather the dough to form a round ball. Do not use a rolling pin but rather use your hands to roll out the dough out to 1/2’ circle. Fold the dough over itself and pat it out again. Do this for a total of three times and then take your biscuit cutter and cut out as many biscuits (more or less depending on the size you choose) as you can. (Do the exact same thing with the scraps) DO NOT TWIST the cutter. Simply cut and lift. Place the biscuits next to each other in rows of three. Brush with the dregs of buttermilk and you are ready. Now this step is optional but I placed my biscuits in the freezer for about 10 minutes to give the butter a chance to firm up again. Then right into the hot oven. Bake for 13-15 minutes until tops are golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack. You can serve warm or cool completely and freeze the biscuits for a future date. *to make buttermilk add 1 tablespoon of either apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to cold milk. Let sit for 5 minutes then use as directed.*

Whole grain Einkorn boule

INGREDIENTS

Levain

• 2 tablespoons (30 g) Einkorn sourdough starter (can be cold right out of the refrigerator or you can use starter that has been refreshed and left to rise for at least 6 hours)

• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (130 g) warm water, at 100°F

• 1 cup (120 g) Einkorn all purpose flour or 1¼ cups (120 g) whole wheat Einkorn flour

Dough

• 1 batch sourdough levain

• 1⅓ cups plus 1 tablespoon (345 g) water at 100°F

• 6 cups (576 g) whole wheat Einkorn flour

• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the levain: In glass container that you can seal tightly or in a medium bowl, mix the starter and water together with a fork, pressing on the starter until it dissolves. Add the flour and mix until the flour is dissolved. Seal tightly or cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a dark place for 6 to 10 hours.

2. Make the dough: Transfer the levain to a large bowl. Add the water and mix with a stiff spatula to break up the levain.

3. Add the flour and sprinkle the salt on top. Mix briefly until you have a wet, sticky dough and the flour is mostly absorbed. Cover the bowl with a plate and let stand for 15 minutes.

4. Turn the dough: Lightly flour a work surface and, using a bowl scraper, transfer the dough to it. Turn the dough by stretching the dough into a rectangle, then folding in each corner to the center. Fold again in half, then transfer the dough back to the bowl and cover tightly with the plate. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then turn the dough again.

5. Transfer the dough back to the bowl, but this time, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 2 to 4 hours, or until it has risen by 30%. If you are using a new starter, you may let the dough rise for up to 10 hours until you see a rise. If the dough has risen and you do not have time to shape and bake the bread, you can place the dough in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. If you have trouble with shaping, you may also let the dough rise, then refrigerate it for 1 hour before shaping. It is easier to shape einkorn dough when it is cold.

6. Shape the loaf: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Spread the dough out to a rectangle, then fold in each long end to form a square. Pull up the edges of the dough at 1-inch intervals and press them tightly into the center to make a 6-inch round. Use the bowl scraper to turn the dough over so the seam side is on the counter. Flour your hands, then cup the dough and rotate it in a circular motion between your hands, applying downward pressure, until you have a tight round loaf. Dust the top of the loaf generously with flour.

7. Heavily dust an 8-inch or 9-inch unlined banneton basket with flour and invert the loaf into it. Cover with a linen couche or dust the top of the dough with flour and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the loaf rise at room temperature for 45 to 90 minutes until it has expanded just past the rim of the basket and it shows a few bubbles, but is still a bit firm.

8. Place a Dutch oven with the lid on in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500°F for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

9. Remove the pot from the oven and take off the lid. Invert the loaf and shake it loose in the pot. Make four 1/4-inch deep slashes on top of the loaf in the pattern of a square, making sure you don’t get too close to the edges. Cover and place in the oven.

10. Reduce the oven temperature to 475°F and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Return the pot to the oven and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

11. Lift the loaf out with a metal spatula and transfer it to a wire rack. Let the bread cool for 2 hours before slicing. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days in an open plastic bag, or freeze for up to a month, then defrost at room temperature.

    recipe courtesy of Jovial Foods

MORNING GLORY EINKORN BREAKFAST SCONES

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups (360 g) All purpose Einkorn flour or 3½ cups (336 g) whole grain Einkorn flour plus more for dusting

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 10 tablespoons (140 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes

• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated

• 1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated

• ½ cup (80 g) seedless raisins

• ½ cup (63 g) chopped pecans or walnuts

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

• ⅓ cup (113 g) pure maple syrup

• ½ cup (120 g) plus 2 teaspoons cold heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal but still has some larger chunks of butter.

3. Mix in the carrot, apple, raisins, nuts, and coconut.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup and the ½ cup of cream. Pour in the cream mixture and squeeze the dough through your hands until the dough barely holds together. Knead the ball of dough 5 to 10 times until the flour is absorbed but the dough is shaggy, not smooth.

5. Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and transfer the dough to it. Dust the top of the dough and place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 6 × 9-inch rectangle that is 1 inch thick. Cut the rectangle in thirds lengthwise and then in half crosswise. Cut each rectangle in half diagonally for 12 scones.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the scones on it, spaced about 1½-inches apart. Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining 2 teaspoons of cream and dust with the sugar. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until lightly golden.

7. Remove the scones with a metal spatula to a plate and serve warm, or let cool before serving. Store in a sealed plastic bag for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

   Recipe courtesy of Jovial Foods

Whole grain Einkorn Sandwich bread

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups (350 g) warm water, 100°F

• 1 ½ teaspoons (7 g) dry active yeast

• 2 tablespoons (28 g) honey

• 4¾ cups (456 g) whole grain Einkorn flour or 2¼ cups (450 g) Einkorn wheat berries, ground into flour

• ½ teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine warm water, yeast & honey. Let stand 5 minutes.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour & salt.

3. Add the yeast mixture and mix with a stiff spatula. The dough will be like a thick bran muffin batter.

4. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 375°F and generously grease an 8” x 4” loaf pan.

6. Stir batter well, then pour into prepared loaf pan.

7. Smooth the surface with a wet spatula.

8. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

9. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Place pan on a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Then turn out loaf and let cool for two hours before slicing.

10. Store in a sealed plastic bag for up to 3 days.

    recipe courtesy of Jovial Foods

Whole grain Einkorn Pumpkin Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (230 g) pumpkin puree, room temperature

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• ¾ cup (175 g) sugar

• ½ cup (120 g) extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan

• 1 teaspoon (2 g) cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground ginger

• 2½ cups (240 g) whole grain einkorn flour or 1 ½ cups (250 g)Einkorn wheat berries, ground into flour, plus more for dusting the pan

• 1 teaspoon (6 g) baking soda

• ½ teaspoon (2 g) sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil and flour an 8.5” x 4.5” inch loaf pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl with a hand blender or in a standing mixer with the wire whip, beat the pumpkin puree until very smooth. Add eggs and continue to beat until creamy and thick, about 2 minutes.

3. Add sugar and beat for 1 minute.

4. Add ½ cup of olive oil, cinnamon and ginger, beat for 1 minute more.

5. If using Einkorn Wheat Berries grind them in a grain mill, Vitamix or high-powered blender to a fine flour.

6. Combine Whole Grain Einkorn flour or freshly ground Einkorn Wheat Berries with baking soda and sea salt.

7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet slowly, combining with a spatula until just incorporated. Do not overwork the batter.

8. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

9. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool.

   Recipe courtesy of Jovial Foods