12 - August 25, Saturday 

It’s a rainy Saturday morning and I have the urge to bake, once again.  

Recently I read “The Wheat Belly”. This is a book written by a cardiologist who goes into a lengthy explanation regarding the chromosomal changes in the wheat kernel that have occurred over time to make the wheat more viable to weather, produce higher yields and resist predators among other things. However with this change there is a decrease in nutritional value and an increase in gut intolerance to the gluten that the “46 chromosome” wheat kernel contains. The einkorn wheat or Farro Piccolo is the original 8 chromosome wheat kernel. Related to these changes is also an increase in circulating levels of insulin in the human body when one eats this wheat which leads to a big flabby belly hence “The Wheat Belly”.

I began a search for a company that carried this type of wheat in a whole kernel and found Jovial Foods to be the best priced supplier. Their customer service is wonderful and there is also a price break with increasing amounts purchased. 

The next step was to find a reasonably priced durable grain mill. After researching, again via the internet, I found that the Wondermill Electric mill. It can grind rice, steel cut oats, tapioca pearls, beans, corn, popcorn and most importantly, einkorn wheat.

The next step of inquiry was finding a recipe for whole wheat bread that would have good texture, get a good rise, have decent counter life and taste awesome. I began the research once again. I also started testing some recipes.  Initially I started using butter as the shortening and later found that coconut oil increases the counter life and adds a wonderful flavor.  I’ve made some mistakes along the way however nothing that was inedible.

 I use a bread machine to make my dough. I affectionately call the machine “Mama Zo”. The machine is a large Zojrushi that I have had for a number of years. The following is the basic whole wheat recipe that we enjoy.

1 7/8 cup of water

2 T coconut oil

5 ½ leveled cups of freshly ground einkorn wheat berries

5 T of vital wheat gluten

1 T of diastatic malt powder (non diastatic works as well)

2 t of finely ground sea salt

2 T sugar

¼ t ascorbic acid

2 T dried milk

2 t of instant dried yeast (I use SAF brand) 

Pour water into the bread machine tub. Add coconut oil. Mix all dry ingredients together EXCEPT yeast before pouring into the bread machine tub with water in it. Last, make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and put the 2 tsps yeast here. Set the machine on “quick dough”. When complete, knead the dough on a board coated with coconut oil, divide in 2, place in 9”X5” bread pan greased with coconut oil. Cover and let rise in a warm draft free area for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. After 1 hour of rising, place bread in preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. When the bread is done, set on a cooling rack. I put butter on some parchment paper rub it on the crust and wait 10 minutes. Then remove bread from the pan and allow it to cool before cutting.

The raisin bread variation of the whole wheat recipe above:

 

          3 cups of raisins soaked in warm water for about 15 mins. Drain and place on a

          paper towel to drain more. This plumps up the raisins. This is an optional step. 

          If you soak the raisins, decrease the water in the whole wheat recipe by ½ cup.

          If you don’t soak the raisins, use the amount as listed in the recipe. Mama Zo

          beeps when it’s time to add, that’s when I dump the raisins in.