The Big Reveal: Whole Grain Einkorn & Super Sprout™ Einkorn Flour
Lindley Mills is excited to introduce our newest products, Whole Grain Einkorn and Super Sprout™ Sprouted Einkorn Flour. Both of these products are made out of 100% Certified Organic, whole grain einkorn and make incredible golden bread and cookies. Read more to learn about this ancient, heritage grain!
Einkorn What?
As the most ancient form of wheat known today, you may ask yourself why einkorn is not a household name. You may have never even heard of einkorn until very in recently. One theory is that einkorn and other heritage grains were phased out in favor of easier to grow, higher yielding, and more naturally tolerant varieties. We believe that performance on those metrics certainly contributed to farmers’ choice about what to plant, but that may not tell the full story.
Author and Master Baker, Jeffrey Hamelman notes in his book Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes, that einkorn is actually more drought resistant, tolerant of adverse conditions, and has yields that surpass some comon wheats today. He claims that the evolution of farming and harvesting the grain was a greater influence on the quantity of einkorn that was planted than its yield characteristics. Compared to modern wheat, einkorn's stalk is weak and the head often splits open, making it hard to harvest using modern mechanical means. The need to feed a growing population lead to the natural selection of wheats that were easier to grow and harvest with modern farm machinery and ultimately to a much smaller planting of einkorn over time.
The Heritage Grain Boom
These “forgotten wheat varieties” have a lot to offer the consumer today through nutrition, flavor, and a different gluten profile. They are rising in popularity and we hope you will join us as we delve into the world of einkorn and discover all this original wheat, and mighty heritage grain has to offers. Keep an eye out for future blog posts on the difference between Super Sprout™ Einkorn, Whole Grain Einkorn and more!