EINKORN BREAD AND FOOD SENSITIVITIES

I've been experimenting. Many times my experiments leave me a bit depressed at the results. This time I'm very pleased with my results!  I discovered I was allergic/sensitive to wheat a few years back, which I talked about in this post. Ever since then, I've been doing my best to come up with gluten free breads that can somehow resemble wheat bread, but as much as I like many of my creations and those of others, I can't say they resembled wheat.  I've been doing fine without wheat, to tell you the truth.  I have some really good sandwich breads I like, my Cheese and Wine Bread being my favorite I think, for sandwiches, although I make it more often with buttermilk now than wine.  I also made that recipe into a Cheesy Loaf Of Bread.  In fact this bread started out from that bread as a base recipe, which I made several adjustments to, until it is not recognizable anymore as that recipe at all, but an entirely different recipe.

I do have to say, one thing I missed from my wheat days was toast.  You cannot get good toast, that is toasted all the way through with low carb flours.  You just can't. I've come close to something acceptable, in the sense that you can toast it, but it just isn't the same.

So about my experiment.  I have been reading about Einkorn flour, how that it is an ancient wheat, different in the amount of chromosomes and the type of gluten than modern wheat.  Peggy of Buttoni's Low Carb Recipes is the one who has brought my attention to this flour, as she has been recently experimenting with it. Check out her recipes if you haven't already!

I got to thinking, that maybe whatever I have been sensitive to in wheat, perhaps Einkorn doesn't have. Maybe it's something in modern wheat that affects me. I don't know that it's gluten or what.  I have no idea.  So the only way I'm going to find out is to try some.  I bought a 5 lb. bag of it and decided to experiment.  Yesterday I made my Breakfast Long John using it. I used 1 tbsp of Einkorn in it and 1 hr. my blood sugar was 122. Not bad. It usually takes me from an hour up to 3 hours to get a reaction of sinus pressure and inflammation after ingesting wheat, and handling it and getting it airborne, I get an immediate reaction.  I waited and waited and did not get the usual reaction.  So today I made the bread.  I was disappointed that when I took it out of the oven it did sink in the middle a bit but it really didn't matter when I cut into it.  It was the texture, smell, and feel of bread.  AND... it made wonderful toast!!!

How about some Corned Beef Hash, (made with turnips, not jicama-I've scrapped the jicama idea), with a cheese and bacon omelet, and a couple pieces of toast for a hearty brunch!

DISCLAIMER: I want to make sure to EMPHASIZE that your mileage may vary!  Please don't think if you have a serious allergy/sensitivity to gluten or wheat that your experience will be the same as mine.  I don't have Celiac, and I don't have serious anaphylactic responses to wheat, so I could afford to experiment on myself.  I so far, have found I'm ok with it, but I may yet find I can't tolerate it and I'll have created a bread for someone who can but I won't be able to enjoy it.  I made the loaf and will be eating it this week. We'll see.  So far so good.

I used 1/2 cup of Einkorn in this recipe, and it was just enough.  It's a yeast bread, and does not rise as much as a regular yeast bread, but it does rise.  Mine rose just over the top of the pan when finished.  I used an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan. If you use a different size pan you won't get the same results.  Pan size makes a difference in bread.  I plan to still experiment and tweak this bread some more and maybe end up with a product that will rise more and not sink in the middle at all.

I do think this bread I will keep handy for toast mostly.  I will continue to use my Cheese and Wine Bread in my GT Xpress for sandwiches, I believe.  But I am happy to once again have toast in my life!

EINKORN BREAD - LC 

(not gluten free)                      

2 1/4 teaspoons  active baker's yeast (Quick Rise)
1/4 cup  warm water
1 tablespoon  honey -- (will be used by the yeast)
1/2 cup  parmesan cheese
1/2 cup  Einkorn flour
1/2 cup  almond flour - Honeyville
1/4 cup  psyllium husk powder (I buy whole psyllium husks at my healthfood store and grind in my coffee grinder)
1/4 cup  golden flaxseed meal
 2 teaspoons  baking powder
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1/2 cup  club soda -- at room temperature
4 eggs -- at room temperature
1/4 cup  extra virgin olive oil

In small bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and honey. Let sit while mixing dry ingredients, until very bubbly and yeasty.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, Einkorn flour, almond flour, psyllium powder, golden flaxseed meal, baking powder, and salt. Mix together well with an electric mixer, until well sifted with no lumps. Add yeast mixture, club soda, eggs, and oil. Beat with electric mixer for about 1 minute.  Batter should be very thick and elastic, but not a dough that you can handle.

Scrape into well greased 8 x 4-inch loaf pan, let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until it rises just to the top of the pan in the middle.  Place in oven and turn oven to 350F, and bake 30 minutes. Cover with an aluminum foil tent, loosely, and bake 30 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and let pan sit out on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.  Remove from pan, butter top of loaf, if desired, and cool completely on wire rack before cutting.  Don't cut into it while hot! Let it cool completely.


Copyright:
  "© Ginny Larsen, 7/23/2014"
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16 Servings/Per Serving: 113 Calories; 8g Fat (59.8% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber

NOTES : 
3g net carbs per slice with 16 slices: Cool completely before slicing.  For best results, use an electric knife if you have one. Cut in half. Cut halves in half again, and then cut each quarter in half again, and then each 8th in half, until you have 16 slices. For best freshness keep on counter for a couple days as you use it, then refrigerate what is left.  Or freeze slices and take out how many slices you will use daily.