Einkorn sourdough bread has a wonderfully fluffy, chewy interior and a satisfying, crusty exterior. This ancient wheat bakes the most amazing loaf of sourdough bread, with an added bonus of easier digestion.
Over the last six months or so, I’ve been working on converting the majority of our baked goods to einkorn flour.
Anytime I can’t ferment a baked good (like in chocolate chip coconut cookies), einkorn flour comes in handy. It is the world’s oldest heirloom wheat that hasn’t been hybridized.
Not only is it healthier, because it has more bio-available nutrients like folate, but it is much easier to digest. Some gluten sensitive people find that they can tolerate einkorn, even though it contains gluten.
I set out to create the perfect loaf of sourdough einkorn bread, and after a few tweaks, it comes out just right every time.
Truth be told, after I really perfected my no-knead sourdough bread recipe a few months back, I applied some of those techniques to this bread and couldn’t be happier with the results.
The bread rises so much more, and really blooms revealing the beautiful design.
If you are new to sourdough, you can find how to create a sourdough starter here.
Pair it with some cheeseburger soup or roasted red pepper and tomato soup for a delicious and comforting meal.
Tips:
- To ensure your bread is 100% einkorn, start your sourdough starter with einkorn flour, or convert your current starter to einkorn flour.
- Working with einkorn flour is different from conventional wheat. It yields a much stickier dough and can be tricky to shape. You can make this in a loaf pan or a dutch oven. A loaf pan makes perfect einkorn sandwich bread, whereas the dutch oven will yield a crusty loaf.
- When using a sourdough starter, it is recommended to use filtered water (this is my favorite way to filter water). Some water may contain too much chlorine, which can kill the beneficial bacteria and yeast.
- To really make this bread rise and have the perfect texture, I incorporated a modified stretch and fold process like with my other sourdough loaf. Since einkorn doesn’t have the same type of gluten structure, the process looks a little different, but still yields a wonderful result that is light and airy.
- I use both whole grain einkorn flour and all-purpose einkorn flour. I found this combination to be best for creating a delightful texture. You can substitute the whole grain einkorn for more all-purpose flour, if that is all you have on hand.
- Einkorn dough tends to be much stickier than regular bread dough. I like to use dampened hands and a bench scraper to combat this without having to add extra flour.
Watch The Tutorial
FAQ
I don’t have an einkorn sourdough starter, can I still make this?
Yes, you can use a regular wheat sourdough starter without issue.
How do you convert your wheat sourdough starter to an einkorn starter?
If you want to make this bread 100% einkorn, convert your starter to an einkorn starter by feeding it with einkorn flour for a few days. By the fifth feeding, your starter will be around 96% einkorn flour.
How do you know your sourdough starter is ready?
To make a delicious loaf of bread, you need to use a nice, active starter. Feed your starter 4-12 hours before creating the dough. It is usually ready when it has doubled or tripled in size.
Take a spoonful of your active starter and drop it into a cup of water. If it floats, then it is ready to use for bread.
How long does sourdough bread last?
Allow sourdough bread to cool completely before storing. Place in a bread box, an air-tight container, or a plastic zip-lock bag and store at room temperature. It will stay good for 4-5 days, if it’s not all gone by then!
You can also store bread in the freezer for a few months.
Can einkorn flour be used for sourdough?
Yes. While you cannot just use your favorite sourdough bread recipe (or any other sourdough recipe) and convert it to an einkorn version one-for-one, you can easily use einkorn flour for sourdough with a few tweaks. This is because einkorn flour requires less liquid than other flours.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Tools you may need:
Grain mill (optional) – I love my Mockmill
Stand Mixer (optional)
Measuring cups
Lame
Bench scraper
How To Make Einkorn Sourdough Bread
Feed your sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting your dough.
Once your starter is nice and active (lots of bubbles), grind einkorn berries, if needed. Skip this step if you have pre-ground flour.
Add flour and salt to a large bowl. Mix together.
Add sourdough starter and water to a large bowl and mix with your hands until it comes together.
Let rest for 15 minutes.
Flatten out dough and then stretch and fold in the edges on all sides. Roll into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap.
If the dough is sticky, dampen your hands before working with it. This allows you to easily work the dough without adding any extra flour.
Allow to rest again for 20 minutes. Repeat flattening and folding process.
Allow to rest for 20 minutes again and then repeat process another time.
Shape and cover with plastic wrap.
Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home.
Shape loaf with hands. Place it in a floured banneton basket. Cover with a plastic bag and place in the fridge overnight.
If you do not have a banneton basket, you could use a piece of parchment paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper, place in a bowl, and cover to rise.
I usually use a plastic grocery bag and tie it to help keep it more air-tight.
The Next Day:
Preheat the oven to 450.
Place dutch oven in the oven and preheat for 30 minutes to an hour.
Once the dutch oven has preheated, take the dough out of the fridge and place onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Score the top of the dough and gently place the parchment paper and dough into the dutch oven, cover with lid, and place in the hot oven.
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid.
Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.
How To Store:
Wrap with beeswax wrap, in a bread box, or in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can also place in a ziplock bag (sliced or whole) and freeze for an extended period of time.
Baker’s Schedule:
The night before: feed sourdough starter.
The Next Morning:
8 AM: Start einkorn sourdough bread dough. Mix together ingredients. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
8:20 AM: Flatten and fold dough. Shape into ball. Place into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Rest for 20 minutes.
8:45 AM: Repeat the same process allowing the dough to rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
9:10 AM: Repeat that same process allowing the dough to rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
9:35 AM: Shape and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home.
7 PM: (This time is dependent on when the dough doubles in size) Punch down dough and shape into a ball with hands. Place it in a floured banneton basket. Cover with a plastic bag and place in the fridge overnight.
The Next Day
8 AM: Preheat oven to 450 and allow dutch oven to preheat for 30 minutes to an hour.
9 AM: Take the dough out of the fridge and place onto parchment paper. Score. Place into dutch oven and bake.
How To Make Einkorn Sourdough Bread Loaf
Mix together the dough as previously stated.
Shape loaf with hands and put in a greased loaf pan; allow to rise until doubled in size. This will take around 3-12 hours.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Find More Einkorn Recipes Straight From Our Farmhouse Kitchen
- The Best Einkorn Pie Crust
- Gingerbread Cake With Einkorn Flour
- Einkorn Tortillas
- Einkorn Flatbread
- Berry Crisp Made With Einkorn
- Homemade Gnocchi With Einkorn Flour
- Einkorn Pancakes
If you try this recipe and love it, I would appreciate if you could come back, comment on the post, and give it 5 stars! Thanks.
Einkorn Sourdough Bread
Einkorn sourdough bread makes the most delicious bread. A wonderful fluffy, chewy interior and a satisfying, crusty exterior.
Ingredients
- 3.5 cups all-purpose einkorn flour
- 1.5 cups whole grain einkorn flour
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1.5 tsp salt
Instructions
- Feed your sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting your dough.
- Once your starter is nice and active (lots of bubbles), grind einkorn berries, if needed. Skip this step if you have pre-ground flour.
- Add flour, sourdough starter, salt, and water to a large bowl and mix with your hands until it comes together.
- Let rest for 15 minutes.
- Flatten out dough and then stretch and fold in the edges on all sides. Roll into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap.
- Allow to rest again for 20 minutes.
- Repeat flattening and folding process. Allow to rest for 20 minutes again and then repeat process another time.
- Shape and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 3-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your home.
- Shape loaf with hands. Place it in a floured banneton basket.
- Cover with plastic bag and place in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 450.
- Place dutch oven in the oven and preheat for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Once the dutch oven has preheated, take the dough out of the fridge and place onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Score the top of the dough and gently place the parchment paper and dough into the dutch oven, cover with lid, and place in the hot oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid.
- Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Notes
If you want your bread to be 100% einkorn, start your sourdough starter with einkorn flour, or convert your current starter to einkorn flour.
Working with einkorn flour is different from conventional wheat. It yields a much stickier dough and can be tricky to shape.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 247Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 352mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 7gSugar: 0gProtein: 9g
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Ruth says
I so love your site!! I saw on YouTube that you store your einkorn flour in a certain bucket with an airtight lid. I tried to find it again and I can’t find it. I was wondering if you could tell me where you bought your bucket . Thanks for being an example to those who don’t know Him!
Lisa says
You can use any bucket, but you need a gamma lid. I have mine linked in my amazon shop. Amazon.com/shop/farmhouseonboone
Megan says
I’m a bit confused, if we are making a loaf do we still let it rise overnight in the fridge? And what about preheating the loaf pan? Thanks!
Helen says
Hi Lisa, is this recipe for 2 loafs of bread? I usually see 3 cups of flour in other recipes.
What size does the Dutch oven need to be?
Thanks,
Helen
Pat says
Hi Lisa,
I make so many of your recipes and love them.
I make sourdough bread every week.
I tried your einkorn sourdough bread and it turned out very heavy. The crust is very hard. I let it rise for quite a while and it more than doubled.
Do you have any tips?
Nichola says
Same problem way too dense
Jamie Rodman says
Einkorn is tricky. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlq1VLXH8gc
I put mine in the fridge over night, take it out and let it rest for 2 hours and then bake. I use 280 grams of sourdough, 315 grams water, 600 grams einkorn! It rises and it’s light .. also make sure your starter is active!
Katherine Reeck says
All all-purpose or part Whole wheat in the 600 gms?
Thank you
Victoria says
I am going to try this..thank you..
Kayla DeWaard says
At what point do you put it in the fridge? Just after mixing together or all the kneading or one kneading..?
Anonymous says
Though I love einkorn for its nutritional benefits etc. I’ve never had a single thing iveI’made turn out fluffy. I’ve been using it for about 3 years, used different brands, different textures of starter, different times and methods of raising, and it’s never once been fluffy. I’ve just come to expect it not to be like regular wheat because of the weaker gluten and to love the heartiness of it.
Anne Sandison says
I am on day 14 of making the starter and do not have any bubbling. it seems very stiff. What should I change in making the starter?
Lori says
Hi LIsa,
I actually have 2 questions. I am new to making Sourdough. I can make a great loaf using your recipe with store bought bread flour. Why don’t the milled grains rise as well. The dough seems denser and doesn’t rise as much. Do you have any suggestions? Also is there a trick to getting the Eincorn shaped or can you please post a video sometime. I couldn’t get it off my hands. Thank you! I love your site.
Annie Hughes says
For your second question, I would add more flour and make sure your hands have flour on them too. Einkorn is tricky!
I don’t have a grain mill so can’t answer your first question. Good luck! x
Anni says
Do you have this converted to grams somewhere I am not looking?
Lisa says
I have a conversion chart here: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/baking-conversion-chart hope that helps!
Chanel says
Hopefully this isn’t a stupid question…Can you use gluten free starter to make this?
Mike Lehman says
Let rise only 50% I’ve made this 2 times and not heavy, I use 100% all purpose Einkorn
Anonymous says
What do you mean only 50% rise?
Jackie Kavookjian says
Yes please clarify what you mean of 50%? Thank you!
Sylvia says
Hi Lisa, I love your recipes! This bread recipe turns out better for me than any other sourdough recipe, every time! Crusty exterior, chewy interior.. And I even let it rise overnight, 8 hours, and then it was ready to bake this morning. It had risen more with the longer rise time, so it made a prettier loaf, and I love the more sour flavor, plus my husband is gluten sensitive, so I wanted to let it rise longer for that reason.. Thanks!
Sarah Waninger says
I want to convert my white flour sourdough starter to einkorn…is it still just start feeding it equal parts flour and water just use einkorn? or should I use a different ratio since einkorn absorbs water so differently?
Chris says
You should note that.the whole world has access to your recipes and temperatures everywhere except the US are in Centigrade whilst you state a number for the oven temperature( but neglect the unit )it would be useful for some readers to have 400 F with a bracketed ( 200C ) by the side for example. Other than that good job enjoying your blog space!
Anonymous says
I live in Canada and I don’t know a single soul who uses centigrade for their oven… 😛
Anonymous says
It’s only US and Canada that still use fahrenheit
Stephanie Mejia says
I’m on day 10 and my starter still won’t float. Lots of bubbles but that’s about it.
Brianna Frame says
Don’t get discouraged! Mine took two weeks exactly to establish!
Hannah Morley says
Do you have any tips for baking a loaf in a cast iron loaf pan?
Jamie says
I’ve used a cast iron pan underneath the loafs placed on a baking sheet. It turned out too hard. I genuinely think that these need a Dutch oven! The balance of moisture and surrounded by heat is very sensitive
Jennifer says
The recipe looks great! Can you please explain when you grind your own flour how do you grind the all purpose vs the whole grain einkorn? Thanks for explaining!
Emily says
If you want all purpose flour shift your freshly ground up whole wheat flour. It separates the wheat germ and creates a whole wheat all purpose flour. Good luck and happy bread baking!!!
Heather says
When making just a loaf do you have to do the folds, Or can you just mix and put in a loaf pan.
Thanks!
April says
I made this today and it’s fabulous! My husband said it’s like the bread he used to eat in Europe. We’ll definitely be making this again!
Pam Kimmet says
Hello Lisa! I so love your website. I wanted to know if you throw out each half of starter you are removing or do you use it? On Friday night, when you feed you starter it looks like you don’t take out half until the next morning and then use it for your pancakes, is that correct? So, when you feed it once a week are you removing half, and if so, do you use it or throw it away?
Sorry, I am an old lady, and this is new to me. Thank you for your time. Pam
Bethany says
Lisa does not discard any of her starter, she just uses it and feeds it and doesn’t measure. I do the same and it is much less hassle. I recommend watching her Two Weeks in the life of Sourdough Starter YouTube video. Good luck, sourdough is fun!
Izzy says
Hi So I have a gluten free starter, made with brown rice & buckwheat flour. Could I use that as the starter in this recipe?
Ania says
The Banneton that you have linked is unavailable. Are there are any others you reccomend?
JUDY says
I WOULD LOVE THE MEASURMENTS FOR A SMALLER LOAF INSTEAD OF 5 CUPS OF FLOUR. CAN YOU HELP??
Meg says
Divide all the ingredients in half. That should make you half a loaf.
Meg says
Divide all the ingredients in half. That should make you half a loaf.
Marti says
I made this recipe and unfortunately the bread did not get cooked all the way through. Maybe there should be a step to check temperature?
Garth Wunsch says
The internal temperature should be about 208° F. You will need a metal probe thermometer.
Lila says
Thank you, Garth. This is good info to know!!
Allison Ashton says
Hello! I am so glad to final get my first real sourdough loaf from my Einkorn flour! My starter is complete Einkorn all purpose and whole wheat. I’ve had my started since April 22, 2022. I followed your recipe exactly but noticed it was a bit dry when I pulled it together after adding the flours, starter and water and and when folding it each time seemed dry. It doubled it was 7 hours before I could get to it and placed in the the fridge for 16 hours. Then, baked it this morning. But feels hard and its resting. Not sure why?
Jessi says
Same with mine . I bake with einkorn all the time and usually it’s a bit more sticky. I had to add more water.
Brianna says
I received a starter from regular flour King Auther: All Purpose Flour & I’m wanting to switch to Einkorn all purpose flour. How much of starter: water: Einkorn to keep it fed??
(Am I using all the correct vocabulary)
Thanks in advance 😀
Lisa says
You would want to use less water. If you had 1/2 cup of starter you would want to feed it with 1/2 cup einkorn flour and 1/4 cup water.
Garth Wunsch says
I would find the measurements easier in gms. Much more accurate, especially for the gooey starter.
Lisa says
Sorry! I will try to update the post in the future to include those.
Megan says
I’m a bit confused, if we are making a loaf do we still let it rise overnight in the fridge? And what about preheating the loaf pan? Thanks!
Lisa says
Yes. This firms up the dough and slows down the fermentation. If you are using a loaf pan there would be no need to preheating it so you could allow it to rise in the fridge in the pan. The preheating is only if you are using a dutch oven because that is what gives it that nice crust. Since bread baked in a loaf pan won’t have the same crust you do not need to preheat it. Hope that helps.
Ashley says
I’m excited to try the loaf pan! Do we also do the stretch and folds with the rest periods when we do the loaf pan? Or do we only mix and put it the pan? Thank you!
Lisa says
You can either knead in a mixer or stretch and folds. The loaf pans doesn’t really determine which process you choose.
Alicia Armstrong says
Hi Lisa,
Making my first sourdough loaf today 🤞🏽
I started the bulk ferment next to the fireplace last night. What’s the minimum amount if time I can leave in fridge today. Running a few errands today hoping yo get bread scored and in oven around dinner time. Thanks 😊
Lynn Groom says
I’ve made this prob a dozen times (novice baker) and my family loves it. I love the simplicity of the recipe. Question: After the sourdough Einkorn dough rises after all the stretch and folds (prob 4x bigger than start) as soon as I touch it to take it out, it starts to collapse. Why does it do that? Is it supposed to do that?
Lisa says
The gluten structure in ancient grains is very different from modern grains. Though they don’t get long and stretchy, they do rise a lot better!
Kathy says
Can I use same amount of discard in this recipe?
Lisa says
It may take longer to rise or may not have a good rise if using discard.
Jess says
I’m new to sourdough and hoping this will be our go to recipe for bread. I purchased einkorn berries to use but now realizing this recipe calls for all-purpose einkorn flour. Where do you purchase all-purpose berries to mill? I’m searching online and only seeing whole grain einkorn berries. Can I use strictly whole grain einkorn berries for this recipe?
Lisa says
Yes you can. It will definitely behave a little differently than the all purpose einkorn. You may need to use a bit more flour since it comes out of the mill fluffy .
Anonymous says
Jess,
AP Einkorn just has the bran removed. Mill your berries and sift the flour through a fine sieve. The bran can be composted while the yellowish flour will be AP for you.
Stephanie says
Does it matter if I only have/use whole grain einkorn flour?
laura says
Hello Lisa,this loaf is a total mess and I cannot keep it together. It is so gluey. I used Jovial but it is not like you show in the pictures, what should I do to save it? Thanks so much for helping (not sure what went wrong). I would love to use those better grain because I am allergic to US flour AP but it has been quite a journey. I love your media 🙂
Lisa says
Sounds like it may have overfermented during the bulk rise.
Melanie says
I made my own starter with einkorn using your instructions (love your details and instructions – very easy to follow). I baked my first loaf last week and it was delicious!
My family really enjoyed it and it is now a house favorite.
Lisa says
That’s wonderful! So glad you enjoyed this recipe and that your starter is doing well!
Angela says
Hi I can’t get all purpose einkorn flour in UK, only whole meal. What can I substitute for all purpose einkorn? I wondered if white spelt flour would substitute….
Thanks
Lisa says
It’s tricky to convert from einkorn. I do have a sourdough bread recipe using spelt flour, though, that you can check out here: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/spelt-sourdough-bread hope that helps!
Anonymous says
Melanie, you can sift the bran out of your regular einkorn flour to create an AP einkorn flour. Use a fine sieve.
Anna says
Hey Lisa,
I tried the recipe yesterday and it didn’t really work that well because the bread didn’t rise that good and there were no “big bubbles” in the baked bread, in fact it was very dense and I think it also tasted more like sourdough than my sourdough breads usually do.
Do you have an idea what my mistakes could have been?
It was my first time with einkorn, I used a rye starter (that’s been fed and also is quite “old” – I think 3-4 years), i substituted spelt whole grain for the einkorn whole grain. But other than that I was stiking to your recipe.
I love the taste of einkorn so I really want to try again. Any ideas what I might have done wrong?
Thanks for your great recipes though!
Anna from Austria 🙂
Lisa says
Sounds like you have a good active starter, because that would be my first thought. The other is the gluten may have needed a bit more developing.
Angela says
Hi, this is a helpful tutorial. Einkorn is sooo tricky! I’m trying to make an Einkorn sourdough enriched loaf. Have you had success creating that?
Lisa says
I have not personally tried that yet!
Paulette says
I have started using fresh milled einkorn flour from whole berries and my sourdough loaf is very, very dense. I read somewhere that adding a couple of spoon of lemon juice in place of a couple of spoons of water might help air it out and lift it up.
Also, how do you make bread flour or AP flour from whole berries ground with MockMill.
One more question. What number should I grind the grain.
Lisa says
I have personally never tried making all purpose flour. I would like to learn though. I have also never tried the lemon juice trick! Using all whole wheat will also yield a denser result than all purpose. I don’t think there is any way to get around that. I usually only put a small amount of whole wheat in my recipes, so it adds nutritional benefits but I can still have light bread. I have my mockmill set to 4!
Angie krajewski says
Hello I have seen several people on YouTube’s making Einkorn bread and most of them say that having a bowl of water next to you while pulling and folding is the way to go , by wetting gently your hands while dealing with the Einkorn dough.. it won’t stick as much to your hands fir sure… if you put flour you take the risk if making it too dry and crumbly when you bake it . They say as a rule that when you have a very wet dough pulling and folding develops the gluten very well and it permits also the Einkorn flour to absorb the water a lot better . The bread afterwards is more fluffy. When propke decides to let it in the fridge overnight covered of course, with tea towel and plastic bag for two or 3 reasons . There is the fact that the good levain bacteria’s works better growing slowly during his rest in the fridge ( but it doesn’t mean that you « have « to do it over night in the fridge either) and helps the digestion, and develop all what the levain can give . The levain bread keeps longer very good doesn’t dry like others ..
and also could be very practical, like she does it also to fit her timeline. At the end putting the dough in the fridge helps in all ways .
Stephie says
So I followed the recipe (halved it), but when it came time to shape the loaf before the refrigeration, the dough was essentially the texture of starter! There was no way I could actually shape it into a loaf. It was extremely bubbly and runny. Do you have any idea where I went wrong? Thank you!
Lisa says
It is hard to know exactly, but how long was it fermenting? My guess is that it was over fermented. But it’s hard to determine without knowing all the steps taken.
Kristen says
Hi lisa! Do you find using ap flour discard recipes with einkorn flour to require altering? I only want to use einkorn but want to use all the cool recipes for starter discard, too. Not your recipes specifically, just all of them!
Lisa says
Not usually. I’ve used a einkorn starter for regular ap flour sourdough recipes, and a ap starter with einkorn recipes. The starter doesn’t usually change things much.
Jackie Kavookjian says
Hi Lisa
If I want to mill my own Einkorn for this recipe what are the two types to purchase (Azure Standard preferably)?
Or are they just two difference levels of milling of the same standard Einkorn grain?
Thanks so much!
Lisa says
I just mill the einkorn grain. I don’t know of two different types.
Maryann says
Can bread be baked in loaf pans? I don’t own a Dutch oven
Lisa says
You could, but it won’t get that yummy crusty exterior. I would add a small pan of water in the oven to help create steam with can give the bread that crust.