01 Mar 24 Hour Einkorn & Spelt Sourdough Buns

So the headline. Einkorn? You might be thinking ”what’s that?” or “Isn’t that a gluten grain?”. It is a gluten grain but it’s the most ancient kind of wheat and it’s very different from today’s modern hybridized wheat. Apparently einkorn has less genetic resemblance to modern wheat than humans have to chimpanzees!

The last few months I’ve been reading a lot about einkorn and how people who are sensitive to gluten(not coeliac!) can tolerate it, especially in combination with sourdough. It’s pretty hard to find it in the stores but it’s increasing in popularity and I guess that it’ll soon be called “the new buckwheat” or something. If you can’t find it in the stores, you could always order a bag online, like I did. I bought whole einkorn wheat berries which I grind at home.

The reason why I decided a couple of years ago to only bake gluten free was because I found that it was the perfect balance for me. I can eat gluten now and then but since I bake A LOT it’s impossible for me to bake with gluten that often and still eat what I bake. I used to feel really tired and sick all the time and reducing my intake of gluten made a huge difference.

For a long time baking entirely gluten free was the only way for me to find a balance. Seriously, being a baking addict is hard and you have to consume certain foods (especially if you’re sensitive to them) in moderation to stay somewhat sane. However, since discovering einkorn I feel things have changed. I don’t get a bloated stomach after eating einkorn which I get from eating modern wheat and I’ve always been able to eat some spelt now and then. I feel that this blog needs to change a bit as well.

The reason why I started this blog in the first place was because I wanted somewhere to save all of my favorite recipes. Since all of my recipes were gluten free this naturally became a gluten free baking blog even though I liked to think of it as a baking blog with gluten free recipes. Now, I would like to change that description to a baking blog with mostly gluten free recipes because I want to be able to share recipes like these “24 hour whole grain einkorn and spelt sourdough buns” with you even though they’re not gluten free.

You won’t notice a big difference around here but I’ll sometimes make sourdough bread with einkorn and spelt flour instead of gluten free flours. I also like to bake for other people and in this case I baked these buns for my mother’s friends. Since I liked them I wanted to share them here, with you! I hope that you’ll embrace this change and my recipes will always be adapted to people who are sensitive to gluten.

If a recipe is made with einkorn or spelt flour it will always be leavened with sourdough, which makes it easier to digest, and I don’t think I’d ever make a cake, muffin or cookie using a gluten flour since that’s not necessary. I love baking with gluten free flours, I love the taste of them and especially how you don’t have to be afraid of making a though cake because of gluten development. The only times when I miss the gluten is when making bread or Swedish cinnamon buns!

   

Let’s talk about these sourdough buns instead. They’re filled with hazelnut butter, honey, cocoa powder and grated apple. (Inspired by this recipe.) You could make whatever filling you prefer, like cinnamon, sugar and butter. Very classic but still delicious! The dough is made with whole grain einkorn flour and light spelt flour which can be substituted with AP einkorn flour. They’re leavened with sourdough and takes 24 hours (!!) from start to finish to make but it’s so so worth it. Basically 23 hours are proofing times and then you only need about an hour to make the dough and fill them.

I like these buns because they’re hearty(which is just a nicer word for “not so airy because of whole grains”) and not too sweet and therefore they wont make you feel over-satisfied(is that even a word??) after eating them. I also think they look very pretty with the hazelnut topping instead of pearl sugar, a bit more rustic because that’s how I like it. Everything I make is apparently hearty and rustic… I guess you’ll just have to deal with it. Okay?

Notes:

• I used a sourdough starter made with einkorn flour but you could use a wheat, rye or spelt sourdough as well. It should be 100% hydration = 50% water 50% flour measured in weight.
• It’s important that the sourdough starter is active so you need to let it sit in room temperature for 12 hours before baking.
• You could use AP einkorn flour instead of the light spelt flour.
• HERE‘s a video that explains how to tie the buns into knots.