To make a long story short, it took me a little trial and error to get the recipe to work, but the results are awesome. You can even slice the loaf for sandwiches! I thought I’d share for those of you who enjoy using soaked flour to bake traditionally prepared bread for your family.
Please note that I have only used einkorn flour to make this loaf so if you want to try making it with another type of flour, it may take you a couple of tries to get it exactly right. My friend Cathi who shared this recipe with me uses spelt flour. Based on our joint experience, it should work the very first try with either einkorn or spelt. Other flours may take a bit of trial and error on your part.
What is Einkorn?
Never heard of einkorn? It is the purest and most ancient form of wheat available. It is completely nonhybridized (my kids affectionately refer to it as “Jesus wheat”) as it only has 2 sets of chromosomes unlike all other types of wheat which are hybridized and have between 4 (emmer, kamut, durum) and 6 (spelt, modern wheat) chromosomal sets. Moreoever, einkorn contains good gluten. It is different structurally from modern gluten and quite easy to digest even for many who have sensitivity to modern gluten. The truth is that not all wheat gluten is created equal!
The only downside to einkorn is that it is a low yield crop and hence rather pricey compared with hybridized wheat. However, if you don’t eat a ton of bread in your home anyway and really want to opt for the most digestible wheat flour available when you do bake, einkorn simply can’t be beat.
One other point of note: you must used raw kefir for this soaked bread recipe. The dough does not rise well if you soak using raw yogurt, clabbered raw milk or buttermilk. It also does not work well with plain store bought kefir.
The reason? I don’t actually know for sure, but my guess is that raw kefir has many more strains of beneficial microbes compared with other fermented dairy products – up to as many as 30. In addition, raw kefir would have all the original enzymes from the raw milk intact. Pasteurized kefir would not have the same level of enzymatic activity as raw kefir. In addition, clabbered raw milk, buttermilk and raw yogurt would have far fewer probiotic strains than raw kefir.
How to Make Soaked Bread
Onward to the soaked bread recipe! I do hope you enjoy it – please let me know the various ways you end up trying it, with gluten free flours and whatnot!
Soaked Bread Recipe
Easy soaked bread recipe that can be sliced and used for sandwiches as well.
Ingredients
- 6 cups flour freshly ground and organic, einkorn or spelt recommended
- 3 cups raw kefir plain, preferably grassfed
- 2 Tbl butter preferably grassfed and organic
- 1.5 Tbl sucanat
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
Instructions
Mix 3 cups of flour and 3 cups of kefir well, cover with a clean cloth and let sit on the kitchen counter for 12-24 hours. After soaking, the dough should be liquid-y and very bubbly.
Add baking soda, sweetener, coconut oil or butter and 3 more cups of flour. Stick to 6 cups of flour and don't add more even if tempted to do so based on consistency of the dough.
Mix well for 3-4 minutes. The resulting dough should be soft and easily workable with your hands.
Divide loaf into 2 ... put in 2 buttered loaf pans (these are what I use) or make 1 huge loaf with a single large loaf pan.
Let the pan(s) sit lightly covered with a clean cloth for another 12 hours on the kitchen counter. The dough will rise nicely in the pan(s) so allow for enough room at the top or it will spill over the sides.
Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 30 minutes for 2 smaller loaves and 350 F (177 C) for 55 minutes for 1 large loaf of soaked bread. Check that a knife inserted in the center comes out clean to ensure that the loaves are done.
Once cooled, slice into sandwich slices. Enjoy immediately and refrigerate what will not be used up within 24 hours.
Recipe Notes
Coconut sugar may be substituted for the sucanat. Do not use honey as cooking honey is not healthy.
Coconut oil may be substituted for the butter.
Do not use yogurt, clabbered milk or water plus lemon juice to soak the flour as the bread will not rise properly. Only raw kefir works based on my experience making this recipe.
Once you’ve made your loaf, be sure to save the crusts! You can make homemade breadcrumbs with them!
Sarah Pope has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. Her work is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.
Her work has been covered by major media including USA Today, ABC, NBC, and many others.
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I can’t wait to try this!! I have been baking muffins with einkorn flour (which I grind from the berries) ever since your blog on the benefits of einkorn and they are delish! I have been putting off baking a loaf of einkorn bread so this is just what I need and I always have kefir in the making. I think I will half the recipe the first time as that looks very possible. Two questions: 1) I do freeze the muffins with no problems so will this also work well with the bread (if so, slice it first?) and 2) when you say “very bubbly” does that mean it will look very bubbly or will it actually be bubbling (our house is always around 73 degrees). Thanks ever so much! Elsha.
What a fantastic idea 🙂 I often grind my own sprouted spelt flour and this recipe has made it to the top of my to-do list! Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe.
Can you use water kefir to soak the grains?
It must be raw dairy kefir. It just wouldn’t taste right at all and the bread likely would not rise if you used water kefir. This recipe just doesn’t work well with substitutions. I’ve tried it several different ways and it works great if the recipe is followed exactly above but it does not turn out substituting other soaking mediums.
I’d love to try this recipe! But, I too don’t know where to get raw dairy kefir. I’m assuming Whole Foods wouldn’t sell raw milk. So, how do we get raw milk and then do we ferment it ourselves?
not even homemade yogurt?
No, yogurt does not work in this recipe. I’ve tried it and it fails.
Thanks for perfecting and sharing this soaked bread recipe — can’t wait to try it!
Our coop started carrying Jovial brand einkorn flour and so I got some just the other day. We’re thinking of making an old-fashioned apple pie using some of my home-rendered lard. Any thoughts on soaking the einkorn flour for a pie crust? The pie crust recipe in Nourishing Traditions doesn’t call for soaked flour although sprouted flour is mentioned as an option (and the dough ball is refrigerated several hours — I wonder if that has any effect on the phytates). The recipe doesn’t mention lard, though I think the lard would be a straight substitution for the butter.
I don’t soak my flour for pie crusts. You could use sprouted flour though. That is a great alternative.
Yay! I see To Your Health Sprouted Grain Co. now has sprouted Einkorn flour:
Beth, I am having great success with sourdough pie crust. I got it here: http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/welcome-to-cultured-food-life/
you have to sign up but she sends you a free ebook of sourdough cooking that is VERY good. The pie crust recipe I use all the time!
What is the weight of the flour in grams?
I regularly make sourdough bread with Einkorn using the recipe on the Jovial website. It turns out yummy every time. Can I make your sandwich recipe using homemade yogurt instead of kefir? Thanks 🙂
The recipe only works with raw dairy kefir.
Can I use oatmeal flour and yogurt
I’ve tried yogurt as a sub for kefir and it didn’t work at all. Not even close to the results obtained with raw dairy kefir.
Do you think there would be any issue with grinding the flour in a coffee grinder? It seems to work…? Also, should the flour be sifted? Thanks!
I don’t sift einkorn as it is very light and low in bran in comparison with hybridized wheat. I don’t own a coffee grinder so I don’t know if it would produce the same results as a grain grinder.
This sounds just great, I just bought a bag of spelt and brought home a big jug of raw milk to make kefir. I’m still on the GAPS diet but my husband, the bread maker will want to try this.
I’ll give this a try. I have several boxes of einkorn wheat berries in my cupboard and have been making sourdough bread with it. I feel perfectly fine eating it (can’t eat gluten, usually), but I can’t eat the einkorn pasta at all. I do well if I let my sourdough ferment for at least 3 days, so when I make this, I may experiment with soaking this a few hours longer than recommended.
Hello Sarah, I have a question about how to properly re-heat sourdough bread. I purchase my sourdough and freeze the bread to preserve for the week. Would you please share what the accurate time and temp are for re-heating in the oven and whether I should bake or broil. I typically broil pieces of bread on 355 for 5 minutes flipin it over for another 2 min.s b/c I like the way the bread is warm but, a bit crispy. But, this particular bread is denser (whole wheat & Semolina). And I will use it for homemade pizza.
Thank you!
How would this recipe compare to a sourdough recipe as far as digestibility, etc?
Sarah, why does it take 20 minutes longer to bake a single loaf vs. two?
When you divide the batter into 2 pans, it cooks more quickly than the larger amount all together in a single larger pan.
Ok, really frustrated. I just wasted my Einkorn trying to make this recipe. I followed directions closely.
Used my own raw milk kefir from our cow. After 20 hrs soaking and 3 more cups flour added to the original 3 cups and 3 cups of kefir, I had gruel. I know you said not to add flour but it was pudding!
I added at least 2 more cups, gradually and it’s still unmanageable, just beginning to pull away from sides of bowl.
After trying to get it out of Bostch and into pans, my bowl, myself, and my counters are covered in very sticky non handleable dough.
I have no idea what went wrong but it is so very wrong. I have made bread for yrs and never seen this.
What happened?
Thanks, Sue
It works perfectly for both myself and my friend Cathi who uses spelt (I use einkorn). Please note I mentioned not to add any additional flour. 2 more cups added is a big change to the recipe which likely is the reason it failed. Sorry about that 🙁
Thanks so much for this recipe. I had everything on hand and it turned out wonderful. Just a slight sour taste and so much better than other times in the past when I made bread using sourdough starter with varied results. I did add one teaspoon of sea salt to mine but felt it could be more. Is there a reason you didn’t list salt in the ingredients?
Where do I purchase raw kefir?
thanks
I made this yesterday and we love it. Will become a standard recipe. Thank you so much for it. My question is: Do the probiotic benefits of the raw dairy keifer make it through the baking temperature?
I’m not sure what you mean by raw kefir. Are you just speaking of homemade, or does it have to be make with raw milk?
I love your site. I love most of your recipes. And I am moving to what you call traditional cooking more and more. What I find difficult is your dependence on raw dairy. Where we live we simply cannot get raw dairy and when you insist that it ‘won’t work’ with pasteurized (not homogenized) dairy I just want to give up and go away. It is illegal in any form to sell (or even share via a CSA type approach) raw dairy. It is being fought in the Supreme Court but it is still unattainable. I’m loathe to even attempt your recipes that call for raw dairy because I don’t want to waste the ingredients and because you are so insistent that it “won’t work”.
I think she has found what works for her, and is sharing it with others who have access to the same foods. She puts the warning of it not working with denatured milk so that those who dont have raw will not waste the ingredients, not to upset those who don’t have the ingredients. You might try sourdough bread, as you do not need kefir to make it and it breaks down phytic acid too. In many states raw milk sales and herd shares are legal, some are not, but doesnt mean you can’t make a private deal with a farmer who you know has what you are seeking 🙂
Oh Sara, I love you!!!! In the past, I was so looking for a bread recipe just like this one in your blog but I was unable to find any of this kind before. I went to search to other traditional nourishing blogs but any recipe really convinced me. The bread recipes from nourishing traditions recipe book intimidate me a little bit. This one is just perfect. We are a Waldorf home so making bread is a must in our home weekly rhythm. I cant wait to make it this coming Thursday…our bread day! Thanks so much!