Einkorn Wheat

Einkorn is a short variety of wild wheat, usually less than 70 centimetres (28 in) tall, and is not very productive of edible seeds. The principal difference between wild einkorn and cultivated einkorn is the method of seed dispersal. In the wild variety, the seed head usually shatters and drops the kernels (seeds) of wheat onto the ground. This facilitates a new crop of wheat. In the domestic variety, the seed head remains intact. While such a mutation may occasionally occur in the wild, it is not viable there in the long term: the intact seed head will only drop to the ground when the stalk rots, and the kernels will not scatter but form a tight clump which inhibits germination and makes the mutant seedlings susceptible to disease. Harvesting einkorn with intact seed heads was easier for early human harvesters, who could then manually break apart the seed heads and scatter any kernels not eaten. Over time and through selection, conscious or unconscious, the human preference for intact seed heads created the domestic variety, which has slightly larger kernels than wild einkorn. Domesticated einkorn thus requires human planting and harvesting for its continuing existence. …

Einkorn wheat commonly grows wild in the hill country in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia, although it has a wider distribution reaching into the Balkans and south to Jordan near the Dead Sea.

Einkorn is a common food in northern Provence, France. It is used for bulgur or as animal feed in mountainous areas of countries including France, India, Italy, Morocco, the former Yugoslavia, and Turkey. It contains gluten (so is not suitable for people with gluten-related disorders) and has a higher percentage of protein than modern red wheats. It is considered more nutritious because it has higher levels of fat, phosphorus, potassium, pyridoxine, and beta-carotene.

Use in baking. Historically, einkorn was not used in breadmaking, having primarily been eaten boiled in whole grains or in porridge, meaning that cultivars were not selected for their breadmaking potential. Until recently, einkorn was not thought to be suitable for baking, as its dough is sticky, inelastic and difficult to handle. Testing during the 1990s demonstrated that some einkorn varieties could perform favourably in comparison to bread wheats, and, while only some genotypes proved suitable for breadmaking, a wide variety were suitable for use in other baked goods. Einkorn dough has a bright yellow colour due to high levels of carotenoids, and due to low gas retention yields loaves with a dense structure. Einkorn doughs should be kneaded for a shorter time, and require approximately 10-15 minutes longer baking time than comparable bread wheat doughs.

Resource for plant breeding. …

From the northern part of the Fertile Crescent, the cultivation of einkorn wheat spread to the Caucasus, the Balkans, and central Europe. Einkorn wheat was more commonly grown in cooler climates than emmer wheat, the other domesticated wheat. Cultivation of einkorn in the Middle East began to decline in favor of emmer wheat around 2000 BCE. Cultivation of einkorn was never extensive in Italy, southern France, and Spain. Einkorn continued to be cultivated in some areas of northern Europe throughout the Middle Ages and until the early part of the 20th century.