They say what goes around comes around and it is a generalisation that tends to come true, but if someone had told me at any time during the decades I’ve been a keen home-cook that I’d be yearning to use the kind of ancient grains our forefathers milled in pestle-and-mortars 10,000 years ago, I’d have thought they were mad.

However, it seems what goes around really does come around in respect of those very early forms of domesticated wheat the first farmers were experimenting with all those millennia ago in the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia.

Today the culinary world is once again turning its attention to grains such as einkorn, emmer, spelt and khorasan. 

Why? Well, for a start, they are rich in flavour and so are capable of producing wonderful food. They are also very healthy - the human gut can deal with the natural levels of enzymes and glutens in these old fashioned varieties more easily than can be said of some high-yielding modern grains. Made from whole-grains, such flours are nutritious and high in fibre. 

Last but certainly not least, the old varieties tend to be more resilient than modern highly developed strains of wheat. This means they are more disease-resistant and also more hardy when it comes to the vagaries of climate change. 

Spelt has had a regular place in our kitchens for a while now, but this week I took delivery of the three other ancient grains mentioned above and have to report straight away that they will become permanent fixtures in the Hesp household. 

As Elaine Boddy - one of the premier sourdough bakers in the UK (better known as Foodbod Sourdough) and author of two excellent books - told me: “For me, as a sourdough baker, these flours offer a whole new world of fun and experimenting in my baking, whilst also bringing wonderful flavours and textures to my sourdough creations.”

See the panel for Elaine’s advice on using ancient grains - but now let’s turn to the man who sent me the new bags of very old flour. Bertie Matthews is managing director of Matthews Cotswold Flour which this week added einkorn, emmer and khorasan to the spelt it already sells as part of its comprehensive range, and he told me…

“What is so different about the ancient grains we now have in our range? Well, they are the oldest of the grain species - all modern wheat is descended from them. That means they are generally untainted by modern modification, therefore can be a more diverse alternative to modern monoculture crops.

“Ancient grains are becoming more popular,” Bertie continued. “They are often less refined and less processed than modern varieties of wheat. This is particularly true in their wholegrain form where they contain a significant amount of vitamins, minerals and fibre.” 

Bertie went on to explain more about the three new flours he’s just launched…

“Einkorn is often referred to as the ‘mother of all grains’. Its name derives from it only having one grain on each ear (‘ein’ from the German word for one). Einkorn is also called ‘farro piccolo’ in Italian, meaning small. It is the smallest of the three and originally grew wild in the Fertile Crescent 10,000 years ago.

“The flour is very rich in flavour and produces a hearty slightly nutty flavour that adds to baking recipes. We recommend using it in the same way you’d use other wholegrain or wholemeal flours,” said Bertie, who explained that an organisation of farmers called the Cotswold Grain Partnership has been growing einkorn in the UK for the last few years.

Emmer wheat which is a relative of both einkorn and the durum wheats which have been adopted and adapted with so much enthusiasm by the Italians. 

“Known as ‘farro medio’ in Italy, emmer retains its hull during harvest and so is a  wholegrain flour which can be used in pasta recipes or blended into bread recipes,” Bertie told me. “Emmer was brought to Italy by the Romans after they invaded Egypt in 47 BC. It is said that Julius Caesar nicknamed emmer as ‘Pharaoh’s Wheat’. It played a huge part in feeding the Roman legions. 

“Today it has been superseded by higher yielding wheats, but is still grown on a small scale in Italy’s mountain regions and in some other parts of Europe. The flour is a darker yellowish colour compared to modern bread wheats and, being milled in the traditional stoneground method, it retains its strong nutritional qualities. Due to its lower gluten quality, you may wish to blend with stronger gluten flours such as our stoneground white, Churchill. Early breads made with emmer in Italy included flatbreads, pita and focaccia.”

Lastly we come to khorasan, an ancient grain originally from the Persian empire…

“It is also one of the earliest types of wheat, being a relative of the ancient durum first grown in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago,” Bertie explained. “Our khorasan is from an ancient Italian variety including ‘perciasacchi’. It is farmed using a low input farming model in Italy. Khorasan is very tall with deep root systems supporting its nutritional requirements. The nutritional value of the grain has been maximised by slowly stoneground milling the grain into a dark wholegrain flour. This traditional method of milling maintains the nutritious bran and germ within the grain berry, leaving it rich in carotenes and selenium. The rich buttery taste allows it to be used in a number of different baking recipes.”

I found all this fascinating, but what’s really boosted my instant appreciation for these ancient grains has been the sheer diversity of rich flavours they offer. They really do pack a punch. “Nutty” would be one easy word to reach for when trying to describe the flavours, but it’s more complex than that. There are levels of sweetness and other rich mineral, sometimes floral, undertones that I have never really tasted before. 

This week in my bid to experiment I went against the advice given by both Bertie and Elaine Boddy - in other words I did not go for a mix of ancient and modern, but made a small loaf using nothing but the khorasan flour. Not surprisingly it was pretty dense, but by cutting a thin slice and slathering it with best Trewithen Cornish salted butter I found myself tasting a morsel that was an authentic delicacy in its own right.

It is usually the stuff you put on bread that provides the pizzazz - it’s not often that the bread itself crosses your palate with a whole spectrum of flavours. This is a revelation - and I can’t wait to try Elaine’s recipes and carry on experimenting with these substances that have been nourishing humankind for more than 10,000 years. 

Elaine Boddy’s advice when baking with ancient grains…

“Special considerations and allowances need to be made when using ancient grain flours to make sourdough or any type of bread, as they behave so differently from our modern flours. They can be challenging, especially if used on their own, but are definitely worth it and I highly recommend trying them…

Start small: introduce these flours to your bread baking gradually. If you use 500g of strong white bread flour in your dough, start by replacing 100g with one, or a mix, of ancients grain flour. At this level you will not need to make any other changes to your dough.

Build it up: from this starting point, you can start increasing the amount of ancient grain flour you use in your dough. You will feel how different the dough feels and behaves.

Reduce water: once you start to use more than 100g of these flours in your dough, you will need to start reducing the amount of water, otherwise the dough will become very soft and will not be able to hold its shape when you come to baking.

If you want to use these flours on their own - whether one at a time, or as a blend -  they will produce fabulous bread. However, the dough will be very different to work with. It just needs to be mixed, rested, kneaded well once, then left to prove. You will not be able to stretch and pull the dough, the flours cannot be stretched and handled like strong white bread flour can. Once it has fully proved and you want to bake it, move it to a loaf tin, allow to prove again, then bake. The growth happens during this proving time, not during baking - so allow it to prove up and over the edge of the loaf tin before baking. 

Provide support: I recommend using a loaf tin to give an ancient grain loaf shape. Alternatively, try adding seeds to the dough to give it some structure. I often make loaves that are made with just an ancient grain flour with added seeds and it works well to create a freeform loaf.

RECIPES

Elaine Boddy’s Emmer and Honey Sandwich Loaf

The mix of emmer flour with added honey produces a loaf with an amazing depth of flavour and a slight sweetness.

Equipment: 2lb loaf tin with siliconised paper liner 

Makes 1 standard loaf

Ingredients

50 g active sourdough starter 

300 g milk 

50 g water

350 g strong white bread flour

150 g emmer flour 

40 g runny honey

7 g salt, or to taste

Method 

Step 1: Early evening, mix together ingredients. Leave the dough ragged, cover the bowl and leave it on the counter for 2 hours.

Step 2: After 2 hours, do the first set of pulls and folds. Take a small handful of dough from one side of the bowl, lift and stretch it, and pull it right across the bowl to the other side. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat; keep turning the bowl and pulling and folding the dough. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter. 

Step 3: Over the next few hours, perform 3 more sets of the same pulls and folds. Cover the bowl after each set. The dough will remain sticky but nicely stretchy and will come together into a nice soft ball each time. Do the final set before going to bed.

Step 4: Leave the covered bowl on the counter overnight, typically for 8 to 12 hours, at 18 to 20°C.

Step 5: In the morning, the dough will have doubled to tripled in size, with a smooth surface. If the dough has not doubled, allow a couple of more hours to continue to proof.

To place dough in the pan, repeat the same pulling and folding actions and gently lift and fold small handfuls of dough from one side of the bowl into the middle in a line; turn the bowl 180 degrees and do the same on the other side so that you have a thick sausage of dough. Turn bowl upside down and ease out the dough into your wetted hand. Place, seam side down, on the paper and slip your hand out from underneath. Use the paper to lift the dough into the pan, cover and leave to proof again. This may take 2 to 3 hours. The surface will become smooth and the dough will spread to fill the pan.

Step 6: If preheating, set the oven to 180C fan assisted or 200C non fan - bake uncovered for 40 minutes. For a cold start, place the loaf tin with the dough into the cold oven, set the temperature as above and set a timer for 45 minutes.

Step 7: Once baked, remove the loaf from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing.

Elaine Boddy’s Einkorn and Hazelnut Oat Crackers

These crackers are made by mixing the dough and leaving it overnight. The flavour will develop and the dough may even puff up slightly. I use chopped, roasted hazelnuts, which works perfectly with the taste of einkorn flour.

Makes 20 to 24 crackers

Ingredients 

100 g active or unfed spare starter

50 g rolled oats

50 g whole grain einkorn flour, plus more for dusting

40 g finely chopped roasted hazelnuts, or your choice of nut

25 g water 

30 g olive oil

10 g runny honey 

3 g salt, or to taste

Method 

Step 1: Mix together ingredients to form a stiff dough. Cover and leave on the counter overnight.

Step 2: Next morning, preheat the oven to 180°C fan assisted or 190°C non fan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust counter with a little flour, turn the dough out and use a rolling pin to roll out to 3 mm thick. Cut out rounds with a 6-mm cookie cutter. Place crackers on the prepared baking pan. Prick each cracker with a fork a couple of times to prevent them from puffing up as they bake.

Step 3: Bake for 7 minutes on one side, turn, return to the oven, then bake for another 7 minutes.

Step 4: Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. They will crisp up as they cool. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat.